ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958)

ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958)

Tagline: Terror Comes In Small Packages!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Suspended Animation) [PG]

Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a PG. 

He’s so serious. It’s almost as if he expected them to talk back.

Who?

Why, the dolls, of course the doll-- 

In this one, a doll maker named Mr. Franz runs a small business called Dolls, Inc. He was a former puppet master and he is known for being able to capture the likeness of people he likes and putting that into his doll making. Only when his new secretary gets proposed to and disappears shortly after, she starts asking questions when she happens to see a doll at the shop that looks just like her fiancé. Dun dun dun…

First off, there is a band out there called the “Schoolyard Heroes” that named one of their songs “Attack Of The Puppet People” after this movie. Secondly, in the actual movie, they used Revlon dolls. They were sold by a company named Ideal from 1956 to 1960. In the flick, the dolls are supposed to be 6” inches tall according to the film's advertisements. 

The pacing of this movie is really solid and it does not take long before we are seeing the “puppet” people in action. Although this is definitely a sci-fi movie, it has horror elements straight out of a Twilight Zone episode throughout. It was actually made to try and capitalize on THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. I mean, why have 1 measly shrinking dude when you can just have a bunch of puppet people running all over the place? 

Where this movie goes wonky is once again in the movie's title and accompanying promotion. There is a dog scene, but it’s super short and not anything like the poster. Even the tagline tells us that “terror comes in small packages”, but the dolls are not the antagonists of the film. I get what they were going for, but when watching this thing all the things you see about this movie go out the window in regards to the word “attack” in the title. 

A bit less wonky is that there is a drive-in scene where Bob and Sally are watching THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN. I kind of love it when they sneak stuff like that into films. 

Acting-wise this thing is rock solid. We have the very competent John Agar (as Bob Westley) best known for THE MOLE PEOPLE and INVISIBLE INVADERS and more. John Hoyt (as Mr. Franz) is sufficiently creepy and does an amazing job. Hoyt’s other big sci-fi role was in WHEN WORLD’S COLLIDE, but he also played Grandpa Kanisky on the TV show “Gimme A Break”. The lead actress is June Kenney who plays Sally Reynolds and is very commendable. Sally was also in 1958’s EARTH VS THE SPIDER. 

I thought the effects were quite good for the era and the execution is also pretty fantastic. I also thought the score was fitting and the sets were well crafted. I think people rip on this film because of the issues with the title and what they (and me) thought we were getting, but once you step beyond that, this is a pretty cool atmospheric flick and I will definitely be watching it again. 

For me, this is an easy and memorable 7 out of 7.

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