"The Mole People" -1956.

Tagline: "From a lost age...HORROR crawls from the depths of the Earth!"
Well, to be fair, the humans climbed down. The Persons of Mole (as they prefer to be called) were down there the whole time.

Let's talk poster! A mixed bag, which is why I showed two. The black and white poster shows the girl as she appears in the film, whereas the color poster has her with red hair and red dress (both wrong). However, the color poster has everything else correct and shows all three main archaeologists, instead of just two in the black and white poster. I give each poster a B+ and invite them to stay for tea and cookies. No Pirate cookies,though....those are mine. They can have the Oreos.

I think by now all three of my regular readers are aware that I give away the entire movie these days and not just a few spoilers here and there. I do this for two reasons: 1- I figure I'm probably the only one that cares about spoiling the plot in these movies, and 2- I'm lazy and I don't want to muck around trying to remember what I said when. So, officially then, BE WARNED! HERE BE SPOILERS! Like, for the rest of this blog. I'm only telling you once. Or, as my mother was fond of saying when I was young: "I'm telling you for the last time!".

Plot: Well, before we jump into the movie, we have a distinguished looking gentleman by the name of Dr. Frank Baxter

appear on the screen and give us a quick lecture on the history of what people have believed lies beneath our feet. The first person Dr. Baxter speaks of was a man named John Symmes, who postulated that the Earth was like an onion,

with layers upon layers, and if a person was to find an entrance to the next layer down, that layer would be it's own world and then one could progress further and further down.
Next, we are introduced to the theory set forth by Cyrus Reed Teed. His was that we are not living on the outside of a globe but instead on the inside

and when we look up, we are actually looking in.

Yes, my thoughts exactly. And the picture hasn't even started! Anyway, with a lot of hand waving like he's baking an invisible pie,

Dr. Baxter encourages us to use our imaginations and enjoy the movie. Thanks, I will as soon as the filler is done.

Oh, here we go! Yes, the credits roll up from a hole in the Earth. (Ooh! Aah!) Here's one you don't see in modern credits anymore:

"Gowns by:". Nope, that particular credit has gone the way of telephones with long spiral cords and people who give up their seat on the bus for the elderly. I know exactly one person who still does that and he is reading this blog right now. (Good for you, by the way, Bellen).

Also, we have makeup done by Bud Westmore.

The Westmores are like a sober, special effects department version of the Barrymores.

Their family has been doing makeup and special effects for decades and Michael Westmore

(Bud's nephew) is a regular adviser on the TV show "Face Off", where unknown special effects artists compete for money and a car. The young lady is McKenzie Westmore, Michael's daughter and host of "Face Off". I am an addict of this show. It's one of the very few reality shows I will watch. You should watch it. It's on "Space" in Canada and on "Syfy" in the U.S.. Stop what you're doing and go watch it! Oh, wait...you're reading my blog. Okay, right after this!

Anyway, there IS a movie here and it starts

NOW! We see people toiling in a strange looking environment and the words "Asia" appear. What? The entire continent? I call bull. That thing's huge! No way you could film the whole continent in 1956. But, in fairness, we later find they are in Mesopotamia. Maybe the guy typing in the letters couldn't spell it. Anyway, we see two archaeologists

looking thoughtful while two asses just stand around behind them. There's also two mules there. No word on if they are for Sister Sara.

The archeologist's train of thoughts are left boarding at the station when a worker comes running over. "Quickly! There is an enormously important discovery over here by this Mesopotamian man eating an apple!"

...Well, he doesn't actually say that, but that is where he leads them. There, they see a stone tablet jutting out from the Styrofoam...I mean dirt.

After a quick brushing off to show the viewer the nifty writing on the tablet, it is easily removed

like a sword from it's sheath, like all artifacts buried for 5,000 years.

Apparently, the writing on the tablet is Sumerian in origin, which one archaeologist points out isn't possible in the area where it was found. This leads John Agar's character, Dr. Roger Bentley,

to say "In archaeology, all things are possible." Really? So archaeologists can find pi to the exact decimal point. Archaeologists have achieved zero degrees on the Kelvin scale. Archaeologists can divide by zero without ripping a hole in space/time continuum.

