MATCHLESS (1967) 104mins. Italy.
Credits: Dir: Alberto Lattuada.
Cast: Patrick O'Neal, Ira Furstenberg, Donald Pleasence, Henry Silva.
A dashing journalist is pursued for his knowledge of a chemical formula and his magic ring that makes him invisible.
A poor James Bond copy.

MATKA JOANNA OD ANIOLOW (1960/KADR.) 108mins. BW. Poland.
Aka: THE DEVIL AND THE NUN.
Credits: Dir: Jerzy Kawalerowicz; Sc: Tadeusz Konwichi & Jerzy Kawalerowicz; Ph: Jerzy Wojcik; Mus: Adam Walacinski. From the novel by Jaroslav Iwaszkiewicz.
Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska.
In a 17th. century convent, nuns are being possessed by demons. A priest who tries to help the nuns is burnt at the stake, while another priest who tries to interfere becomes possessed himself.
The title translates as "Mother Joan of the Angels".

THE MAZE (1954/Allied Artists) 80mins. BW. 3-D.
Credits: Dir: William Cameron Menzies; Prod: Richard Heermance & William Cameron Menzies; Ex.Prod: Walter Mirish; Sc: Dan Ullman; Ph: Harry Neumann; Ed: John Fuller; Des: William Cameron Menzies; Mus: Marlin Skiles. From a story by Maurice Sandoz.
Cast: Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, Katherine Emery, Michael Pate, Hillary Brooke, John Dodsworth, Stanley Fraser, Lillian Bond, Owen McGiveney, Robin Hughs.
An American, (Carlson), arrives in Scotland to claim his family inheritance, but discovers that his great grandfather is still alive even though he would be two hundred years old. What is more, the ancient relative is actually a a giant frog that other heirs take to the centre of a huge maze for nightly swims. The American approaches his amphibious relative, but he frightens the frog who leaps to it's death from the castle window.
This wonderfully ridiculous film achieves some atmospheric moments and some good 3-D effects.

Top

MEET MR. LUCIFER (1953) 83mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Anthony Pelissier.
Cast: Stanley Holloway, Peggy Cummins, Jack Watling, Barbara Murray, Joseph Tomelty, Kay Kendall, Gordon Jackson, Charles Victor, Humphrey Lestocq, Jean Cadell, Ernest Thesiger, Joan Sims, Ian Carmichael.
A stage actor, (Holloway), is asked by the Devil to make people aware of the detrimental effects of television.
An engaging Ealing satire.

À MEIA-NOITE LEVAREI SUA ALMA (1964/Indústria Cinematográfica Apolo) 92mins. BW. Brazil. AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL (US).
Credits: Dir: José Mojica Marins; Prod: Arildo Iruam, Geraldo Martins Simões, Ilídio Martins Simões; Sc: Waldomiro França, José Mojica Marins & Magda Mei; Ph: Giorgio Attili; Ed: Luiz Elias; Art: José Vedovato; Sfx: Produções Cinematográficas Indrikis Kruskops; Mu: Gilberto Marques; Mus: Salatiel Coelho & Hermínio Gimenez. From a story by Rubens Francisco Luchetti.
Cast: José Mojica Marins, Magda Mei, Nivaldo Lima, Valéria Vasquez, Ilídio Martins Simões (Ilídio Martins), Eucaris Moraes, Robinson Aielo, Almir Barbosa, Suzy Barros, Geraldo Bueno, Cardoso Claudiana, Genésio de Carvalho, Laura Duarte, Waldomiro França, Iko Galdine, Luiz Gonçalves Graveto, Jonny Grégio, Arildo Iruam, Mario Lima, Laurindo Luarelli (voice of Zé do Caixão), Raul Malentaqui, Antônio Marins, Carmen Marins, Renato Melo, Avelino Morais, Cícero Paulino, Vânia Rangel, Tomás Sebastião, Eurípides Silva, Leandro Vieira, José Vilar.
Zé do Caixão, (Marins), the feared gravedigger of a small Brasilian town, prowls the city in search of a female to bear him a son.
A surreal and extremely visual movie that alludes to the styles found in the Universal horrors of the '30's.
The gravedigger is known on English releases as Coffin Joe.
Sequel: Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver (1967)

