Journey to Freedom a flawed by compelling Cold War drama from cult filmmaker Stephen C Apostolof

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Review by Doug Gibson

Most cult film genre fans know the late Stephen C. Apostolof  as the director of the mid-‘60s Ed Wood-scripted “nudie-cutie” film “Orgy of the Dead,” with ponderous, pontificating Criswell, shot in a Hollywood graveyard, with very, very long poorly choreographed nude dances. Those deeper into cult genre know Apostolof, later in his career, hired Wood to script, act, and generally just help out in several more soft-core films the Bulgarian-born director made in the ‘70s.

But Apostolof, who died a generation ago, was a fascinating, charismatic man with an intensely interesting life story. The biography, Dad Made Dirty Movies, by Jordon Todorov and Joe Blevins, is a book that merits more sales success. There is also a film documentary on Apostolof’s life and career.

At the age of 18 Apostolof, a lifelong anti-communist, was imprisoned by the communist party that then ruled Bulgaria. He eventually managed to get out of that country, and  -- with many adventures – moved his way through Istanbul, Paris, Canada and eventually to the United States, where the now-married Apostolof settled in Los Angeles for decades.

A man of many jobs, Apostolof was interested in making a semi-autobiographical film detailing, with some license, his experiences eluding communism. The 1950s were a decade with anti-communist films. Bigger-budget films included “The Woman on Pier 13” and “I was a Communist for the FBI.” But there were lower-budget efforts too, including “The Beast of Budapest” and “Escape from the Iron Curtain,” which starred a young Theodore Bikel. Apostolof consulted with a friend, Herb Niccols, to write a screenplay based on Apostolof’s life.

Apostolof formed SCA Productions, managed to get $47,000 in funds, and made the 60-minute “Journey to Freedom,” which RKO eventually agreed to distribute.

How good a film is “Journey to Freedom?” Well, I like it, but I love cult films. I love those low-budget, ragged puppies of movies made on a wing and a prayer. “Journey to Freedom” is a very personal film. It details the escape from communism of Stephan Raikin, (Jacques Scott) a mild-mannered pianist/writer who escapes prison with two friends. Raikin gets a job playing piano in an Istanbul bar. There he encounters a monster of a man (Tor Johnson) who hates Bulgarians and beats up Raikin. Alone now, Raikin takes off for Paris and falls in love with a beautiful woman, Nanette (Michele Montau). Their romance has potential but the communists are still trying to kill Raikin, who is now interested in working for Voice of America. The pair break up. Raikin makes it to New York City. Injured there, he falls in love with and marries his nurse, Mary (Eve Brent). They move to Los Angeles, have a child (played by Apostolof’s real life child, Polly) and began an idealistic life, in a happy home, going to church, and Raiking writing for Voice of America. But the Bulgarian secret police won’t stop pursuing him, and the climax involves one more attempt to ruin the immigrant dissident’s life.

The plot sounds interesting, but it needs a better script and budget. Frankly, to encompass the plot, the film needs 30 extra minutes. But due to budget strains, it’s episodic, with abrupt plot changes, plot twists that seem contrived, and just passable dialogue. The film has lots of stock news footage, which is interesting.

The film is either enhanced, or lowered (depending on the viewer’s opinion) by the unique inclusion of a Bulgarian communist secret police member who narrates much of the film. This is done to move the plot along and increase awareness of the ongoing danger facing Raikin. I found this initially fun although it started to wear out its welcome later. The narration is very campy, sort of told in an accented “Snidely Whiplash” type of manner.

The crew and cast is a cult genre fan’s delight. Director Robert Dertano directed ‘50s cheapies “Girl Gang” and “Paris after Midnight.” He was also an assistant director in “Orgy of the Dead.” The cameraman was Ed Wood’s favorite, Bill Thompson, who filmed “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” Tor Johnson does a rare speaking part in Journey to Freedom. He also had dialogue in “Plan 9 From Outer Space.” Don Marlowe, a former agent of Bela Lugosi with a rascally reputation, has a small role as a detective. Apostolof has a small cameo in a scene where he wears a beret.