I call bull....again. Yes, I understand he was speaking figuratively. I also understand he was an actor and the language he was supposedly translating was Egyptian hieroglyphics,

not Sumerian, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it. Speaking of pipes, once again my theory that all Hollywood doctors/scientists/smart guys smoked a pipe is proven true.

I can hear the director now: "No, he still looks stupid. Somebody get me a pipe!....There! That's better!"
Getting back to the plot, we have four archaeologists. Dr. Bentley is the star, therefore he must smoke a pipe to show he is the smartest, then we have

Dr. Jud Bellamin (foreground), Professor Lefarge (background) and Dr. Paul Stewart (second from left in the photo below.

Stewart is basically there to poo-poo whatever idea is put forth and give the other archaeologists a reason to explain to the audience basic ideas of archaeology. There's one in every movie where heady topics are put forth. A character inserted who doesn't understand (or disagrees with) what is going on or being said by the scientist (or what have you) and the smart people have to break it down for them, and subsequently, the audience. I call these characters the "Necessary Morons".

At any rate, Roger is the expert in ancient languages. He reads the tablet

and discovers a reference to a great flood.  He believes this tablet may be part of a lost civilisation. Just then, an earthquake begins. The tent shakes,

the workers are inspired to move their asses (literally)

even the man eating his apple decides to run!

The tablet falls to the ground and breaks into three pieces.

They just don't make ancient stone tablets like they used to. The next day (presumably) a young boy

 brings by an artifact for sale. Dr. Bentley puts a coin in the boys hand and examines his purchase.

It's a lamp of some sort. Roger asks the interpreter to ask the boy where he found this. He says, pointing,

"Koo-eeh-tar-ah!" (I spelled it phonetically since I don't know how to spell the name of the mountain)
Somehow, Professor Lefarge knows that is the epicentre of yesterday's earthquake. Now for a closer inspection of the lamp.

It seems to be made of solid gold, roughly the size of a bar of gold. Which begs two questions: wouldn't it weigh about 28 pounds (a bit heavy for a kid to carry that far, to me) and wouldn't the gold be worth a lot more than whatever the kid was given for bringing it to Dr. Bentley? Like, enough to feed his entire village for ten years? While we're at it, how effective would an oil-burning lamp made of soft gold be? Anyway,
Lefarge puts a piece of the material covering the lamp under a microscope

and declares that the moss he sees embedded there only grows high on the top of the mountain I can't spell the name of. Roger also translates the inscription on the lamp, which shows a man and a woman gathering two of each animal,

a la Noah's ark. Lefarge doesn't seem thrilled

when Roger declares they are climbing Mount Kuitara

(probably spelled wrong) to see what else is up there.

Cue stock footage of climbing expedition gathering supplies!

Check! Okay, now blend seamlessly with studio shot of characters standing next to similar boxes.

Che-....well, close enough! Now we have to muddle through ten minutes of climbing shots

mixed with studio shots of actors playing in fake snow.

The only interesting bit is at the end, when their guide, Nazar, yells "avalanche!"

and points across the mountain. Somehow, the avalanche travels around behind them and they have to run for shelter as it falls all around them.

Well played, Kuitara, well played. But, soft! What arm through yonder snowbank breaks?

Well, it's not a badly done grisly prop, like I thought it was at first. It's the arm of a statue, presumably also dislodged by the earthquake. This inspires more climbing, culminating in their finding an abandoned temple.

They also find the head of the afore mentioned statue.

Roger is sure now that this area is where his lost civilisation is. But where are the other buildings? They should be close by. As they explore, a crack appears

under Dr. Stewart's feet and he falls through the ground.

He even provides a prolonged scream of terror to show it is a long way to the bottom. That's thinking ahead, Stewart! Good job!

