I love wordplay, and portmanteaus are my favourite. Come on over and I’ll tell you about The Manster (1959), part man, part monster, all good B movie madness. Two-headed Americans abroad in Japan is a very specific sub-genre, and underappreciated at that.
Originally released in Japan in July but not released stateside until March of ’62, United Artist Japan’s production was filmed there, and they spared every expense by using the same cardboard sets, flimsy, sparse labs and restaged hotel rooms as their American counterparts. (Papier mache volcano included.) But the mix of Japanese, British, and American actors gives The Manster (Aka The Split) a distinct flavor beyond the two pronged noggin. Oh, and the eyeball in the shoulder. Have I mentioned the caged sister with the melting face?
Our film opens on that mountainside by that gurgling volcano at the secret lab of Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura – The Last Dinosaur...
Originally released in Japan in July but not released stateside until March of ’62, United Artist Japan’s production was filmed there, and they spared every expense by using the same cardboard sets, flimsy, sparse labs and restaged hotel rooms as their American counterparts. (Papier mache volcano included.) But the mix of Japanese, British, and American actors gives The Manster (Aka The Split) a distinct flavor beyond the two pronged noggin. Oh, and the eyeball in the shoulder. Have I mentioned the caged sister with the melting face?
Our film opens on that mountainside by that gurgling volcano at the secret lab of Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura – The Last Dinosaur...
- 11/11/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
One of our favorite channels is back at it, and Joe Dante preps you for Thursday’s night of great sci-fi double bills! If you’ve been following along with TCM’s Thursday night lineups this month, you’ll know that they’ve had killer double-bills of sci-fi monster movies. It’s been really wonderful and this week, they’re back with possibly the best and weirdest lineup yet. Here’s Joe with his takes:
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman – The bizarre death of co-star Yvette Vickers (“that slut Honey Parker”) has thrust this iconic but endearingly preposterous anti-classic into the limelight once more. Who else but that damned can’t get-rid-of-him Dante, who knew Yvette personally, is back to expound in one of the very first Tfh episodes, as you can see by the backdrop, his Hollywood screening room.
Village Of The Giants - Apart from the cool...
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman – The bizarre death of co-star Yvette Vickers (“that slut Honey Parker”) has thrust this iconic but endearingly preposterous anti-classic into the limelight once more. Who else but that damned can’t get-rid-of-him Dante, who knew Yvette personally, is back to expound in one of the very first Tfh episodes, as you can see by the backdrop, his Hollywood screening room.
Village Of The Giants - Apart from the cool...
- 6/13/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
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