The Wasp Woman (1959)

Although not a Corman classic, The Wasp Woman is an under-rated, low budget and entertaining film with good pacing but pretty tacky special effects

Directed by Roger Corman, Jack Hill
Produced by Roger Corman
Screenplay by Leo Gordon
Music by Fred Katz
Cinematography: Harry Neumann
Edited by Carlo Lodato
Distributed by Filmgroup, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Running time: 73 minutes
Budget: $50,000 (approx.)

Cast

Susan Cabot as Janice Starlin
Fred Eisley as Bill Lane
Barboura Morris as Mary Dennison
William Roerick as Arthur Cooper
Michael Mark as Dr. Eric Zinthrop
Frank Gerstle as Les Hellman
Bruno VeSota as Night Watchman
Roy Gordon as Paul Thompson
Carolyn Hughes as Jean Carson
Lynn Cartwright as Maureen Reardon
Frank Wolff as Delivery Man
Lani Mars as Secretary
Philip Barry as Delivery Man
Roger Corman as Hospital Doctor (uncredited) 

Trailer

The perils of fading beauty! 

The promise of anti-aging miracles! 

A serum derived from the enzymes of wasps?? 

The first human trial of the miracle serum! 

An unexpected turn of events! 

The consequences of vanity…...

Welcome to the final post in this blog that will feature sci-fi classics from the 1950s golden era of sci-fi on film. And what a way to finish off with a little gem from the maestro, Roger Corman and his film,

The Wasp Woman!

Read on for more.....

The Head (1959) (Die Nackte und der Satan, or The Naked and the Satan)

A rather salacious and mildly atmospheric film with a silly premise

Directed by Victor Trivas
Music by Willy Mattes
Cinematography: Georg Krause
Distributed by Prisma Film
Running time: 1h 37min
Country: Former West Germany

Cast

Horst Frank as Dr. Brandt - alias Dr. Ood
Karin Kernke as Schwester Irene Sander
Helmut Schmid as Bert Jaeger
Paul Dahlke as Police Commissioner Sturm
Dieter Eppler as Paul Lerner
Kurt Müller-Graf as Dr. Walter Burke
Christiane Maybach as Stella - alias Lilly
Michel Simon as Prof. Dr. Abel

A serum that keeps a dog's head alive after its body dies! 

A mad scientist!! 

Serum’s inventor loses his head – literally!! 

Human experimentation!! 

At what cost?

Film Clip

Read on for more....

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)

A very thought provoking end-of-the-world tale dealing with matters that are more than just black and white or merely skin deep. 

Directed by Ranald MacDougall
Produced by Sol C. Siegel, George Englund, Harry Belafonte (uncredited)
Written by Ranald MacDougall
Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall
Based on novel The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel and
story End of the World by Ferdinand Reyher
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography: Harold J. Marzorati
Edited by Harold F. Kress
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time: 95 minutes
Budget: $1,659,000
Box office: $1,085,000 

Cast

as Ralph Burton 

as Sarah Crandall 

as Benson Thacker 

The title of the film comes from the Litany in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: "From all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, spare us, good Lord." In Christian theology, the world, the flesh, and the devil has been viewed as being the three enemies of the soul, the sources of temptation, and as standing in opposition to the Trinity.

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Trailer

As the end of one decade and the beginning of the next approaches, “negro” coal mine inspector Ralph Burton finds himself in the bowels of the earth conducting a preliminary structural inspection of a disused section of 3rd level, tunnel 8.

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The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

A likable low budget monster movie with limited ambitions.

Directed by Irvin Berwick
Produced by Jack Kevan
Screenplay by H. Haile Chace
Cinematography: Philip H. Lathrop
Edited by George A. Gittens
Production company: Vanwick Productions
Distributed by Filmservice Distributors Corporation (United States), Grand National Pictures (United Kingdom)
Running time: 71 minutes
Budget: $29,000

Cast

Les Tremayne as Dr. Sam Jorgenson
Forrest Lewis as Constable George Matson
John Harmon as Sturges, the Lighthouse Keeper
Frank Arvidson as Kochek, the Storekeeper
Jeanne Carmen as Lucille Sturges
Don Sullivan as Fred
Pete Dunn as Eddie/the Monster
Joseph La Cava as Mike
Wayne Berwick as Little Jimmy

Trailer 

Read on for more.....