As heroes are wont to do in these shows, Roger decides they must descend to Stewart and check to see if he's alive. Note: if you're climbing with me and you fall far enough to scream for several seconds during the fall, I will assume you're dead as a doornail at the bottom and leave. Fair warning. But these putzes get out the gear and descend.

Now, if you thought the ten minutes of climbing was boring, try ten minutes of watching each remaining cast member breathing heavily while they wrap rope around their bodies.

Maybe exciting if you're into bondage, but I found it largely dull. I'll save you from what I endured and tell you, as they descend for what I would guess to be 200 feet, Roger bangs in a piton

and secures his rope before continuing on. At this point, I think even the heartiest optimist would have to assume Stewart was dead. Now, keep an eye on this piton, because they keep showing it slowly working it's way loose. Soon, Roger uses his flashlight

and locates the legs of Dr. Stewart.

Hopefully, the rest of him is there as well. Roger shouts "I've found him!" to the others and we get another sense of foreboding about this piton.

Surely, someone will fall to their doom because of this! Who will it be? Well, not Roger. He's already at the bottom. He feels the need to check for a pulse

and discovers Stewart is dead.

No, no Basil! You were in the previous review! Be gone with you!
Anyway, the rest descend one by one, each using the loose piton but each one surviving to the bottom. Until we get to visible minority, Nazar, the guide and expendable character. Surely he will be the one to succumb to this loosened piton. Ah, but don't forget, Nazar is an experienced climber and checks the piton before he uses it.

He quickly bangs it back into place

and is rewarded with several rocks shaking loose above him,

bashing him in the head

and causing him to not only fall to his death

but also be buried under several metric tonnes of rock and debris!

Didn't see that one coming, did you? What did Hollywood have against minorities, I ask again?
Our remaining three barely even take note of Nazar's death and instead point out that they are trapped. (Basil! Stay where you are!) But, considering the sudden and highly violent death of two of his comrades in a matter of minutes, Dr. Bentley astutely notes that the cavern they are in is not a naturally made one. He reasons there should be an exit. It also becomes apparent that Professor Lefarge is having a panic attack.

I think I might have one as well, under similar circumstances. They make their way down the tunnel, making good use of the eerie light from the flashlight

and resisting the temptation to break out into "Bohemian Rhapsody".

After all there is a time and a place for everything. Except in a black hole. Then there's neither.
As they travel, a clawed hand

carefully digs a small hole in the wall behind them and a strange face peers in.

Jack! Did Basil put you up to this? Get outta here!....Ahem, "a strange face appears"

Okay, we're back on track. We are treated to a quick "boo" moment as foreboding music swells as the camera moves closer to Roger and THEN!...

Oh. It's just Jud. Jud informs Roger that Lefarge is kinda freaking out.

Relax, Lefarge! You're a secondary character. You'll be dead in no time!

Anyway, it isn't long before they find the light at the end of the tunnel.

I've heard of these, but never actually seen one. They emerge into an enormous cavern,

complete with light, of course. Bentley later explains this away as "some sort of chemical in the rocks". Uh huh, sure. Bentley also finds the head of a statue, Ishtar,

identical to the one they found at the temple on top of the mountain. Plus, there is this enormous tablet

declaring that this city was dropped underground by a huge earthquake 5,000 years ago. Yes, we wouldn't want to mistake TWO different lost civilisations found in an enormous underground cavern, would we?  No, I think it's safe to say, even without being hit over the head with it, that this is the lost city.
Jud points out that they have been on their feet for 15 hours now

and need rest. No food, though, and no one ever seems to need to use the washroom in these shows. Then again, once people did start using washrooms in movies, they usually were killed by a maniac,
(Friday The 13th Part 3, Candyman, Silent Hill)

 so there you go.  So, rest they do....or try to.

Lefarge is the only one hearing the scratching noises coming from behind them. I guess we are supposed to understand the light is dim and they can't see the hand poking out.

And it isn't long before we are treated to an actual Mole Person!

Neat! And not even half way through the movie, either! While the crew are snoozing, a clawed hand reaches out for Bentley.

