[7] The title "Bride of the Atom", which Vornoff uses for Janet in the bridal dress, is inexplicable unless the scientist is actually attempting to use Janet to replace his long-lost wife. He also includes Ed Wood's claim that one of his films made a profit and surmises that it was most likely Bride of the Monster, but that Wood had oversold the film and could not reimburse the backers. While Strowski searches the house, Vornoff arrives to greet him. Starring: Tor Johnson, Bela Lugosi. After a fight, Lobo knocks Vornoff out, releases Janet, and transports the unconscious Vornoff to the operating table. The film is considered to have Wood's biggest budget ($70,000). [3], Janet awakens to find herself a prisoner of Vornoff, who uses hypnosis to put her back to sleep. [5], This was Bela Lugosi's last speaking role in a feature film. [4] The required funds were supplied by a rancher named Donald McCoy, who became the film's producer. Contents. Dick speaks in a deadpan unemotional way and seems to be a rather lethargic character. It was changed at executive producer Donald McCoy's insistence to Bride of the Monster for its 1956 release, but the hints of nuclear paranoia still make themselves perfectly clear. The story doesn't make much sense, but were you really expecting it to when you saw Ed Wood's name listed under the title of director? Their role as villains for the American cinema had already been solidified by the 1950s, and Wood could be alluding to both of them. Production commenced in 1953 but, due to further financial problems, was not completed until 1955. The film is considered to have Wood's biggest budget ($70,000). [7] The film otherwise follows the template of the Poverty Row horror films of the 1940s. [15], This film is part of what Wood aficionados refer to as "The Kelton Trilogy", a trio of films featuring Paul Marco as Officer Kelton, a whining, reluctant policeman. [7], The apparent fetish of Lobo with angora wool is a reflection of Wood's own fetish for the material. Rhodes, Gary; Weaver, Tom (2015). A flunky for a porno movie ring starts murdering the smut films' lead actresses. By this point, we're all quite ready to see the annoying Loretta fried to a crisp, but unfortunately, her wimpy boyfriend shows up to save her. [12] The phrases could well apply to the fates of avant-garde artists and thinkers. Craig considers this to be one of Lugosi's finest roles, citing the surprisingly energetic performance of the aging actor. Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein.As with the first film, Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff as the Monster. Actual shooting began in October 1954 at the Ted Allan Studios, but further money problems quickly halted the production. Rated the #214 best film of 1955. The reporter behind the newspaper reports is Janet Lawton, Craig's fiancée. As night falls and another storm begins, Janet drives alone to Lake Marsh, but visibility is poor and she drives off the road and into a ravine. [7] The country of origin for Vornoff and Strowski is left unnamed. Strowski reveals that he has dreams of conquest in the name of their country, while Vornoff dreams of his creations conquering in his own name. "Feature-Length Films – United States and United Kingdom", "Film Threat – Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume Xix (dvd)", The Golden Turkey Awards: Nominees and Winners, the Worst Achievements in Hollywood History, Crossroad Avenger: The Adventures of the Tucson Kid, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bride_of_the_Monster&oldid=995937303, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 December 2020, at 17:49. In response, he was branded a madman and exiled by his country. "The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film". Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Bride of the Monster (1955) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. In The Corpse Vanishes, Lugosi played a doctor who captured the brides and took some kind of liquid from each bride's body and injected it into his wife to make her temporarily young again. Sure, it's cheap, the acting is horrible, the sets wobble if sneezed upon and the special effects consist of stock footage and a rubber octopus, but "Bride of the Monster" is much, MUCH better than "Plan 9 From Outer Space." [7] In the context of the film, the strange weather is implied to be a side-effect of the experiments of Vornoff which apparently release radioactivity into the atmosphere. Anyway, Loretta is kept under constant hypnosis by Bela's eyebags and is slated to become The Bride of the Monster! In 2005, The Devil's Rejects Footage of the movie was played in the movie. There is another thunderstorm, and a lightning strike further destroys Willows House. Yet he successfully operates complex machinery as if trained to do so. [21] To remedy the lack of movement from the octopus prop, whenever someone was killed by the monster in the film, they simply flailed around in the shallow water while holding the tentacles to imitate movement. Inside a gothic mansion, a mad scientist and his beastly assistant conduct experiments on human victims to create a race of atomic superbeings. Into this diabolical plan stumbles loudmouthed newsgirl Loretta King, who is determined to get the story on the Lake Marsh Monster. Until the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963), atmospheric nuclear weapons testing was used widely and recklessly. Contradictory accounts claim that Wood either stole or legally rented the prop from Republic Pictures, which produced the earlier film. Bride of the Monster 1955 Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. Dr. Varnoff captures twelve men for his experiment: to turn them into supermen using atomic energy. The easier explanation would be that authors Michael Medved and Harry Medved saw the film in a theater setting with inferior sound quality, or viewed a damaged print. Both Fuller and Nagel had worked with Wood in Jail Bait (1954). Haunted Hollywood Host David Del Valle Scares Up More Movie Madness, Hero Complex Gallery’s Stunning Blacklight 2 Exhibition is Ready to Take All Your Money, Frankensteins, Draculas, Wolfmen, Mummies, moviemonsters, spooky stuff, Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies, Coolest Sci-Fi Title and Comment from The 1950s. The scenes with captive Janet dressed in a bridal gown while restrained by leather shackles have led some reviewers to commend on their sadomasochistic nature. [6], The film premiered at Hollywood's Paramount theater in May 1955, under the title Bride of the Atom. Frankly compared with Scared to Death and the Devil Bat-- the film truly looks like a masterpiece -- and truth be told it isn't that bad. Given the treatment by the MST3K crew in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bride of the Monster (1993). Rudolph Grey's book Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. contains anecdotes regarding the making of this film. First, any finished movie, as TFH Fearless Leader Joe Dante often preaches, is a bit of a miracle. The former is played by Ben Frommer (known for playing Count Bloodcount in Transylvania 6-5000), the latter is played by William Benedict (known as one of The Bowery Boys). ", "One is always considered mad, when one discovers something which others cannot grasp", and the closing "He tampered in God's domain". One of his reassuring lines to Janet concerning the experiment, "It hurts, just for a moment, but then you will emerge a woman...", sounds as if preparing her for the loss of her virginity. The following day, Craig and his partner drive to the area around Lake Marsh, a swamp. The film is also full of Ed Wood "weirdness" to hold your interest: Where else can you see a police chief playing with a parakeet while discussing a murder case? Rumours abound about what may go on at a creepy mansion just out of town. At the police station, Robbins and Craig have a meeting with an intellectual from Europe, Professor Vladimir Strowski, who agrees to assist the police in investigating the Marsh, but not at night. It’s fast paced and has an entertaining performance by Bela Lugosi. Making his decision, Lobo rebels and attacks Vornoff. Newspaperwoman Lawton gets too snoopy for her own good. Robbins comments that Vornoff "tampered in God's domain". (1955). The other term was to include an atomic explosion in the finale. The Bride of the Swamp Monster follows the episode Farmer Hunter, Farmer Hunted. In 2008, a colorized version was released by Legend Films. [6] Lugosi subsequently played a silent part in The Black Sleep (1956). Bride of the Monster (aka: Gospel of Ed Wood) is a light-hearted look into several "movement clowns" that masquerade under the title Christian Identity with help from the enemy. [7] Rob Craig suggests that the months of constant storms could be inspired by the Genesis flood narrative. It was released in May 1955, initially on a double bill with Macumba. Lugosi went on to appear in "Bride of the Monster" (1955) and "Plan 9" - films that constituted the "highlights" of Wood's bizarre oeuvre. The argument here is not that this is a good movie, but we are talking Ed Wood, which means a whole different criteria for evaluating a film and your enjoyment in viewing same. In 1986, the film was featured in the syndicated series, the Canned Film Festival and was later featured on the comedy series, Mystery Science Theater 3000. [7], Throughout the film, the mute Lobo is implied to have an unspecified intellectual disability and to be of sub-human intelligence. [7][8], The film uses both stock footage of both a real octopus and a fake, rubber octopus in scenes where "the monster" interacts with the actors. BearManor Media. [7] Rob Craig makes an argument for including the film in a subgenre of Cold War-themed thrillers along with Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959), On the Beach (1959), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Seven Days in May (1964) and Fail-Safe (1964). Discover something for everyone this month with some choice picks for the best movies and TV to stream in April. A psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne). [7] According to the credits, Jake was played by John Warren and Mac by Bud Osborne. This lengthy broadcast covers numerous Biblical commandments forbidding bearing false … [8] The police station scenes feature cameos by a drunk and a newspaper seller. Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams, despite his lack of talent. He has decided to use her as the next subject of his experiments. He finds her in a "house of ill-repute.". A daily show in which the Amazing Criswell outlines his predictions for the weeks and months ahead. In Cold War thrillers, foreign nations served as a vilified and demonized Other for American audiences. Reporter Janet Lawton decides to look into what is going there and its possible connection to men that have disappeared in the area. [9] Lock Up Your Daughters (1959) recycled footage from Lugosi's earlier films, possibly mixed with some new material. Kelton is the only character to appear in all three films.[16]. This film served as a sequel of sorts to Bride. 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