O Extraordinário

Although made in 1957, THE UNEARTHLY is one of those throwbacks to the kinds of cheap horror pictures cranked out by minor studios in the 1940's that often starred Bela Lugosi, or George Zucco, or as in this film, John Carradine as a mad scientist. This film, with John Carradine as a mad scientist trying to create immortal beings must of seemed old and shopworn to 1957 audiences. The film is talky and plodding. Scenes are dull. The last ten minutes the film picks up speed and we get a chance to see the botched results of Carradines experiments and some fine make up work by Harry Thomas. Its the only thing from preventing me from calling this a total disaster. Oh! I almost forgot, Allison Hayes is sexy.

Unearthly, The (1957)

*** (out of 4)

This 'Z' grade film to me is one of the best examples of something being so bad it's good. A mad doctor (John Carradine), with the help of his assistant Lobo (Tor Johnson) is using people from his psychiatric institute as subjects in hopes that he can find eternal life by putting glands in their heads. This film is about as crazy as any film can get and I mean that in a good way because this is one of the most entertaining bad films ever made. It might even be unfair for me to call this bad because, unlike a lot of these Z movies, this one here goes out of its way to try and be entertaining and come up with a real story. The so-called real story they come up with here is way out of left field but it's still a lot of fun. Carradine and Johnson as the bad guys just adds more enjoyment as the two men eat up each scene as if they haven't eaten anything in years. That wonderful glee in Carradine's eyes really shines and it makes you forget that this guy has been in some of the most loved classics in the history of cinema. The brute Johnson moves slowly and talks badly but this just adds to his charm. Myron Healey and Allison Hayes play the good guys with cult figure Sally Todd playing another one of the patients. Arthur Batanides plays a hot head patient and in interviews he said he was drunk throughout the making of the film and this isn't hard to believe. He makes his character very memorable and he's a joy to watch throughout the thing. The make up effects are all very well done, which again, isn't too normal for this type of film. The ending, clearly influenced by H.G. Wells, is a classic with a closing line that is hilarious.

1957's "The Unearthly" was a six day wonder that echoes "The Black Sleep" from a year earlier, a throwback to previous decades as its scientist is primarily interested in personal glory and not aiding mankind (despite statements to the contrary), only now (in place of Basil Rathbone) John Carradine stars as the mad doctor rather than one of the failed experiments. Dr. Charles Conway offers up a multitude of scenery chewing lines for the actor to delve into, and comes off as perhaps the best such role in his lengthy career, spoofing himself magnificently in Woody Allen's 1972 "Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask," as a crazed sexual researcher whose creation is a giant female breast that attacks with both cream and milk! Like "Sleep" we again have a dungeon full of beasts (the shooting title was "House of Monsters"), with Conway in need of 'volunteers' for his glandular treatment center, in a never ending search for immortality (filming at the former home of actress Mary Pickford, subsequently used in "Terror in the Haunted House" aka "My World Dies Screaming"). Alluring Allison Hayes ("Attack of the 50 Foot Woman") plays the new arrival, followed by escaped killer Myron Healey ("Varan the Unbelievable"), who gradually learn what exactly is going on with their host and his love starved nurse (Marilyn Buferd, Miss America of 1946). The small but capable cast includes Tor Johnson, also retained from "The Black Sleep," given the same name (Lobo) that he had as Lugosi's mute assistant in Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster" (he at least has dialogue here, such as it is). By the late 50s, a period after he turned down the lead in "The She-Creature" for artistic reasons, Carradine virtually attacked each role with relish, providing a sharp contrast with underplayed performances in "Revenge of the Zombies" or "The Face of Marble," going all out for this low budget Republic success, effortlessly carrying the picture with a larger than life rendition that makes the clichés part of the fun. In sharing this he proved himself to be the equal of Vincent Price in winking to the audience, and flourished in the genre for another 30 years.

John Carradine's character, Dr. Conway, has a big problem in "The Unearthly." His experiments on a newly discovered synthetic gland keep going wrong, and as a result, all his human guinea pigs have been transformed into mutant critters that are now overcrowding his basement. We get to see this mutant collection at the end of the film, and it is both the funniest and most horrifying section of this surprisingly well-done little B picture. I say "surprising" only because most film books downplay this movie as hopeless shlock, but I found it to be fairly entertaining. Not too many unintentional laffs, and with fairly good acting, too, especially from Carradine and cult fave Allison "The 50 Foot Woman" Hayes. Tor Johnson, everyone's favorite lumbering mound of monstrous blubber, is also on hand, as Carradine's imbecilic helper, and his is always a welcome presence. Surprisingly, his character's name is Lobo...the same name he sported in Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster"!!! This may very well be Tor's finest film...but when your other credits include "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "The Beast of Yucca Flats," two of the worst ever, I suppose that's not saying too much. Compared to the other John Carradine "mad scientist" film that I saw recently, "The Astro-Zombies," "The Unearthly" is a little gem of script, acting and direction. Again, I suppose that's not saying too much. But the bottom line is, I really did have fun with this one. Give it a try!

Mad doctor uses patients at his isolated psychiatric institute as subjects in his attempts to create longevity by surgically installing an artificial gland in their skulls, with disastrous results.

This film has a suspiciously low rating on IMDb, which I suspect can only be caused by one of two things (or both): its being shown on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" or its being associated with Ed Wood. Since the latter is not likely to impact it, I suspect it is the former.

And that is just too bad. Despite the lampooning, this is a decent film with good effects (the gland), a better than average plot and decent acting. We have John Carradine, a legendary actor and Carradine family patriarch. And he is surrounded by actresses who had been Miss America, a Playboy Playmate (around the same time the film came out) and more...

The script? From a man who went on to write some of the best episodes of "Star Trek". Certainly this cannot be as bad as it is made out to be. Another examination may be in order.