And, like all Mole People, he uses a burlap bag to put over their heads!

...Y'know, so they can't see where they're being taken....underground

....in the dark....in a place they've never been. Anyway, they wake up

(they were unconscious?) in a cavern, but unharmed...

....mostly. Okay, Lefarge has three claw marks on his chest, but that could be anything! They aren't tied up, unlike the last "guests" in this room.

Soon, the wall on one side slides open and two pale, armed guards appear.

They motion for the three to follow them. Jud grabs Bentley's arm,

saying "No! Don't!" but offers no reason not to and then follows Bentley and Lefarge. What the hell was that all about, Jud? Lefarge is the chicken, let him wear yellow.

They are brought out into a different area of the same cavern, before a large building.

They are led up the stairs, passing some guards whose arms must get very tired,

and arrive in front of a priest.

The priest speaks in English (or are we supposed to assume Bentley is translating for his friends?) and raises a 5,000 year old mouse cursor over his head. This is the "magic eye of Ishtar", he says. After a lot of drum beating

and whatnot, the priest addresses his king and explains the trio are evil ones.

Hey! No pointing! That's rude. Bentley speaks for the group,

explaining they are from "above". Priest says there is nothing above but heaven.

Either that or he's giving the "raise the roof" signal. ("Ooh! Ooh! Go daddy! Go daddy!") Is Bentley saying he is from heaven? Bentley seizes on this and tries the old "holy messenger" gag. Priest doesn't buy it and sentences them to die in the "fire of Ishtar". I'm not sure if Jud knows what was being said or not, but he figures out to belt the guard on his left

as Bentley punches out his guard and they make a break for it. Naturally, Bentley has plenty of time to tip over two pillars

 to trip the guards. Sadly, one of them actually manages to trip over them.

Three guesses who's not getting their promotion. They grab a sword,

stab one of the guards and go running down the tunnel

with the guards in hot pursuit.

They're doing okay until Lefarge falls on his face

and they have to go back for him. The guard raises his dagger

but then the light from Bentley's flashlight

hits his face and he recoils in pain.

Bentley uses this to his advantage, chasing all of the guards back out and into their building.

The King and priest both try to stop the retreat but soon they are blinded by the light, too.

Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night....Sorry....

With the immediate threat gone,

Bentley takes the time to examine the dead guard and astutely notes his lack of pigmentation and his enlarged pupil.

He surmises that this leads to a hypersensitivity to bright light. Okay, so if it's so dark in this cavern that this is happening, how come the three archaeologists can see fine? This question, if posed to the writers of this film, would get this reaction, I think:

A strange noise behind them, and they turn to see one of the mole people dragging the dead guard down.

To no one's surprise, this freaks Lefarge out and he goes running down the tunnel, again.

Jud and Bentley, being far more patient than I, go after him, again.

Lefarge says they can't go back to the temple. It's too dangerous. Lefarge is still gasping for breath,

so they leave him there and explore further down the tunnel,

looking for another exit. They hear strange noises and follow them. Eventually, they peek around a corner and see the pale human guards whipping and beating various Mole People.

A slave camp! Or the worst Club Med ever.

But, hey, at least there's a guy walking around throwing food

to the Mole People, so already better than where I work. However, two of the mole people get into a scrap over a mushroom, which angers one of the guards enough to kick

the mushroom away from them. This sends one of the Mole People over to retrieve his lunch

and give the audience a good start.

All the commotion draws the attention of the head guard

(you can tell he's boss because he has spiky things on his helmet), who then spots our heroes and sends the Mole People after them,

whipping as he goes. Running down the tunnel back to Lefarge, Bentley tries to use the flashlight, but the button is jammed.

Oh! Cruel fate! Why do you mock me so? Anyway, they run to Lefarge,

and you'll never guess what Lefarge does! Yes! He panics and goes running off down the tunnel! Surprise!
And he trips and falls!

Surprise! And a Mole Person grabs him!

Oh, that one really is new. By the time Jud and Bentley get there to scare off the Mole Person, Lefarge is dead.

