The Unearthly
by Boris Petroff
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allison Hayes, John Carradine, Marilyn Buferd, Myron Healey, Sally ToddDirector: Boris Petroff
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 70 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-06
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Unearthly
Movie Review: 1950s B&W Nostalgia
Summary: 4 Stars
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
Summary of The Unearthly
The spooky laboratory of Dr. Charles Conway (horror legend John Carradine) holds monstrous secrets in this delirious drive-in favorite from the golden age of creature features! Experiments with human glands have produced a number of hideous mutants in his foreboding house on a hill, but that doesn't stop the good doctor from going back to the table with the aid of passing visitors eager for his medical services. Along with hulking henchman Lobo ("Plan 9 from Outer Space's" Tor Johnson), Dr. Conway sets his sights on an undercover cop determined to end this parade of monsters and madness. Featuring the delectable Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), this mad mix of gothic thrills and sci-fi chills now looks better than ever in this dazzling new transfer from the original negative, presented here for your ghoulish enjoyment!Horror DVD Video
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