The cast is not bad. Scott was the son of a British ambassador. His best role was in the Jack Lemon, June Allyson film “You Can’t Run Away From It.” Montau was a working actress. Her best role might be “The Devil at 4 O’Clock,” with Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra. The best-known actress in the film is Brent, who had a very long career. Today her face is recognizable because she was so ubiquitous in TV and films. In the big-budget film, “The Green Mile,” she had a substantial role. Her career was still young in “Journey to Freedom” and she bears a resemblance to Shelly Winters.

It’s easy to tag these 1950s anti-communist films as an element of the McCarthy era. But that’s not really fair for films dealing with oppression in Europe, such as “Journey to Freedom” or “The Beast of Budapest.” The treatment of dissidents, even peaceful ones, was uniquely cruel. My father in law, a labor leader in Hungary who supported the unsuccessful ’56 revolution, was imprisoned and tortured. Scores of thousands were murdered.

Apostolof was certainly proud of the film. But it bankrupted him. He only earned a small percentage of his investment back. Yet, he was resilient, and enjoyed long success making soft-core films with the moniker A.C. Stephen. His career -- and family life -- make for fascinating reading in “Dad Made Dirty Movies.”

Currently, “Journey to Freedom” can be viewed (free) on Amazon Prime. It’s part of the streamer MGM+ offerings. It’s definitely worth an hour of your time. And buy his biography. (I think Max or Netflix, etc. could make a fascinating multi-part series of his life, but what do I know?)

Plan9Crunch thanks David Grudt, of Long Beach Calif., for unearthing these several newspaper clippings of the film. From top to bottom, the sources are: South Bend Tribune, South Bend Indiana, Oct. 17, 1957; Anaheim Bulletin, Anaheim California, Jan. 19, 1957; The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Washington, Nov. 13, 1957; Los Angeles Evening News, Hollywood, California, Dec. 3, 1957; The LA Times, Thursday, December 1, 1960 (already on TV).

Rocketship X-M – An early 1950s space travel feature

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The early 1950s brought moviegoers a number of space travel features – Destination Moon (1950), Rocketship X-M (1950), Project Moonbase (1953), Flight To Mars (1951) and Conquest of Space (1955), just to name a few. Rocketship X-M was the first to be released of all these features and has always been a favorite of mine of these early space travel films. The film was also entitled Expedition Moon and Rocketship Expedition Moon. Rocketship X-M stars a very young Lloyd Bridges and Danish beauty - Osa Massen

In a race to establish a military base on the moon, a group of scientists led by Dr. Karl Eckstrom (John Emery) blast off on the first space expedition to the moon but are veered off course during a meteor shower and land on Mars instead. Other members of the expedition include Colonel Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen), Harry Chamberlain (Hugh O’Brian) and William Corrigan (Noah Beery Jr.). A romance between Graham and Van Horn eventually surfaces.

As the entire crew of Rocketship X-M explore the planet Mars, the group discovers an ancient civilization that was likely destroyed long ago by atomic war. They encounter damaged buildings and sculptures left behind by the Mars inhabitants. The scenes of the explorers on Mars are filmed with an interesting sepia tone of brown and red. The entire planet appears to be a dry desert climate void of any life.

The crew of Rocketship X-M later encounters a group of primitive cavemen who run around with animal loin cloths and carry bludgeons. One close up shot of the only cavewoman in the film reveals that she wears lipstick and make-up and has well-groomed hair. Even Martian cave women want to look beautiful for their cavemen. Three of the crew members of Rocketship X-M are attacked by the cavemen and later die from their injuries.

Dr. Lisa Van Horn and Colonel Floyd Graham race back to the rocketship carrying injured Harry Chamberlain with them. The Mars cavemen are on their trail. As the rocketship blasts off the planet Mars, Van Horn discovers that the ship does not have enough fuel for it to land safely back on earth. Van Horn and Graham embrace each other, knowing they are going to die on their return trip. They reveal their attraction and love for each other in their final moments before the ship crashes back on earth.