Hooray!....I mean, "how unfortunate". But, come on, the man was only in the movie to panic and run places. That gets old pretty quickly. Anyway, they decide to give Lefarge a burial and cover his body with rocks. With Lefarge dead, the exploration of the tunnels goes much more smoothly, and as Jud and Bentley exit the tunnel,

the priest and his minions catch up to them. But this time they plead with Bentley not to use his "light of Ishtar".

The priest has a message from the King: he believes they are holy messengers and invites them back to the city for a feast. Well, party on, Garth!

When questioned where Lefarge is, Bentley decides to tell a little albino lie and says he was "called back to heaven". While Bentley continues to blow sunshine up the King's skirt,

a bevy of "lovely" ladies

brings in a wagon train of food. Most of it either fish from the stream or mushrooms.

My kids would starve here. One of the girls is not an albino,

and it is explained she is considered a "dark one" and therefore unclean. She spills one of the bowls and the king commands she be whipped.

Bentley jumps up and grabs the guard's arm.

The priest advises him not to interfere, as the King's word is law.

Feeling cocky, Bentley says "the fire of Ishtar is the law" in reference to his flashlight.

The King backs down, still believing they are holy messengers and fearing their wrath. Bonus: Bentley is informed that the girl now belongs to him. Then a guard comes

to inform the king that the dead guard from earlier has been found stripped of all the meat on his body. The Mole People are the cause, and the King orders that a few of them be strung up and beaten to death. Then, back to the feast!

Bentley questions the King about his world and finds that they keep a precise number in their population at all times, since they only have limited amounts of food. What happens when there isn't enough food, Bentley asks. "We make sacrifices to keep the population down" he is told. Seems kind of...short term. Afterwards, the surviving heroes are in their room,

trying to figure out their next move. The slave girl informs Bentley it is his time to rest, and Mr. Third Wheel, Jud takes his hint and leaves.

Bentley has a chat with the girl and informs her she is now free and can leave if she wants. She decides to stay with him, not knowing what "free" is anyway. Her name is Adel (even though in all credits she is called "Adad")

and she asks what "heaven" is like. Bentley describes our world and insists that Adel comes with him when they escape. But he doesn't see the priest lurking in the doorway,

hearing his words.

Now we have a bit of filler where Jud and Bentley are touring the lost city, seeing the everyday things that keep an enclosed civilisation rolling along. It's pretty dull and has no bearing on the plot one way or the other, so here are some photos without captions. Think of it as fast-forwarding.

Okay! Meanwhile, the priest is in another room, pleading his case to his faithful.

The priest is telling them the King is mistaken, these intruders are not holy messengers but mere mortals. "Do they not eat when they are hungry? Do they not rest when they are tired?" One follower argues that they have the fire of Ishtar, the "cylinder", and must be from Heaven. The priest says

anyone can wield the power of the cylinder and declares that power is rightly theirs. He commands his people to follow the intruders wherever they may go and bring that cylinder to him.
Jud and Bentley must have become tired of playing tourist, and have taken a break. They are sitting on a rock,

joking about how to adapt to living the rest of their lives here. Naturally, they can't see the guard sneaking up behind the rock to snatch the flashlight away.

It seems like the writers made it "dim" when it was convenient for them, without bothering to tell the people who were lighting the set. Anyway, we switch to an area close by where the Mole People are being forced to feed the goats

while they themselves are starving. One of the guards points out to the head Pointy Headed Guard

that the Mole People are becoming weak from hunger. Pointy Headed Guard says he has orders not to feed them until told to do so. Bentley and Jud

arrive on this scene just in time to see one of the slaves steal a mushroom from the trough.

Because the guards are one trick ponies, they whip the mole man. This brings our heroes over to interfere. During the argument, one of the guards points at his boss and calls him names:

"Ha-ha! Pointy head! Pointy head! Milton is a pointy head".....no, not really. Actually, he's pointing out that the mole man has run into the tunnel.

