unearthly

The Unearthly
$9.99
How can you review a film full of flaws like this low-budget thriller of the 1950s? I mean, how can you compare it with the horror films made in the 2000s with CGI effects and big-name stars?

We can start by looking at what these programmers of the 1950s had to offer. In the case of this film, we have John Carradine, a versatile actor who played in everything from DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (which starred Henry Fonda), GRAPES OF WRATH (Henry Fonda again), and BRIGHAM YOUNG FRONTIERSMAN (which starred Tyrone Power). He even appeared in the sleezy but big-budget production MYRA BRECKINRIDGE and Woody Allen's scream of a masterpiece EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX.... Here he portrays a somewhat angry, self-acclaimed genius who wants to prolong life (perhaps indefinitely) but continues to make too many mistakes. His mistakes, unfortunately, not only become horribly disfigured after his treatment but eventually end up like Marion Crane after Norman Bates gets through with her in PSYCHO.

I will leave it to you to decide whether or not John Carradine was a good actor. He is definitely a distinguished presence on the screen with his gaunt physique and deep booming voice. Some might even point out his versatility on the big screen.

I wish to look at two of the minor stars in this minor production: Allison Hayes and Myron Healy - two B stars who, like Carradine, continued to work in Hollywood for many years.

You might want to refer to Ms. Hayes as a B-movie queen because she is an incredibly beautiful addition to many low-budget programmers, not only in horror movies like this one but even in westerns. Why she remained as a B-movie star is beyond my knowledge, but if you want to look for her, she can be found in such small but unforgotten films as ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN, GUNSLINGER, and my favorite under-valued Roger Corman film THE UNDEAD -- an unusual time travel film that I showed in a college class when I taught time-travel science-fiction. This is one Corman film that I would like to see brought back for fans and re-evaluated today in light of its original touches.

As far as THE UNEARTHLY is concerned, Ms. Hayes, at least, gets to survive the fade-out. In the clever time travel film THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT, a more recent B-movie queen, Nancy Allen, plays a character with the name of Allison Hayes, perhaps as an homage for film buffs.

Also surviving the fade-out is the often-seen movie villain Myron Healy. He is often shot by the hero in such 1950s westerns as TENNESSEE'S PARTNER, one of the better films in that genre. In RIO BRAVO he is faced with the indignant task of fishing a silver dollar out of a saloon spittoon when John Wayne helps Dean Martin get revenge against those who ridiculed him.

In THE UNEARTHLY, Healy doesn't get to kill the villain Carradine (an undead victim gets that honor) but he does get to portray a policeman and is seen in the fade-out passionately kissing the gorgeous B queen Allison Hayes. Lucky man. Who says that B-movie actors don't finally get their rewards?

Despite its flaws -- bad acting on the part of the woman playing Carradine's blonde assistant and a bloodless shirt of a secondary character who is shot at close range by Tor Johnson -- THE UNEARTHLY is a film worth seeing for those who like the old programmers. I know you are out there because I have read your reviews of other 1950s low-budget offerings such as HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, BLOOD OF DRACULA, and RETURN OF DRACULA, fortunately still available through Amazon. Of course, the MYSTERY- SCIENCE 3000 crew found this film full of things to make fun of, and I can't truly fault their cheap shots and clever quips. What remains, however, is the question of whether or not an advanced form of surgical technique to replace glands in order to prolong life might be possible in the future. What we might discover someday is that fanciful writers and producers hampered by a low budget inadvertently predicted what has become a reality.

Those of us who have enjoyed the 19th-century stories of writers such as Jules Verne now know that this is entirely possible.

Charles J. Garard, now in Changchun, China

Unearthly Exchange
$1.00

Unearthly
$10.99
No second volume has been produced, which is a shame. Unearthly ended as the story was getting good, but great dialogue alone can't carry an incomplete story into five stars.

Basically, this is an Americanized version of shoujo manga with a science fiction back-drop. The characters start at a US high school, but setting gets strange quickly enough. Art style is high quality, story-boarding humorous, and characters feel distinct in their own identities. Characters are a quiet bookish girl, her snarky friend, the captain of the girl's volleyball team (popular), and mysterious yet sensitive guy both girls like.

I can't recommend the buy, because remember, no Volume Two. I'm breaking my 'no-manga reviews' rule to warn you. The cliffhangery disappointment of never knowing what happens in the 'Unearthly' universe hit me hard.

Positive Vibrations (Original)
$0.89