Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)

Sorry, this movie sucks

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Some science fiction films are so bad that they're good; this one is so boring that is just plain bad. Infecting human corpses and other living men into doing their nefarious deeds by brutally murdering those responsible for the breakup of a crime ring years before. The murders may be gruesome, but the explanatory scenes in between are sleep inducing. Made at the height of the atom film craze, this lacks serious suspense and continues to rely on annoying clichés that go back 20 years.Hideously bad acting by the bad guys giving orders to the walking dead, this adds more idiotic clichés by giving leading man Richard Denning a typically boring domestic situation. The only scene I found amusing was when Denning's boss, turned into a monster by the evil scientists, destroys Denning's cloying little girl's dolly, giving me laughs for all the wrong reasons. While the swarm of approaching zombie like atom men march together, they remind me of an army of For Johnson's, but without the unintentional laughs and camp value of "Plan Nine From Outer Space". If the first 69 minutes of this turkey didn't make me gag, the final scene sure did.

A gangster uses a German atomic scientist to turn cadavers into man-killing zombies in order to wreak revenge on those who deported him.Actually, the 60-minutes is better than the title suggests, not much, but some. I don't know who Clover Productions is, but they managed a bigger budget than usual for a drive-in special like this. Note the well-stocked crowd scenes, the detailed atomic lab, and the effective use of location shots. Sure, it's a cheesy plot, dispatching atom-brained zombies to carry out revenge killings. Plus, the zombies really look like they're having a bad skin day, and totter forth like it's exam day at school. And catch the shuddery crack of that back-breaking episode. It's scarier than anything else. Then too, getting Denning for the lead lends a touch of class to the proceedings. But who is that nightmare hulk who dispatches the first victim. No need for gruesome make-up on him. Plus I'm still wondering why the cops hang around to get killed when it's obvious their bullets have no effect. Oh well, Hollywood does work in mysterious ways.Anyway, the producers got pretty good bang for their few bucks, even if the results fall just a teensy bit short of Oscar bait.

A "police scientist" (Richard Denning, always smoking pipe and exuberant/aware in how his talents are depended upon by the police and press) determines that a series of odd killings (tied to a vendetta-fueled mobster who afforded a Nazi scientist a laboratory and technology used to further his research and allow for revenge) are committed by dead gangsters with radioactive "blood" and fingerprints (that illuminate in dark!) and atomic power that allows them to snap backs and necks of targeted victims! The mobster named Buchanan likes to use a microphone to "speak through" the dead gangster zombie killers to those he is about to have killed as to remind them of who is responsible prior to their deaths! This silly sci-fi hokum from Sam Katzman Productions has the look and score of a Universal Horror film without the studio's finesse and pizazz. The plot is bonkers but that has always been part of the B-movie charm that comes with these kinds of films. Dead gangsters (and later cops) with "robotic" brains that can be controlled from a source, atomic energy used to give them great power that also includes being impervious to bullets or harm unless the machines and men behind them are put to rest; this all is preposterous yet entertaining nonsense. There's just always been an appeal to me with these dorky sci-fi movies. Denning has enthusiasm to spare and the zombie-formula helps make this far more fun than it has any right to be. Always handling the material with a serious approach, the actors involved holding a straight face when the plot is as far-fetched and loony as Creature with the Atom Brain, the entertainment value only increases. There's this imminent threat to the atom men that the film milks repeatedly, even at one point having a montage of disasters caused by them thanks to Buchanan who uses his zombies to cause chaos because the police and military are on the lookout, using radium-detecting devices to pinpoint high radioactive areas that send off warning signals. Of course, Buchanan and his German scientist consider Denning a threat because of his "imagination" and intellect, soon killing (and using as a zombie killer/locater) his cop buddy (a later possible threat to his child and wife is established)…Uncle Dave, because of his inside knowledge of the last two men Buchanan wants dead for snitching on him, implicating him, and thus responsible for his deportation to Europe (where Buchanan soon encountered the German scientist), could be important in putting a stop to Denning's hero. Seeing the zombies in gangster suits, their skulls with surgical marks indicating head surgery, attacking cops and soldiers is such an odd sight but should provide plentiful kicks and giggles. Obviously, Denning saves the day, following the lead to his zombie cop buddy, entering Buchanan's lair, and taking a wrench to the machinery behind all the death and violence. Lots of exploding consoles, broken windows, and fisticuffs result. Surprisingly violent for its time, we see bullets riddle the zombie gangster bodies, and there are shadow silhouettes and carefully photographed attacks of victims Buchanan wanted crushed for their betrayal of him. You know if you are the type of audience this is made for, and I am of that number. Complete with Denning, a dutiful wife in apron always preparing him a martini and wanting to spend just a little time with her busy husband, and the cutie daughter doting on her dolly. Fun fact: Curt Siodmak (who lent writing to such diverse screenplays as "Donovan's Brain", "Black Friday", "The Wolf Man", "Beast with Five Fingers", and "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers") was the writer for this film's screenplay.

"Creature with the Atom Brain" is fun for what it is, a quick and amusing B picture with a cool premise courtesy of Curt Siodmak. It's agreeably performed, has a good mixture of talk and action, features some decent makeup effects, and it builds to an interesting climax. It hits the ground running and runs just over 69 minutes.The story has a vengeance crazed mobster named Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger) hooking up with a mad German scientist, Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye) who is able to reanimate dead bodies using atomic energy. Granger sends these zombies after his enemies while police lab doctor Chet Walker (Richard Denning) and the cops try to solve the gruesome crimes.Zombies and gangsters prove to be a diverting mix, and director Edward L. Cahn, a prolific director of movies such as this, guides it all with efficiency. The handsome Denning is an engaging hero, while fine supporting performances are supplied by Granger, Gaye, S. John Launer as Chets' colleague "Uncle" Dave Harris, and Angela Stevens and Linda Bennett as his family. It's enjoyable trivia that this was one of the first movies to use squibs to indicate gunshot wounds, and the aforementioned finale with the cops taking on the zombies is a hoot. In fact, the movie does have a not-entirely-serious tone to it that makes it quite irresistible, especially the part where pipe smoker Chet is encouraged to try the "special blend" that another character offers!All in all, this is a charming diversion from the golden age of science fiction and it's over before you know it.Seven out of 10.