The head guard chastises our heroes and gives chase, dagger drawn.

As he rushes in to deal with the thief, he plunges into a hole

up to his waist. Then something bites into him

(we assume) and he is dragged under.

Bored, our heroes head back to their room for some pizza. They find no pizza there, only a simple slave girl instead.

*sigh* Oh well, I guess a little romance is almost as good. But, no, a guard barges in,

ruining the moment and says the King demands to speak to Bentley. He reluctantly agrees and brings Jud with him. The King informs them

that the head of the guards has been found stripped to the bone and ask that Bentley use his "fire of Ishtar" cylinder to punish the Mole People. He refuses and walks away. The priest pleads, again, with the King

to allow him to seize the cylinder from them, and again the King balks at the thought of angering Ishtar.
Meanwhile, the Mole People who were ordered strung up and beaten are still being beaten.

I think the guards in this place must go through a lot of A5-35, or something. All this beating and whipping.

Never fear! Two dorks are here! And they brought their fire of Ishtar cylinder!

They flash some light and everyone panics and runs.

However, this last rescue also drains the batteries in the flashlight. Oops!

Bentley begins unchaining the Mole People, and Jud argues they shouldn't.

After all, the Mole People attacked them and killed Lefarge. Only because the guards forced them to, Bentley says. As the Mole People leave, one turns back

and walks over to our heroes. His mouth moves

and sounds come out, but Bentley and Jud don't understand it.

We are to assume it is a thank you.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the priest has a solution for the sudden lack of food due to the Mole uprising:

dead people can't eat food! BRILLIANT! So, he rounds up three women and prepares them for sacrifice. Because we haven't seen enough padding that has nothing to do with the plot, there is a three minute sequence where we watch this woman

whirl around like a grade six student at an interpretive dance recital. All the grace and beauty of a moth bashing itself into a light bulb. She's done. Thank Ishtar that's over!

The girls each rise and follow the hooded priest

through the door beneath the symbol of Ishtar and into the blinding light.

The priest then closes the door.

We are to assume there is a short passing of time (minutes? hours?) and then the priest reopens the door and guards go into the area with stretchers.

They come back in with the burned corpses of the sacrifices.

Why is there no blinding light when they go in with the stretchers? Why bother retrieving the corpses from what is so obviously a highly dangerous area? Let's ask the writers:

Yes, that's what I thought. The New And Improved Head Guard

(now with extra pointy things!) tells the priest they have found something that he and the King must see immediately. The King arrives and is shown

 the body of Lefarge, who obviously is NOT in heaven. The King

(finally) realises he's been duped and orders the priest to get rid of the impostors. A plan is put in motion. Adel, not realising the danger, brings mushrooms to Bentley and Jud for their supper.

(Or possibly breakfast or lunch...kinda hard to say). Bentley and Jud eat what turn out to be tainted mushrooms

and pass out. (Been there, done that. I bet they didn't go the bar afterwards and get kicked out for spraying Silly String into the ceiling fans, though.) The priest

and his minions arrive and he seizes the "cylinder",

not knowing it won't work. Adel flees and runs down the tunnel,

hiding herself from the guards as she goes.

She runs to the slave camp,

and throws herself down at the nearest Mole Person,

who grabs her and drags her down. Then all of the Mole People start to dig down and disappear,

leaving the guards whipping dirt in a disheartened fashion.

Strange that the Mole People didn't think to simply duck down under the dirt where the guards couldn't whip them before now, but I won't bother asking the writers why not.

The priest has Bentley and Jud trussed up and ready to be sacrificed.

No dancer this time, thank Ishtar! But all of the city turns out for the event.

No children, though, as we haven't seen a single child the entire time we've been in the city. Interesting approach to procreation, writers. I guess the mother just explodes and a fully dressed, grown person appears. Not that we see any pregnant women, either. Anyway,

The priest opens the Holy Door (probably what it's called) and the guards unceremoniously huck

our heroes inside and lock the door behind them.

But, oops! Look out front, kiddies!

It's the Mole People coming up from the ground! And this time they mean business!