MELENKA, NIECE OF THE VAMPIRE (1968) see Malenka, la Vampira

MEN OF ACTION MEET WOMEN OF DRAKULA (1969/Villanueva) Philipinnes.
Credits: Dir: Artemio Marquez.
Cast: Dante Varona, Eddie Torrente, Rubin Obligacion, Norman Henson, Ernesto Beren, Angelito Marquez.
A troupe of acrobats combat Dracula and his vampire women who are dressed in tights and capes.

LE MERAVIGLIE DI ALADINO (1961/Lux) 93mins. Italy.
Aka: THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN.
Credits: Dir: Henry Levin; 2^nd.Unit Dir: Mario Bava; Prod: Joseph E. Levine; Sc: Luther Davis; Ph: Tonino Delli Colli; Ed: Gene Ruggiero; Art: Flavio Mogherini; Mus: Angelo Lavagnino.
Cast: Donald O’Connor, Noelle Adam, Vittorio de Sica, Aldo Fabrizi, Michele Mercier, Milton Reid.
Aladdin rubs a magic lamp and summons a genie, (de Sica), that grants him three wishes.

METEMPSYCOSE (1963) see Tomb of Torture

METEOR MONSTER (1957) see Teenage Monster

MGA MANUGANG NI DRAKULA (1964) Philipinnes.
The title translates as "The Secrets of Dracula".

Top

THE MIGHTY GORGA (1969)
Credits: Dir: David L. Hewitt; Prod: Robert O'Neill & David L. Hewitt; Sc: Joan Hewitt & David Prentiss.
Cast: Anthony Eisley, Scott Brady, Lee Parish, Kent Taylor, Megan Timothy.
On an uncharted plateau in Africa, a group of treasure hunters encounter a fifty ton gorilla named Gorga, dinosaurs and giant reptiles.
An unimaginative and pointless retread of King Kong and The Lost World.

MILL OF THE STONE MAIDENS (1960) see Il Mulino delle Donne de Pietra

MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN (1960) see Il Mulino delle Donne de Pietra

THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU (1967) 95mins.
Aka: SUMURA.
Credits: Dir: Lindsay Shonteff; Sc: Kevin Kavanagh. From stories by Sax Rohmer.
Cast: Frankie Avalon, George Nader, Shirlie Eaton, Wilfred Hyde White, Klaus Kinski.
Sumuru leads a group of villainous women who possess ray guns that can turn men into stone in a plot to dominate the world.
Unimaginative nonsense that surprisingly spawned a sequel titled RIO '80 that was released to television as FUTURE WOMEN.

THE MIND BENDERS (1963/Novus/Anglo Amalgamated) 113mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Basil Dearden; Prod: Michael Relph; Sc: James Kennaway; Ph: Denys Coop; Ed: John D. Guthridge; Des: James Morahan; Mus: Georges Auric.
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, John Clements, Mary Ure, Michael Bryant, Wendy Craig, Edward Fox.
A secret agent, (Clements), investigates the suicide of an elderly scientist who he thinks was a traitor and meets his assistant, (Bogarde), who demonstrates the deprivation experiments they were involved in on himself. After being immersed in water and deprived of all sensation for a time, the assistant becomes a sadist. His colleagues cannot find a way to reverse the process.
A well crafted film that demonstrates the dangers of tampering with the human psyche.

THE MINOTAUR (1960) see Teseo Contro il Minotauro

MINOTAUR, THE WILD BEAST OF CRETE (1960) see Teseo Contro il Minotauro

MINYA (1969) see Oru Kaiju Daishingeki

IL MIO AMICO JEKYLL (1963/MG) Italy.
Aka: MY FRIEND, DOCTOR JEKYLL.
Credits: Dir: Mariano Girolani; Sc: Marino Girolani, Scarnicci & Tarabusi.
Cast: Ugo Toguazzi, Raimondo Vianello, Carlo Croccolo, Abbe Lane, Helene Chanel.
A professor has discovered a way to switch his mind with other people's and opts to possess the mind of a handsome man to initiate a little love-making at a girls school. Unfortunately, his mind ends up in a chimp and he is unable to switch back to his own body.
An unamusing comedy.