The sepia tone sequences in the film of the surface of Mars may have been an inspiration for the 1959 Ib Melchior film – Angry Red Planet. In that film, a gimmick known as “cine-magic” is used, which is a red, pinkish filter used for scenes on the planet Mars. This seems appropriate for the film, since Sidney Pink was the writer and producer of the film.

Academy Award winners Dennis Muren, Bob Skotak Tom Scherman, Mike Minor with film historian and archivist Bob Burns, produced three minutes of new footage inserted into Rockship X-M in 1978. This new footage replaced existing stock footage and special effects. This 1978 footage can be seen in the Wade Williams volume four Science Fiction Gold – Englewood Entertainment VHS print of the film released in 1997.

Although Destination Moon is a color feature space travel film released just a month after Rocketship X-M, and later won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, I find Rocketship X-M to be a more entertaining film. Its plot is much simpler and the entire film had a budget of only about 15 percent of Destination Moon, but the result is a space adventure feature that manages to entertain the viewer. Happy  viewing.

Steve D. Stones

Talking with the authors of the new TCM Underground must-see films book

 

At Plan9Crunch blog we have already reviewed the book, “TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films From the World of Classic Cult and Late-night Cinema,” by TCMUnderground's Millie de Chirico (directly above) and film critic and writer Quatoyiah Murry (above middle). We love this book and TCM Underground, which is can’t miss TV for us. Take your pick: it’s either the Bible or Apocrypha of cult film fans. The book, from runningpress.com and TCM's website, is for sale Oct. 25, 2022. It's a best-seller on Amazon right now! Don’t miss it. I was thrilled to chat with both authors. – Doug Gibson

 

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What goes into selecting a film to air on TCM Underground? Is there a group that meets to discuss films, or is it a one-person decision. Do you work with filmmakers, or DVD/Blu-ray releasing companies; do they pitch films? Or do you respond to viewers requests on website or Twitter ... I ask that because for years I emailed TCM urging Andy Milligan to be represented.

 

MDC: It’s basically a one-person decision (me) but I’m very open to suggestions from my co-workers and viewers. Sometimes filmmakers or rights holders will pitch to me but I also come to them a lot, asking what they have available. I wish I had more time to respond to viewer requests online but I do make note of them.

QM: That’s all Millie working her magic behind the scenes! But she’s a great collaborator who takes suggestions from various places. It’s usually a question of rights and advanced planning, but I’ve been lucky to have had a say in a few titles that have aired on TCM Underground. It’s a truly sensational feeling when that happens!

 

I like how TCM Underground, and its book, have discovered genres worthy of cults and TCM Underground inclusion beyond the traditional. These include anime, shorts, Asian horror films, and so-called "blaxploitation." Are there other film genres out there, under-appreciated, that merit notice?

 

MDC: There’s a section in the book called Domestic Disturbances that focuses on movies that are basically melodramas with a twist, or dark dramas about families or relationships. I’m responsible for a lot of those entries in that section because I’m a big fan of melodrama. I feel that’s a genre that definitely deserves cult status. And it seems like they haven’t been included much in the canon over the years because cult has mostly been defined by genre movies like horror or action. Melodrama was also maligned for many years where they were thought of as just “women’s pictures” or soap operas, which maybe turned people off. But some of them can be really weird! SECRET CEREMONY (see a scene from that film below) is such a wild movie but was never presented to me as a cult film when I was growing up. Or maybe, these films get categorized as horror or slasher because of the violence (like BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER) but at its core are basically melodramas.

QM: It was super cool getting to write about folk horror, which is a genre that I’m really intrigued by and love that it’s getting more attention from filmmakers and within film studies. Outside of the book though, my favorite underappreciated microgenre is probably techno-horror, where the film’s horror is technology related or connected, so films like Pulse (2001), Unfriended (2014), Host (2020), and VHS (2012). Generally found-footage horror has a special place in my heart too. I'd love to deep dive into it and write more about the genre someday.

