Creature With the Atom Brain (1955)

I was going to return to the political dray again today, but I'm just too tired.  I find the continued posturing of the so called 'Corbynistas' on Twitter dispiriting: despite Labour having suffered a disastrous election defeat, they still won't accept that, in large part, it was down to Corbyn's poor leadership.  Oh no, it was the fault of those nasty 'centrists', (who haven't been in charge of the party for four years), or those 'hard remainers' whose demands for a new referendum alienated those Labour leave voters, (Labour actually lost more remain voters than leave voters), or it was all the fault of the hostile press, (when aren't they hostile to the prospect of Labour governments?).  I try to comfort myself with the thought that these poisonous pillocks don't represent the majority of Labour voters and members with their blinkered devotion to a failed and discredited political strategy.

So, rather than talk about politics again, I thought that I'd keep up this week's schlock movie theme with a 'Random Movie Trailer'.  This time it is for Sam Katzman's 1955 B-movie Creature With the Atom Brain. Basically a forties zombie movie 'updated' to the Atomic Age, it features a gangster seeking revenge on his enemies via corpses reanimated with nuclear power by an ex Nazi scientist.  Rather than voodoo, the dead are brought back to life using atom-powered brain implants, which not only allows them to be remote controlled, but also makes them indestructible. Unfortunately, they also leak radiation, making it possible for the authorities to track them with Geiger counters.  Apparently, it's based on scientific fact.  Which scientific facts, I'm not sure.

Katzman was a prolific producer of B-movies and serials, usually for Columbia, throughout the forties and fifties.  All were cheapskate productions with costs pared to the bone, which usually ensured that their profit margins were maximised.  Most, like Creature, rarely ran much over seventy minutes, so didn't outstay their welcome.  The short running lengths also ensured that they moved along briskly, never wasting too much time on characterisation or exposition.  Perhaps Katzman's best known film is seminal rock and roll musical Rock Around the Clock, featuring Bill Haley and the Comets.  Creature was directed by Katzman regular Edward L Cahn,, a veteran of the B-movie scene, who later plied his trade with fellow low budget schlock purveyors AIP.