Scream Scene Podcast

They dared enter the Cave of Death only to encounter... THE UNKNOWN TERROR (1957)! From director Charles Warren comes this less-than-stellar B-picture from a writer who has... spore taste. You might even say this film has... questionable morels. The film features John Howard, Mala Powers, Paul Richards and May Wynn as they face off against Mush-Men! (I hear they're not... fun guys to be around) Co...

Screenwriter and producer Jack Pollexfen gives horror another go with DAUGHTER OF DR JEKYLL (1957)! Tapping director Edgar G Ulmer will go a long way to making your movie look good... but is it enough? The film stars Gloria Talbott, John Agar and Arthur Shields. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 22:24; Discussion 35:22; Ranking 53:43

We received an appeal of THE SHE-CREATURE (1956, Cahn), currently ranked at #101. Upon our review, we started to question... just why was it so dang high on the list? See the full list of films ranked, visit screamscenepodcast.tumblr.com

"What year is it?" your deadicated hosts ask as we watch John Carradine play a mad doctor experimenting with glands. It's THE UNEARTHLY (1957) from director Boris Petroff! Tor Johnson and Allison Hayes return, but not for much impact unfortunately. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 15:51; Discussion 27:14; Ranking 44:34

It's bonus episode time! This time, we review the horror-adjacent film THE MUMMY (Sommers, 1999)! How did we get from Boris Karloff to Arnold Vosloo? From horror to pulp adventure? Take a listen and enjoy the Fun Facts(TM) scattered throughout the episode! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 1:20:09; Discussion 1:31:23

Before SCREAM, before TEEN WOLF, and even before LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, we get I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957) from director Gene Fowler Jr and starring Michael Landon! It's the first horror featuring teens and marketed for teens, and it certainly won't be the last! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 38:31; Discussion 48:24; Ranking 1:12:06

Science vampires?! Oh my! Your deadicated hosts sit down with THE VAMPIRE (1957) from director Paul Landres, featuring *checks notes* a score by STAR TREK composer Gerald Fried?! Starring John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey and Dabbs Greer with a script by Pat Fielder. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 13:53; Discussion 29:46; Ranking 58:01

From the ashes of the Rank Organization rises producer Guido Coen and THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY (1957) from director W. Lee Wilder! Starring Robert Hutton, George Coulouris, Julia Arnall and Nadja Regin, this low-budget B movie certainly is... an experience you won't see coming! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 16:50; Discussion 35:19; Ranking 1:01:27

Quatermass faces against the smog monster in QUATERMASS 2 (1957, Guest)! How does this British "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" compare to the previous Quatermass film from 1955? Will Nigel Kneale get his way in recharacterizing the American iteration of his character? Will they blow up the asteroid in time to save Earth?? Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 34:55; Discussion 50:18; Ranking 1:10:44

Hammer Film strikes gold with THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957, Fisher), starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court and Robert Urquhart! We discuss the difficulties of adapting a public domain novel due to Universal's litigious nature, and how the studio reignites the Gothic horror genre. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 56:32; Discussion 1:25:42; Ranking 1:56:22

Our first bonus episode on horror adjacent films features the classic ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, from 1948! The final appearance of the classic Universal iterations of Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Wolf Man! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 1:02:37; Discussion 1:16:32

What happens when you cross Frankenstein with Alraune? You get SHE DEVIL (1957) from director Kurt Neumann, starring Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly and Albert Dekker, and adapted from Stanley Weinbaum's 1935 story "The Adaptive Ultimate." Your hosts discuss the ways the film fails, how its "problematic," and the cultural tropes it uses without questioning them. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 30:16; D...

Your deadicated hosts travel to Italy for our first Italian horror film! It's I VAMPIRI (1957), directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, and starring Gianna Maria Canale, Dario Michaelis and Carlo D'Angelo. Along with our usual background of the film, we dive into Italian history and the political & cultural context in which I VAMPIRI was released. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 32:10; Discussi...

Marla English and Tom Conway star in this old-fashioned stock plot movie, VOODOO WOMAN (1957) from director Edward L Cahn! When voodoo and western (mad) science mix, the only result is a creature design from Paul Blaisdell. Plus, a special announcement from your deadicated hosts! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 11:47; Discussion 35:12; Ranking 50:38

Is it Roger Corman's best film? Or, is it his worst? His film THE UNDEAD (1957) comes out of post-production hell starring Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Allison Hayes, Val Dufour, Mel Welles and Billy Barty! When a woman is sent back through time via hypnosis, her psychiatrist must follow her to right the temporal hiccups she sets in motion. (Sort of). Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 18:14; Disc...

From producer Sam Katzman and screenwriter Bernard Gordon comes THE MAN WHO TURNED TO STONE (1957, Kardos)! Starring Victor Jory, Ann Doran, Charlotte Austin, William Hudson and Paul Cavanagh, the film's villains target the most vulnerable among us, with Friedrich von Ledebur as the mute threatening monster! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 11:22; Discussion 29:28; Ranking 51:35

From director Edward Cahn and producer Sam Katzman comes ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU (1957)! Often considered the missing link between Haitian zombies and Romero zombies, this horror B movie features Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes, Autumn Russell and Marjorie Eaton. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 16:00; Discussion 37:13; Ranking 59:44

MY FRIENDS! Your deadicated hosts arrive with Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1957)! "But wait," you may ask, "wasn't that released in 1959?" Well, my friends, future events such as these will affect you in the future, and so we bring you the full evidence of what happened on that fateful day Ed Wood released PLAN 9 to theaters! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 43:48; Discussion 1:01:00; Ranking...

From Universal Pictures and director Jack Arnold comes THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957)! What happens when Richard Matheson's novel meets producer Albert Zugsmith? When a radioactive cloud meets DDT? When masculinity is shrunk?? Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 42:40; Discussion 54:29; Ranking 1:21:53

Episode 200 baybee! For this momentous occasion, Ben and Sarah take a trip to VOODOO ISLAND (1957) from director Reginald Le Borg! Starring Boris Karloff with a tremendous tan, this island has everything you could want in a vacation: warm waters, white sand beaches, carnivorous plant life... Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 35:42; Discussion 56:23; Ranking 1:15:47

From United Artists comes PHARAOH'S CURSE (1957), directed by Lee "roll 'em!" Sholem and written by Richard Landau! We give context around mummification and the making of this movie that stars Mark Dana, George Neise, Ziva Rodann and Diane Brewster. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 30:52; Discussion 51:32; Ranking 1:19:52

Here lies a Roger Corman film that is NOT OF THIS EARTH (1957)! Starring Paul Birch, Beverly Garland and Jonathan Haze, this sci-fi horror flick wowed and confused your hosts with its Space Dracula premise. Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 19:53; Discussion 46:43; Ranking 1:11:19

We enter 1957 with another Roger Corman classic: ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS! Starring Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan and Russell Johnson, will these intrepid scientists get off this radioactive island before it's too late? Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 15:16; Discussion 30:10; Ranking 43:42

Your hosts delve underground and encounter THE MOLE PEOPLE (1956) from Universal Pictures and director Virgil Vogel! Learn about the Boomer Bill Nye the Science Guy aka Dr Frank Baxter, plus Mesopotamian cultures and the latest updates to the Hollywood Production Code! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 52:03; Discussion 1:08:42; Ranking 1:23:56

Your hosts experience flashbacks to algebra with X THE UNKNOWN (1956) from director Leslie Norman and stars Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman and Leo McKern. With full face meltage, you won't want to miss this latest horror from Hammer Films! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 27:11; Discussion 41:08; Ranking 1:10:03