 

I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I'll read it often. But there are so many films within TCM Underground. Could we see future editions of this book with other films discussed and analyzed?

 

 MDC: I hope so!

 QM: That would be a dream come true! Tell your friends and anyone who will listen to buy this one and maybe our publishers will want a part two.

 

Just like Danny Peary did two generations ago, you included films I learned about for the first time, or hadn't realized were unique -- Secret Ceremony, Remember My Name, are examples -- and had grown fan bases. "Little Darlings" is another example. I saw it 40-plus years ago, thought it was interesting, and hadn't thought of it since. Reading the chapter, I wonder if it could be made today. What are some films released in the past generation that you think may become TCM Underground films?

 

MDC: I think there are obviously now people who grew up in the 1990’s and 2000’s who are starting to look back into their youth and pluck out some of the weird movies they remember. If I had to make some guesses, I think something like HACKERS or THE NET would maybe become cult films -- you gotta love anything that tried to capitalize on those early internet days. There was also a lot of teen horror that came out in the late 90’s and early 2000’s that was trying to cash in on the SCREAM franchise but maybe weren’t as successful, which conceptually, is a good place for a movie to become a cult film. There was also a huge independent film scene in those days and there’s a lot of movies from it that are now out of print. It would be interesting to see what gets taken out of obscurity and restored. I can’t wait to see what’s next.  

QM: Ooh that’s a great question. I think a lot of A24 films could be contenders considering how the company has amassed a cult fan base and each film creates its own pocket of fanatics. Personally, I could see a huge variety of films in the near future being options on TCM Underground. My wish list would be Palindromes (2004), Kids (1995), Gummo (1997), some Gregg Araki, a James Spader pic like Bad Influence (1990) or Jack’s Back (1988), Tales from the Hood (1995), and Belly (1998). A few of us behind the scenes at TCM love campy erotic thrillers, which is also another favorite microgenre of mine, so The Crush (1993) or Body of Evidence (1993) would be so wild to see on TCM Underground!

We appreciate both of you for taking the time to chat with Plan9Crunch blog and hope the book is a big success.  On the evening of the book's publication, Oct. 25, 2022, TCM will air several of the films mentioned in the book, including "Secret Ceremony," "Mac and Me," "Emma Mae," and "Hausa."

 

Night of The Blood Beast – Aliens Impregnate Space Traveler

Review by Steve D. Stones

With titles like Hot Car Girl (1958), Attack of The Giant Leeches (1959) (aka The Giant Leeches), Blood and Steel (1959) and this 1958 film – Night of The Blood Beast, how could any cult movies viewer of forgotten low budget gems not want to be a fan of director Bernard L. Kowalski's films? These lurid titles are enough to attract the attention of any obscure movie fan.

A young astronaut, John Corcoran (Michael Emmet), loses control of his space rocket while en route back to earth. He crashes near Walker's Pass in Florida, where the spacecraft was launched. A photographer, Donna Bixby (Georgianna Carter) and technician Dave Randall (Ed Nelson), arrive on the scene from a nearby space agency tracking station to investigate the damages. The two discover a large hole in the side of the spacecraft as if something forced its way out, and Corcoran lying dead inside the spacecraft. Bixby photographs the wreckage for future investigation.

Astronaut Corcoran's body is brought back to the space tracking station in Florida for an autopsy performed by Dr. Alex Wyman (Tyler McVey) and his assistant Dr. Julie Benson (Angela Greene). Although his body appears to be deceased, his blood pressure and heart rate appear to be normal for a living person. A blood sample from his body reveals strange, abnormal cells that show he is infected with something foreign. Dr. Benson and Corcoran were engaged to be married, so Benson is very emotional about his death.