....Well, no, not literally. I mean this time they're here to fight!

As they amass and move forward,

the priest goes to the King, telling him they have nothing to fear, since they have the light of Ishtar.

It was at this point that I noticed the King bore an uncanny resemblance to Stan Laurel,

of "Laurel and Hardy" fame. No bearing on the story, however, so let's move on.

Clang, clang, clang went the swords! Ring, ring, ring went the bell!....No, actually, no bell. Just the swords clanging...and a poorly timed reference to a musical.

Soon, the Mole People have the upper hand...er, claw...and the priest is at the ready with his fire of Ishtar!

Oops! That's embarrassing! And then the Mole People are upon them

and it's game over, baby! Adel looks for her honey bunches of oats and sees him nowhere.

She realises he must be in the room with the burning light! She tries to open the door but can't so she does what women did in 1950's movies and bangs her fists half-heartedly on the door.

This is noticed by several of the Mole People and they help her break open the door,

then run away from the burning light.

Adel, however seems unafraid of the burning light and enters the room.

We see her shadow cast on the ground below,

as if we are looking down from very high up. We see the sunlight from a crack in the earth above forms the same image as the symbol the priest held above his head. Bentley calls to her and takes her in his arms.

He and Jud are perfectly fine, relishing the warmth of the sunlight that was so deadly to the people of the lost city. Now they just have to climb up 200 feet of rock wall without ropes. No problem!

Now, the movie should have ended here, all bright and happy. But, no. They climb back up and exit

mere feet away from where they left their climbing gear.

And, of course, some of the clothing fits Adel perfectly, including boots.

But another earthquake strikes, (above and below)

panicking Adel, who runs away and

is crushed beneath a toppled pillar. She doesn't even get a saccharine sweet goodbye, she just plain ol' dies.

There, now it's

Things I learned from this movie:

1- Hollywood was so paranoid about morality in 1956 they decided to re-shoot the ending of this movie because it showed an "interracial relationship". The three actors were brought back two weeks after filming had wrapped and filmed the scenes where Adel dies,

2- the humps of the Mole People were stuffed with crumpled up newspapers,

3- the director didn't get Nazar getting konked on the coconut in one take (note rock-shaped dust on his cap)

4- Nazar was played by a Native American by the name of Rodd Redwing.

Redwing was famous, but not for this movie. He was a Hollywood legend as a quick-draw artist and sharpshooter.

Redwing gave firearms and quick-draw training to other Hollywood actors like Alan Ladd (Shane), Glenn Ford (3:10 To Yuma) and Henry Fonda (Once Upon A Time In The West).

Redwing was timed at 2/10th of a second from holster to firing. The human eye blinks in 3/10ths of a second. He could hit a target the size of a quarter from 20 feet away,
5- this was the second time that John Agar (Bentley), Nestor Paiva (Lefarge) and Rodd Redwing were in a movie together. The first was "Creature From The Black Lagoon", where they played Dr. David Reed (Agar), Lucas the boat captain (Paiva)

and Louis the foreman who dies getting face-palmed by the Creature (Redwing),

6- considering her placement in the credits, this was Cynthia Patrick's (Adel's)

only starring role in her short career. She is still alive and was a realtor in the Hollywood area for many years, like fellow B-movie star Rex Reason (This Island Earth),

who also ducked out of the limelight and made his living selling homes. I wonder if they ever crossed paths and traded stories...,
7- the priest, Alan Napier, went on to become famous as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler

on the wonderfully campy original "Batman" from television. He also made an earlier appearance in my blog as Willie Spears in "The Invisible Man Returns",
8-Dr. Frank Baxter

went on to play several characters in animated shows like "Hemo The Magnificent"

where he played "Dr. Research".

Kind of an early "Bill Nye The Science Guy". I wonder if his character waved his hands around like he was baking an invisible pie?,
8- is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Guess That Mess! Ready? Go!

If you picked the mole, man, you are the winner! Your bag of mole fertilizer is on it's way!