Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

George Worthing Yates (screenplay)
Bert I. Gordon (story)

Release Date:

April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

Terror Comes In Small Packages!

Plot:

Lonely, deranged puppet-master designs a machine that shrinks people.

Plot Keywords:

Miniature People | Puppet | Mad Scientist | Shrinking | Miniaturization

Cast

John Agar	...	Bob Westley
John Hoyt	...	Mr. Franz
June Kenney	...	Sally Reynolds
Michael Mark	...	Emil
Jack Kosslyn	...	Sgt. Paterson
Marlene Willis	...	Laurie / Themesong Vocalist
Ken Miller	...	Stan
Laurie Mitchell	...	Georgia Lane
Scott Peters	...	Mac
Susan Gordon	...	Agnes
June Jocelyn	...	Brownie Leader
Jean Moorhead	...	Janet Hall
Hank Patterson	...	Janitor
Hal Bogart	...	Special Delivery Man
Troy Patterson	...	Elevator Operator

Also Known As:

I Was a Teenage Doll (USA) (working title)
Six Inches Tall (UK)
The Fantastic Puppet People

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #18865)

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

This film was rushed into production by American International and Bert I. Gordon to ride the success of Universal-International's The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Goofs:

Continuity: The saucer of milk used to lure the cat into the lab changes position on the window sill between shots.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

Soundtrack:

You're My Living Doll

Another cheesy 50's sci fi flick

I caught this on TCM tonight. There's not much spectacular about this movie to comment on. The best part of the movie is the special effects where they surround the actors with over-sized items to make them look small. At times this works, but at other times you can see that the size correlation between shots is not correct. For example, the champagne bottle & cups Franz sets down for the shrunken people. Further, if you were the size of a Barbie doll I think a telephone receiver would be too heavy to lift off the base, even if there were six of you trying to lift it.

But, this is cheesy 50's sci fi so I'm not going to be too critical of it. On the other hand, I won't rate it too highly because it is so cheesy. This movie is only really good for making fun of while watching (which MST3K did with Mr. Bert I. Gordon's other flick, The Amazing Colossial Man). But the fact the script could have been so much better hinders the movie from being so much better.

If you want some cheesy entertainment, check it out. If you're expecting a serious sci-fi flick, remember this was made in the 50's.