Later that evening, an unseen creature attacks and kills Dr. Wyman by decapitating him and suspending his body in a medical examination room. Astronaut Corcoran comes back to life at the time of Wyman's death, and the group immediately thinks he's responsible for killing Dr. Wyman.

After an x-ray of Corcoran's chest reveals alien embryos impregnated in his body, the strange creature that killed Dr. Wyman bursts into the room again to communicate with the group, but Randall and Steve Dunlap (John Baer) fire shots at the creature, forcing him to flee the room. The entire room becomes engulfed in flames.

The space tracking station has lost all communications with the outside world. Electrical power has also been knocked out. Randall, Dunlap and Bixby leave the station to track the creature and to discover the source of what knocked out their radio communications. While tracking the creature, Bixby is attacked as Randall and Dunlap fire shots over the creature's head. The creature flees once again.

In a third attempt to track the creature, Corcoran pleads with Randall and Dunlap to not meet the creature with violence, but instead attempt to communicate with it. Randall and Dunlap agree to Corcoran's plan, but are still skeptical, so they take along Molotov cocktails to saturate the creature with gasoline and to ignite him with flames. The group tracks the creature to a nearby cave, where it communicates to the group its plans of an alien race coming to earth to dominate. Corcoran kills himself at the cave to prevent the birth of the alien embryos in his chest.

Night of The Blood Beast had an original working title of Creature From Galaxy 27, and was produced by Gene and Roger Corman. Director Kowalski was only 28 years old at the time he directed the film. The film played on a drive-in double bill with another Roger Corman produced film – She Gods of Shark Reef (1958). She Gods is a complete yawn-fest compared to the superior Night of The Blood Beast.

Watching this film, I can't help but think that perhaps director Ridley Scott may have been inspired by at least the story of Night of The Blood Beast when he created Alien (1979). Many sources report that Scott received most of his inspiration from Mario Bava's – Planet of The Vampires (1965) and perhaps Edward L. Cahn's film – It! The Terror Beyond Space (1958).

The Alexander Laszlo music of Night of The Blood Beast was also featured in Kowalski's 1959 film – Attack of The Giant Leeches. Laszlo's score can also be heard in the 1950s TV space adventure – Rocky Jones - Space Ranger and the 1959 drive-in hit - Beast From Haunted Cave.

Most exterior shots were filmed at Bronson Canyon caves at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. This location was also used in many other cult classic films of the 1950s, such as Unknown World (1951), Robot Monster (1953), The Day The World Ended (1955), I Married A Monster From Outer Space (1958) and Teenage Caveman (1958). Speaking of Teenage Caveman, the creature costume used in Night of The Blood Beast will make an appearance in Teenage Caveman.

Night of The Blood Beast would certainly make an excellent double-feature with Kowalski's other lurid sci-fi adventure – Attack of The Giant Leeches. Happy viewing.

The Snow Creature and Man Beast – Two Yeti-inspired movies of the 1950s

Article by Steve D. Stones

In my hometown of Ogden, Utah - the Union Station train depot located on Historic 25th Street and Wall Avenue hosts a Yeti Bash event every year during the first Friday of February. At this event, you will find art vendors and small local businesses selling their art and products, interactive art events for children and grown men dressed in Yeti (aka the Abominable Snowman) costumes. A beard contest is also a part of the event in which contestants are awarded cash prizes for the best categories of beard. Beer is also severed with plenty of food vendors outside Union Station to choose from while you enjoy the evening's festivities.

As an art vendor participant of this event every year, I get pumped up for this event by watching two of my favorite low budget Yeti films from the 1950s – The Snow Creature (1954) and Man Beast (1956). I even suggested to the person who invites me to this event every year, Josh Smith, that both these films should be screened somewhere inside Union Station during the event. The two films were not shown this year, but I am hopeful that in future Yeti Bash events to come, the two films can be shown as a fun double-bill for patrons of the event.

