Le peuple de l'enfer

I remember seeing 'The Mole People' when it first came out and I haven't seen it since - it's never been shown on TV and has never had a video release over here in England. So my memories of it are those of an 8 year old. It's the only film I've ever seen that gave me nightmares - real, waking up screaming that the molemen are going to get me, nightmares. 'The Exorcist', 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and all the rest had no effect on me whatsoever, but 'The Mole People' remains for me the scariest film ever made.

Charmingly silly and inconsequential monster movie has archaeologists in Asia discovering secluded mountain city run by snarling, villainous humans who have mole people as slaves. Fair B-movie production with good cinematography by Ellis Carter, but a sluggish direction from barely-imaginative Virgil Vogel. Screenplay by Laszlo Gorog may have been intended as an antidote for non-fans of "Lost Horizon": this city looks like the flip-side to Shangri-La! Not a classic by any means, with predictably wooden performances by John Agar and Hugh Beaumont, though not terrible.

** from ****

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's cheesy bw 50's sci fi. But it's GREAT cheesy bw 50's sci fi! The Mole People would be campy if it weren't so earnest. It takes itself so seriously it even begins with a pseudodocumentary prelude explaining the hollow Earth theory.

Part of the fun is seeing future TV faves Hugh Beaumont (Beaver's dad), and Alan Napier (Alfred the butler) teamed with legendary 50's hack actors John Agar and Nestor Paiva.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 gave Mole People the full treatment and it was one of the funniest MST3K episodes ever. For the full effect I'd suggest you view the straight version first and then try to find the MST3K episode.

After opening with what, in spite of its nutty theories, could easily be confused with one of those educational films so many of us slept through in school, THE MOLE PEOPLE begins.

While attempting to discover the origin of an ancient artifact, archaeologists John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and their team of extras (including that crusty boat captain from CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!), venture forth into the subterranean unknown, in search of a comrade lost in a deep crevasse. This, after enduring multiple natural disasters- all in the first fifteen minutes! Our intrepid explorers soon encounter the goggle-eyed creatures of the title, and we're off to their underground la-la land.

Alas, fooled by the title and promotional movie posters, viewers may expect tons of actual monster action, getting mostly dull humans and their endless palaver instead. More a study of class warfare than a creature feature, this film seems like an episode of some lost, 1950's sci-fi TV drama. An enjoyable enough slab of fantastical cheeeze.

P.S.- You'll never look at high-powered flashlights or hats made from tea cozies in quite the same way again! Ever!...

Of all the silly 50's sci-fi flicks why was this one singled out as one of the worst? What about that silly Peter Graves movie that had killer shrews but was actually collies with wigs? This one is silly but I still enjoy a low budget movie like this. It has one of my favorite "B" movie stars like John Agar and I thought Cynthia Patrick was pretty and charming. And the beavers dad Hugh Beaumont gives his usual stiff performance. It also has a non-hollywood ending, so it surprised me in that regard. And why do the mole people wear sweat shirts? Anyhow, I admit its slow moving and very silly. But I can enjoy it on that level!