​1950s sci-fi and Cold War fears

Last month two new Blu-ray releases featured low-budget sci-fi movies about monsters we cannot see (thus helping keep the budgets low). Neither is a “classic” but both are able to hold attention with their earnest acting that belies their budgets and rapid shooting schedules, as well as their expression of 1950s paranoias, safely and metaphorically dramatized within fictional fantasy. Both incorporate the familiar clash between scientists seeking new knowledge and military experts seeking immediate results. At only 76 and 67 minutes, respectively, they also play well together as a double feature.

“The Magnetic Monster” (1953) was the first of three “Office of Scientific Investigation” films (“Gog,” which I reviewed some time ago, was the third) inspired by actual research that producer Ivan Tors hoped would foster serious interest in science rather than exploit simplistic scientific excuses for run-of-the-mill giant monsters, mutations, or alien invaders.

There’s not even a romance, usually an obligatory feature of any studio film, although the main scientist (Richard Carlson) does have a perky and sympathetic wife (Jean Byron) we see briefly in three scenes.

The “monster” is a dangerous radioactive element inadvertently created by a scientist experimenting on his own rather than as part of a team. It quickly goes beyond his control. The element exerts an intense magnetic field until it can absorb energy from its surroundings, which then causes it to grow in size exponentially until it repeats the process some time later, almost like a living creature.

With the help of a 1950s-era supercomputer bearing the cleverly and amusingly contrived acronym MANIAC, the scientists calculate that the element will soon acquire enough mass to throw off the balance of the planet so it wobbles out of orbit into space. Their job is to overload the element with enough energy to destroy it.

Even though the science behind “The Magnetic Monster” is a bit vague, the cast is able to maintain an intense sincerity that pulls it all off, despite a more melodramatic flair during the last 20 minutes. The scientific banter throughout the film lets characters interact and moves the plot forward with little of the pace-dragging tedium that mars “Gog.”

Picture quality is excellent on all the footage shot specifically for the film, and very good on the stock footage and the substantial segment lifted from the 1934 German production “Gold,” which supplies views of a massive expressionistic set well beyond the budget of this film but well-integrated into newly-created shots of the cast in similar-looking surroundings.

Sound quality is fine. The main bonus is an audio commentary by Derek Botello, who provides a fair amount of historical information but is at his best when he’s reading passages from contemporary reviews or the memoirs of Curt Siodmak. His own personal observations and interpretations seem to indicate a lack of familiarity with the period beyond what he’s read by other critics with political agendas, or inferred from growing up a generation later.

There is also a trailer (in SD), and trailers to three other vintage sci-fi films available on Blu-ray from Kino: “Donovan’s Brain,” “Invisible Invaders,” and “Journey to the Seventh Planet” (all in standard definition).

THE MAGNETIC MONSTER on Blu-ray -- Movie: B / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: B-

“Invisible Invaders” (1959) is ultra low-budget sci-fi horror that stretches audience credulity to the limit more often than many low-budget genre films. Aliens who have developed the ability to be invisible to the human eye have been living on the moon and now plan to invade the earth.

They can make themselves visible by inhabiting the bodies of newly-dead humans, so when a research scientist (John Carradine) is killed in an experimental explosion, they use his body to announce to fellow scientist (Philip Tonge) that the earth must surrender to them within 24 hours or they will destroy humanity.

Of course when he tries to explain this to authorities, everyone thinks he’s crazy until dead bodies start coming to life and attacking people, and disasters occur all over the world (shown via a wide variety of newsreel stock footage in good to mediocre condition).

Eventually he, his daughter (Jean Byron), another scientist (Robert Hutton), and a pragmatic army major (John Agar) lock themselves in an underground bunker to develop a way to attack the aliens.

More than a few lapses of logic, mindless zombies, and questionable character actions provide a level of camp entertainment for adult viewers in a film clearly aimed at children and teen monster-movie fans.

To the film’s credit, all the actors play their parts with a determined seriousness that keeps it from becoming a self-conscious spoof of the genre. The acting is what holds the film together, giving a creepy sense of believability to the patently ridiculous situations, and allowing more sophisticated viewers to ruminate on subtext that is symptomatic of 1950s sociopolitical attitudes and Cold War fears. Also helping greatly in the film’s entertainment value is the high quality of the image.

Kino’s Blu-ray has a good, sharp HD transfer at 1.66:1, with good sound. Even the many instances of stock footage usually look pretty good. The main bonus feature is an audio commentary by historian Tom Weaver, who presents a lot of information but admits from the outset he does not much like the film.

A seven-minute audio insert into the commentary by Dr. Robert J. Kiss gives some interesting data on the film’s 1959 release and exhibition history, noting how it was almost always shown as the second of a double-feature, quickly shifting from one-week runs to bookings of only a couple of days. He also discusses its unanticipated success in 1962 prime-time TV showings, after low ratings as a late-night movie.

Kino’s disc includes two trailers (both standard-definition), one for “Invisible Invaders” and one for “The Magnetic Monster.”

INVISIBLE INVADERS on Blu-ray -- Movie: B- / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: C+