As a fan of both films, and after having viewed both films several times, it is hard for me to pick one over the other as my favorite of the two. Although both are of a very low budget and directed by unknown, not-so-famous directors, both films have something to recommend to any fan of obscure, low-budget science-fiction films.

From the stand-point of story and plot, I feel The Snow Creature is the most believable of the two films, but not necessarily the best of the two. The actual Yeti creature in The Snow Creature is not the most believable. He looks like a cross between Chewbacca of Star Wars and a Muppet from Jim Hanson's Muppets TV show. The actor who plays the Yeti creature is covered in hair except for his facial area, which makes for a hilarious looking Yeti. The Yeti creature in Man Beast, played by Rock Madison, is much more convincing.

The Snow Creature

A botanist named Dr. Frank Parrish, played by Paul Langton, travels to the Himalaya Mountains to collect plant samples for the Corey Foundation in the United States. Parish is accompanied by his field photographer Peter Wells and a group of natives who serve as porters for the trip. The entire group is led by a guide named Supra who is very familiar with the terrain.

A few days into the trip, Supra's wife is kidnapped by a Yeti creature. Supra's brother Leva travels to his location in the nearby town to inform him of this. Supra insists that Parish and the photographer Wells deviate from the planned trip and go after the Yeti to rescue his wife. Both Parrish and Wells are not convinced of Supra's claim and both deny the existence of any Yeti creature.

Determined to save his wife, Supra empties the guns in Parrish's tent one night and later forces him and Wells to help him and the rest of the natives find his kidnapped wife. Having no choice but to follow Supra, Parrish and Wells go further up the rugged mountain in pursuit of Supra's wife.

While taking shelter in a cave from the brutal weather outside, Parrish, Wells and the group come across the Yeti creature. Frightened, the Yeti causes a collapse of the cave, killing a female Yeti and her child. Parrish and Wells force Supra and the natives at gunpoint to tie up the Yeti creature and take him down the mountain to Supra's hometown.

Eventually the Yeti creature is flown to Los Angeles, where he escapes from a refrigerated container and ends up in the storm drains of the city, similar to how the giant ants end up at the ending of Them! (1954). Parrish and the Los Angeles police chase after the Yeti in the storm drains after he has committed a series of murders.

Man Beast

Connie Hayward, played by Virginia Maynor, arrives in a Himalayan town with her boyfriend Trevor Hudson. Connie seeks the help and guide of a local native to take her up the mountain to find her brother Jim who left days earlier with a scientific expedition led by Dr. Erickson. Jim has been diagnosed with a condition that demands that he return to the United States for a series of injections to save his life.

Connie and Trevor enlist the help of Steve Cameron as their guide up the Himalaya mountains to find Jim. Cameron informs them that another guide named Varga is the only guide who takes groups up the mountain, but with every expedition Varga participates in, at least one person is killed during the trip.

Ms. Hayward, Hudson and Cameron catch up to Dr. Erickson after a few days of aggressive climbing. Erickson informs them that Jim Hayward turned up lost one evening, and no one has seen him since. This makes Ms. Hayward even more determined to find her brother Jim.

The entire group eventually meets up with Varga, and Connie and Trevor become suspicious and mistrusting of him. Their suspicions prove to be correct when Varga kills Dr. Erickson after he reveals to him that he is part Yeti. Varga's goal as a guide is to kidnap women for breeding purposes for the Yeti creatures.

A large part of what makes Man Beast so unbelievable is that all the scenes of the actors climbing up the mountain for several days show them carrying small packs on their backs and nothing else. Every time they stop to make camp somewhere, large cabin sized tents seem to magically appear. Any camper and climber will tell you that when you climb up a mountain for several days, you better carry large packs full of food for several days and adequate shelter and cooking supplies.

The Snow Creature does not suffer from this same problem. The actors carry large packs full of supplies in every scene shown in the film as they journey up the mountain. Although the Yeti creature in The Snow Creature may not be as believable as the Yeti in Man Beast, the plot is much more believable, at least the first forty minutes of the film. 

