THE GAMMA PEOPLE (1956)
Tagline: Gamma-Ray Creatures Loose!
(Sci-Fi, Drama, Bossy Little Kids) [PG]
Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a PG.
Sinister-looking dump isn't it.
In this one, Mike Wilson who is a reporter, and a photographer named Howard Meade are on a train to Salzburg when their passenger car is disconnected in the quaint country of Gudavia. They are met with mixed reactions, but generally speaking, are not well-liked and decide it’s time to get out of there. Meanwhile, a scientist named Boronski controls everything in the totalitarian society and uses gamma experiments to make children superior in intellect or mindless zombie-like creatures. Any attempts to escape are met with a grim ending. Can Mike and Howard find a way to overcome the gamma people?
First off parts of this movie are meant to be funny, but really aren’t by today’s standards. If anyone does a decent job of conveying this in the movie it’s several of the background characters, namely Koerner (played by Philip Leaver). I found both Mike and Howard very likable and their interactions were hear warming against a backdrop of control and fear.
This movie all takes place in a small town that looks like it’s meant to be like a European “Iron Curtain”, which lends to a dreary atmosphere overall. The sets are all pretty cool and the design work in many cases is downright creepy. Especially the mask for the carnival that Hugo (played by Michael Caridia) makes in class.
Acting-wise Paul Douglas who plays Mike Wilson does a great job. I do remember thinking his potential love interest in the film had to be quite a bit younger. Paul was 49 when he shot this and Eva Bartok who plays Paula Wendt was 29. Not the end of the world, I just thought it was pretty noticeable in the film. Bartok was also very good but didn’t get near the screen time Douglas did. We also get a heavy dose of Leslie Phillips who plays Howard and is probably my favorite character in the movie. Leslie Phillips is probably most famous for voicing the “Sorting Hat” in the HARRY POTTER movie series. He has been acting since 1938 and has a movie that has just completed, so he’s been massively successful. Eva Bartok did end up being the leading female in the movie, but it almost felt like it was going to be Jocelyn Lane who basically just seems to get written completely out of the second half of the movie. She is probably most famous for the Elvis Presley movie “TICKLE ME”.
Cinematically this movie has just a ton of rough cuts and scenes that don’t look like they flow at all. I will say the movie is very coherent though. We know what’s going on and overall it makes for a pretty interesting edge-of-your-seat watch, just because there are some situations where it seems impossible for our two main characters and their fast friends to ever come out either a mindless goon or a bossy militant emotionless Albert Einstein.
I am not sure how this movie accomplished utilizing such a serious premise while making it still intriguing and even whimsical at times, but overall I found this to be a very interesting film, but not something where I am writing headlines saying “drop your cat and run to the nearest streaming service". I have to give it a 4 out of 7. By the way, it's free to watch on at least 2 streaming services right now.
For those interested, I do have a group out there on MeWe for 1950s and 1960s sci-fi fans.
Here - https://mewe.com/join/1950s-60ssci-fimoviereviewsanddiscussion
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