THE MIRACLE (1959)
Credits: Dir: Irving Rapper.
Cast: Carroll Baker, Roger Moore, Vittorio Gassman, Katrina Paxinou, Dennis King.
About to take her vows, a nun has second thoughts and runs away with her Dragoon lover, (Moore), but a statue of the Virgin Mary comes to life and takes her place in the convent. Meanwhile all the nun's lovers meet with gory deaths.
Although trying to maintain piety while commenting on religious morals, the film provokes unintentional laughter.

MISS MUERTE (1965) see The Diabolical Doctor Z

Top

MISSILE TO THE MOON (1959/Astor) 78mins. BW.
Credits: Dir: Richard E. Cunha; Prod: Marc Frederic & George Foley; Sc: H. E. Barre & Vincent Fotre; Sfx: Ira Anderson & Harold Banks. Based on the film Cat Women on the Moon.
Cast: Richard Travis, Gary Clarke, Laurie Mitchell, Cathy Downs, K.T. Stevens, Tommy Cook, Michael Whalen.
When the government cancels a space project scientist Dirk Green, (Whalen), secretly trains two escaped convicts that have been hiding in a rocketship to be astronauts and with his assistant Steve Dayton, (Travis), and Steve's fiancee June they blast off for the moon. The scientist is killed by a loose piece of equipment, but the remainder of the crew land safely on the moon and stay in the shadows to avoid being burnt by the sun while trying to keep away from the lunar monsters and a giant spider. They enter a cave and are captured by a race of moon women who plan to kill the interlopers, but some of them fall in love with the astronauts who eventually learn that Dirk Green was a moon man sent to plan an invasion of the Earth by the moon people since the moon has been losing air and other natural resources. While escaping, the team are chased by the lunar monsters and one member steps out of the shadows and is burnt by the sun, the others safely enter the rocketship and blast off.
Like CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON, the cheap special effects, and the simple plot create an enjoyable tale that shouldn't be taken too seriously.
Originally double billed with Frankenstein's Daughter.

MISSION MARS (1968/Allied Artists) 95mins.
Aka: DESTINATION MARS.
Credits: Dir: Nick Webster; Prod: Everett Rosenthal; Sc: Mike St. Clair; Sfx: Haberstroh Studios.
Cast: Nick Adams, Darren McGavin, George DeVries, Heather Hewitt, Michael Debeausett, Shirley Parker.
Two astronauts on Mars encounter a dead Russian who comes to life, a man-eating sphere and a polarite weapon.
A tedious astronaut drama with a poor alien and an enlarged golf ball as the "man-eating sphere".

MISSION STARDUST (1968) Spain/Italy/Germany.
Credits: Dir: Primo Zeglio. From a series of books by Perry Rhodan.
Cast: Lang Jeffries, Essy Persson, John Karelsen, Pinkus Braun, Luis Davila.
A spaceship is forced to land on the moon where the crew is met by strange robots who lead them to another spacecraft where aliens are in need of medical attention to combat a fatal disease.
A mediocre science-fiction tale that becomes less interesting as the film unfolds.

MISSION WANDERING PLANET (1965) see Missione Planeta Errante

MISSIONE PLANETA ERRANTE (1965/Mercury/Southern Cross) 80mins. Italy.
Aka: WAR BETWEEN THE PLANETS; MISSION WANDERING PLANET; PLANETS ON THE PROWL.
Credits: Dir: Anthony Dawson (Antonio Margheriti); Prod: Joseph Fryd, Antonio Margheriti & Walter Manly; Sc: Ivan Reiner & Moretti; Ph: Riccardo Pallottini; Mus: Francesco Lavagnino.
Cast: Jack Stuart (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart), Amber Collins (Ombretta Colli), Peter Martell, Halina Zalewska, Archie Savage, Enzo Piermonte, Renato Baldini, Marco Bogliani.
An alien planet is on a collision course with Earth and controlled by a giant electronic brain. Disaster is averted by a group of scientists.
Lacklustre sci-fi.