Once the Yeti creature is captured and brought to Los Angeles in The Snow Creature, the viewer must suspend all matters of disbelief. How a creature from the climate of the Himalaya mountains can survive the warm climate of Los Angeles is something the viewer cannot help but ask as the last 30 minutes of the film unfolds. His desire to hide out in the cooler temperatures of the Los Angeles storm drains does not seem believable enough.

As flawed as both films are, The Snow Creature and Man Beast make for an interesting and entertaining double-feature on a cold winter's night. Happy viewing!

I Cannot, Yet I Must - A Book About Robot Monster

Review by Steve D. Stones

Unlike so many of the films we review here at Plan 9 Crunch, Robot Monster is a film that immediately appealed to me. Its strong elements of surrealism, the monster's bizarre costume with a diving helmet, strange dinosaur stock footage and a story told from the point of view of a child in his dream, makes it an interesting film. Robot Monster is the film that director Phil Tucker will always be best remembered for. (Above art is by Steve D. Stones).

Author Anders Runestad's book - I Cannot, Yet I Must: The True Story of The Best Bad Monster Movie of All Time (published by Radiosonde Books - 2016) does not leave a stone unturned when it comes to all things Robot Monster. Everything you ever wanted to know about director Phil Tucker, writer Wyott Ordung and producer Al Zimbalist is covered in this book. Details about the life and careers of the main actors of Robot Monster is also covered.

The book discusses the stories surrounding Tucker's suicide attempt shortly after the premiere of Robot Monster in 1953. A letter written by Tucker at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel before his attempt is published in the book. Many believe his suicide attempt was a publicity stunt to keep his name in the headlines after the poor reception of Robot Monster. Tucker's son, Phil Jr., mentions that his father was too upbeat and full of  life to have tried to commit suicide. He believes his father enjoyed life too much to have wanted to commit suicide.

One particularly interesting section of the book contrasts the script of Robot Monster with what was actually filmed and put on the screen. For example, the script indicates that when Alice, played by actress Claudia Barrett, confronts Ro-Man in an attempt to save her family, she is supposed to be "as undressed as the law will allow," and tells him that she can only really love him if she can be allowed to know everything about him. Obviously this is one of many script details that is not in the finished film. Many other script omissions are also mentioned.

Tucker also had a relationship with beatnik comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce.  The two were involved in a film together in 1956 called Dance Hall Racket about a dance club being used as a front for diamond smugglers.

Tucker is said to have also been involved in Ed Wood's cult masterpiece - Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959). Tucker often gets compared to Wood by critics, but the distinct difference of the two men is that Tucker acknowledged that he was making bad films, and Wood felt that his films were great. Timothy Farrell, an actor employed by both Wood and Tucker, once told Wood biographer Rudolph Grey that Wood and Tucker both knew each other, but said they did not like each other.



It's unfortunate that Tucker's Wikipedia page does not list two of his lost films - Pachuco (1957) and Space Jockey (1953). Both films are discussed in great detail in the Anders book. Fans have long waited to see both films, particularly Space Jockey. Tucker claims it is his worst film, even in comparision to Robot Monster. Both films were made the same year.

Tucker eventually got fed up with the tough Hollywood system and stopped directing altogether. He spent the later part of his life as a film editor for films and TV shows because it provided steady income. He was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant at the time he directed Robot Monster.

Anders mentions that the Al Zimbalist-produced film - Cat Women of The Moon, also from 1953, is the perfect companion film to Robot Monster. He contrasts some of the similarities of the two films. Both films employed the music of Elmer Bernstein, a respected composer in Hollywood in the 1950s.

Rhino Video released a 3-D VHS print of both Robot Monster and Cat Women of The Moon with 3-D glasses in the mid-1990s. The 3-D treatment does not work, even with the glasses on, but nevertheless, these two videos are a treasure to have for Phil Tucker-Al Zimbalist fans. Happy reading. And watch the film in its entirety here.