I never thought I'd see a film in which Hugh (Ward Cleaver) Beaumont seemed exciting and dynamic. Well, compared to John Agar, Beaumont is quite a bundle of energy in this film.
A group of archaeologists find an underground civilization of albinos in Asia. The primary albinos are the king (who appears to be wearing a rack of lamb on his head), the high priest (Alan Napier, Alfred from the "Batman" TV show), and the chief of the guards (Robin Hughes, better known as "the head" from "The Thing that Couldn't Die"). The albinos have enslaved the Mole People, who are subhuman brutes who wear dark jackets and pants.
Agar and Beaumont are the only survivors of the archaeological expedition, and spend most of the film trying to find a way out of their underground prison. Incredibly, the two have mystical powers courtesy of their flashlight, which intrigues the albinos to no end, because they can't stand its bright light.
The last part of the movie is a blossoming romance between Agar and Adele (Cynthia Patrick), one of the few underground residents who has normal skin coloring, a few gory sacrifices, and a final, deadly revolt by the Mole People. The revolt is pretty satisfying, as the high priest and the king are roughly manhandled by the Mole People and end up dead. Agar, Patrick, and Beaumont escape, but Patrick is immediately crushed by debris from an earthquake, which forever buries the underground civilization. So ends this 1950s sci-fi opus.
Universal released quite a few good sci-fi movies during the 1950s, but this one's pretty lame. Agar rarely shows any emotion rather than raising his eyebrows, leaving the heavy lifting to Beaumont, who really turns in quite a good performance as the second lead.
This movie is introduced by Frank Baxter, a professor of English who speculates what might be inside the earth. The movie plods along, with only Beaumont--and the Mole People--to give us any decent acting. Not bad, but ultimately disappointing.
Best line--The High Priest (seeing the Mole People begin their climactic revolt): Guards! Kill 'em!
A group of archaeologists find an underground civilization of albinos in Asia. The primary albinos are the king (who appears to be wearing a rack of lamb on his head), the high priest (Alan Napier, Alfred from the "Batman" TV show), and the chief of the guards (Robin Hughes, better known as "the head" from "The Thing that Couldn't Die"). The albinos have enslaved the Mole People, who are subhuman brutes who wear dark jackets and pants.
Agar and Beaumont are the only survivors of the archaeological expedition, and spend most of the film trying to find a way out of their underground prison. Incredibly, the two have mystical powers courtesy of their flashlight, which intrigues the albinos to no end, because they can't stand its bright light.
The last part of the movie is a blossoming romance between Agar and Adele (Cynthia Patrick), one of the few underground residents who has normal skin coloring, a few gory sacrifices, and a final, deadly revolt by the Mole People. The revolt is pretty satisfying, as the high priest and the king are roughly manhandled by the Mole People and end up dead. Agar, Patrick, and Beaumont escape, but Patrick is immediately crushed by debris from an earthquake, which forever buries the underground civilization. So ends this 1950s sci-fi opus.
Universal released quite a few good sci-fi movies during the 1950s, but this one's pretty lame. Agar rarely shows any emotion rather than raising his eyebrows, leaving the heavy lifting to Beaumont, who really turns in quite a good performance as the second lead.
This movie is introduced by Frank Baxter, a professor of English who speculates what might be inside the earth. The movie plods along, with only Beaumont--and the Mole People--to give us any decent acting. Not bad, but ultimately disappointing.
Best line--The High Priest (seeing the Mole People begin their climactic revolt): Guards! Kill 'em!