MR. INVISIBLE (1970) see Mr. Superinvisible

MR. SARDONICUS (1961/Castle/Columbia) 90mins. BW.
Credits: Dir. & Prod: William Castle; Sc: Robb White; Ph: Burnett Guffey; Mus: Van Dexter. From a story by Ray Russell.
Cast: Guy Rolfe, Ronald Lewis, Oscar Homolka, Audrey Dalton.
"A man so evil - his face could stop a heart!"
Baron Sardonicus, (Rolfe), is a sadistic and mysterious masked man whose face is fixed in a permenant skull-like grin, who relates his tale to a physician, (Lewis), that has been summoned by Sardonicus' victimised wife, the surgeon's former girlfriend, to cure him. Years previously his father had purchased a winning lottery ticket, but died before he could claim his prize. Sardonicus, therefore retrieved the ticket from his father's buried corpse, but he went into extreme shock when he gazed upon his father's skull. The physician eventually succeeds in removing the grimace by shocking him once again, but now Sardonicus cannot open his mouth and will probably starve to death.
An atmospheric film with a few chills and a credible cast.
William Castle, king of the cinema gimmicks, gave theatre patrons a "Punishment Poll" card with which they were allowed to decide Sardonicus's fate, even though only one ending was ever made.

MR. SERVADAC'S ARK (1970) see On the Comet

MR. SUPERINVISIBLE (1970) Spain/Italy/Germany.
Aka: MR. INVISIBLE.
Credits: Dir: Anthony Dawson (Antonio Margheriti).
Cast: Dean Jones, Phillippe Leroy, Gastone Moschin, Ingeborg Schoener, Peter Carsten.
An American researcher, (Jones), trying to find a cure for the common cold, accidentally swallows an Indian potion that makes him invisible to criminals who need to be brought to justice.
Filmed in Geneva.

MISTERIOUS DEL ULTRATUMBA (1959/Almeda Clasa-Mohme/United Releasing) BW. Mexico. Aka: THE BLACK PIT OF DOCTOR M.
Credits: Dir: Fernando Mendez; Prod: Alfred Ripstein Jnr.; Sc: Raymond Obon; Ph: Victor Herrera.
Cast: Raphael Bertrand, Mary Cortez, Gaston Santos, Mapita Cortez.
An asylum doctor uses a medium to contact his dead co-worker, but the dead, acid scarred attendant returns to life possessed by the spirit of a doctor who was wrongfully executed for murder.
A confusing plot.

IL MISTERO DI ATLANTIDE (1961) see Il Gigante di Metropolis

MISTRESSES OF DOCTOR JEKYLL (1964) see El Secreto del Doctor Orloff

Top

THE MOLE PEOPLE (1956/Universal) 78mins. BW.
Credits: Dir: Virgil Vogel; Prod: William Alland; Sc: Laszlo Gorog; Ph: Ellis Carter; Sfx: Clifford Stine; Mu. Bud Westmore.
Cast: John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, Eddie Parker, Robin Hughes, Phil Chambers.
"From a lost age horror crawls from the depths of the Earth!"
At a Sumerian site, archeologists experience an earthquake, fall through a crevice and are taken to an underground city inhabited by an albino race that use strange humanoid mole creatures as burrowing slaves. The albinos believe that the intruders are dangerous to their world, and their leader Elinu, (Napier), commands that the archeologists be executed. They escape with the aid of a young woman named Gizelle, (Patrick), and a flashlight with which they blind their captors. While searching for an exit they incite the mole creatures to revolt against their masters, but an earthquake envelopes the underground world while two of the surviving archeologists and Gizelle escape through a shaft to the surface. Unfortunately another quake kills Gizelle who has only just seen the outside world for the first time.
The fascinating make up and the absurd plot make this an enjoyable slice of '50's monster schlock. Seeing the mole-people clawing out of the earth has to be the highlight of the movie.
A laughable prologue features Dr. Frank Baxter commenting on the possibility of life at the Earth's core.
Originally double-billed with Curucu, Beast of the Amazon.

