The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)

.Universal, justly famous for its monster movies of the 1930s like the original DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, rose to prominence again in the 1950s with its science-fiction movies that often had a monstrous tinge. In THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION, it has given us a wonderful collection of five of their best from that decade. No bells, no whistles, but flawless print quality. In roughly descending order of quality (and allowing for differences in opinion), they are as follows:THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957). Genres come and go, but people will be watching this years into the future for its depiction of man in extremis. Grant Williams stars (and holds down the last half of the picture by himself) as a man exposed to a radioactive mist who begins shrinking beyond the ability of modern medicine to control. First he becomes a kind of freak, then shrinks so far his wife and brother cannot locate him. The special effects, that put Williams in his basement but smaller than a matchbox or a house spider, are wonderful. Instead of growing more horrific, the film ends on a note of transcendent grace. It must be seen to be believed.TARANTULA (1955). An excellent film among "creature features." A giant tarantula escapes the laboratory of an increasingly mad scientist (Leo G. Carroll), grows larger, and stalks and terrorizes a small town who are at wit's end to deal with its predations. Special effects are excellent and impressive even today, as is the supporting cast, which includes John Agar, Mara Corday and Hank Patterson. Look fast for a young Clint Eastwood as a jet fighter pilot.THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957). Really on the same level of quality as the above TARANTULA, this one deals with a "monster" in the form of minerals that fell to earth in a meteorite and grow when wet, threatening a small desert town. The human interactions are believable, and the “invading” crystals, for all their other-wordliness, are very well portrayed. The cast includes Grant Williams, Lola Albright and Les Tremayne.THE MOLE PEOPLE (1956). An extremely improbable scenario, yet still an absorbing movie. John Agar and Hugh Beaumont head up a cast of archaeologists who stumble across a hidden, and literally underground, remnant of ancient Sumerian civilization. With Cynthia Patrick as the outcast girl who is treated little better than a slave in that weird society. The acting, particularly by the Sumerians, cannot help but be a little stagey but the sets are well done and the plot, for all its improbability, holds together.MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS (1958). Arthur Franz heads up a solid cast as the college scientist who is bitten by an imported coelacanth with mysterious powers. Joanna Moore plays his terrified girlfriend. Essentially a high-tech variation on the Jekyll-and-Hyde myth, this is the closest to the campy fright-night special that so many people consider typical of Fifties movies. Troy Donahue has a small role as one of the rare undergraduates on this only-in-the-movies college campus. An enjoyable "bad movie."At this price -- and again, considering that print quality is pristine -- this collection is a very compelling buy..

This set is a B-movie marathon, so many cliche's in each feature, but at the time of these films, this was cutting edge. They didn't wow the audience on the scale of, say, the original "War Of The Worlds," but they were films which pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be normal.Disc One: "Tarantula," (1955) was directed by Jack Arnold, starring Leo G. Carrol. A story of a scientist who is looking down the road, at the future of the human race; the population is growing, and within fifty years there could very well be too many people to feed. Make your crops bigger, and you can feed more people. But as well, testing is being done on various animals, to see how different ones react to this agent - this way the farmers know what to do with their animals when this becomes commonplace. One of the creatures being tested is a tarantula...why you would want to supersize a spider is beyond me, but this is the case. During a fight which ensues (a byline in the story), the spider escapes, and since different creatures react differently, this little beast is the size of a dog when it escapes. In no time, it's bigger than a house, and everything is tried to kill, or at least, stop it."The Mole People," (1955) directed by Virgil Vogel, is one of the absolute CHEESIEST films of all time; a race of people who live underground, and have, as their slaves, creatures which resemble humans, but have no human features to their faces. They have large clawed hands and hump-backs. They clearly look like costumes, and the people who enslave them look like Star Wars - Dungeons And Dragons rejects. Bad acting and a confusing ending make it a low-budget treat.Disc Two: "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1956) also directed by Jack Arnold. A somewhat tall, strapping man, due to accidentally inhaling a strange substance, combined with his own body chemistry, causes him to gradually shrink. Soon, he is living in a doll house his wife had to buy so he could sleep safely, as the cat is now seeing him as prey. Even though it's slightly comical, it is a very good script, exceptionally well-written, and very philosophical in nature. When the leading man is believed to be dead by his wife (she thinks the cat killed him), he is actually trapped in the basement, the size of an insect, reduced to trying to take the bait from a mouse trap to avoid starving to death. After winning a death battle with a spider, he shrinks to microscopic, and eventually atomic size, and we wonder just what happens to him after. But the narration talks of all this in the past tense, so just what happens to him?"The Monolith Monsters," (1956) directed by John Sherwood, is probably the most credible of these stories. A strange stone-like substance drops from the sky, and very quickly grows when exposed to water. These stones grow into giant pillars and tumble to the ground, shattering and the pieces grow into new ones. As they grow, they fall over and crush and destroy everything around them. So the town's officials have to band together and figure how to stop this before it destroys their home town."Monster On Campus" (1957) is another Jack Arnold film, the least original of the five featured films, simply a variation on the Jekyll/Hyde story. Nobody knows the main character's alter ego, they just want to know who has been attacking everyone in town. Eventually his secret is discovered at the film's conclusion.I have appeared to give the stories away, but in films this cheesy, knowing the outcomes still doesn't spoil them. They are for the B-movie afficinados who enjoy cheap monster movies. But, as a real plus, all of these films, without exception, are beautifully restored to pristine quality. The original Godzilla film ("Gojira" 1954), as an example, looks like it was filmed during a blizzard, with all the white blotches all over the place. The films in this set are completely devoid of this flaw. They are of the highest quality, with nice, clear sound as well.This is a fairly inexpensive movie marathon for those nights when there isn't much to do. Get some junk food and sit back.

This is a good DVD. Not every movie is great, but it is nice collection of 1950s B movies. A lot of fun.

I got this DVD primarily for the classic film “the incredible shrinking man. “This movie is faithful to the book and can be interpreted on many levels. As the main character begins to shrink, it could be argued that his world is enlarging. In someways he has to die to himself to achieve the metaphysical ending. In doing this he has to battle his own demons and attachments, ego. It can also be enjoyed just as a classic science-fiction film that is very well done.“Tarantula“ is another classic science-fiction film and is very well done. “The monolith monsters“ is perhaps the most original plot and it’s some thing of a cult classic.“The mole people” is quite good, with something of a nod towards the story of journey to the center of the earth. The last film, “monster on the campus“ was surprisingly good. Never heard of it and with a title like that I had low expectations. However it was much better than expected. Watch for a young Troy Donahue in an early role.This collection is a must for classic science fiction fans, but recommended to anyone who enjoys movies from this period ., Especially at the price offered.