THE MOLTON METEOR (1958) see The Blob

LA MOMIA AZTECA (1957/Azteca/Cinematográfica Calderon) 65mins. BW. Mexico.
Aka: THE AZTEC MUMMY (US); ATTACK OF THE AZTEC MUMMY; THE MUMMY STRIKES.
Credits: Dir: Rafael Lopez Portillo; Prod: William Calderon Stell; Sc: Alfredo Salazar; Ph: Enrique Wallace; Mus: Antonio Diaz Conde. From stories by Alfredo Salazar & William Calderon Stell (Guillermo Calderon).
Cast: Roman Gay, Rosita Arenas, Leslie Harryson, Steve Grant, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Arturo Martinez.
An archaeological expedition discovers an Aztec pyramid where a mummy named Popoca guards an ancient ceremonial mask. The mummy, returns from the dead when a villain known as the The Bat, (Gay), attempts to steal the mask, but the shaggy Popoca throws The Bat into a pit of snakes. The mummy is eventually killed when it is run down by a car.
The first of four Aztec Mummy films featuring a long haired walking corpse called Popoca.
Sequel: La Momia Contra el Robot Humano (1959).

LA MOMIA CONTRA EL ROBOT HUMANO (1959/Azteca/Cinematografica Calderon) BW. Mexico. Aka: THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY; THE AZTEC MUMMY VS. THE HUMAN ROBOT. Sequel to La Momia Azteca.
Credits: Dir: Rafael Lopez Portillo; Prod: William Calderon Stell; Sc: Alfredo Salazar; Ph: Enrique Wallace; Ed: Jorge Bustos & José Li-Ho; Art: J. Torres Torija; Mus: Antonio Díaz Conde. From stories by Alfredo Salazar & William Calderon Stell (Guillermo Calderon).
Cast: Ramon Gay, Rosita Arenas, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Emma Roldan.
"A monstrous nightmare! Terror turned loose in a fight to the death!"
A scientist named The Bat, (Gay), aided by his henchmen, attemps to secure a valuable sacred breastplate and bracelet, and defeat Popoca the living mummy by creating a robotic slave. The two monsters confront each other, but the mummy defeats the mechanical man and apparently slays The Bat.
Contains considerable footage from La Monia Azteca.
Double billed by producer K. Gordon Murray with El Ataud del Vampiro in America.
Sequel: La Maldicion de la Momia (1959).

LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUARTO (1970) Mexico.
Santo battles the mummys of Guanajuarto.

MONDO CANE (1961/Cineriz) 105mins. Italy.
Aka: A DOG'S LIFE.
Credits: Dir., Prod. & Sc: Gualtiero Jacopetti; Ph: Antonio Climati & Benito Frattari; Song "More" Mus: Riz Ortolani & Nino Oliviero; Lyrics: Norman Newell.
The first of the exploitive "shockumentaries" depicting thirty sequences of violence and bizarre human behavior including cannibalism, pig killing and a restaurant with dog on the menu.
Although badly assembled, when the film was dubbed with American narration it achieved some international success and a certain notiriety.
The song "More" received an Academy Award.

MONDO KEYHOLE (1966/Ajay) US.
Aka: THE WORST CRIME OF ALL.
Credits: Dir: John Lamb.
A pornographer and rapist is severely punished by some lesbians while his wife is attacked by Count Dracula.
Pornographic nonsense with a message.

THE MONITORS (1969/Second City Co.) 92mins.
Credits: Dir: Jack Shea. From a novel by Keith Laumer.
Cast: Guy Stockwell, Susan Oliver, Avery Schreiber, Larry Storch, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Alan Arkin, Xavier Cugat, Stubby Kaye, Jackie Vernon, Everett Dirksen.
Earth is controlled by alien monitors to ensure peace, but rebels plot against them.
A weak science-fiction satire.