There are bad movies, then there’s The Crawling Hand. And just when you think ancient low-budget sci-fi can’t get any sillier, there’s The Slime People. Both daffy delights are featured on this disc with terrific restorations, making it irresistible for any fan of classic cinema sewage.
The title almost tells all in The Crawling Hand, which opens with an astronaut’s ship blowing up upon re-entry. His severed arm drops onto a California beach, to be found by a college student, Paul (Rod Lauren), who takes it home to study! Little does he know the arm is infected with a murderous alien, which not only kills the landlady, it possesses Paul himself, who tries in vain to fight his new inner-demons and goes on a rampage.
Believe it or not, there are a couple of legitimately decent scenes, but by and large, there’s plenty of giggleworthy goofiness at-hand (at-hand…get it?). My personal favorite scene is a conversation in a malt shop between Paul and his exchange-student girlfriend, Marta, played by former Iceland beauty queen Sirry Steffen, who’s clearly reading cue cards and not even looking at him. Elsewhere, the Skipper himself, Alan Hale, is on-hand as the useless town sheriff, a role almost identical to one he’d later play in another craptastic creature feature, The Giant Spider Invasion. And if nothing else, you gotta love any movie where a bunch of cats end up saving the day!
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| The Crawling Hand's unsung hero. |
The fog is a major part of the story. So major, in fact, that it’s often tough to see the actors themselves, much less what they happen to be doing at any given time. The creatures look hilarious and lumber slow enough that a double-amputee could outrun them. However, my favorite aspect of the film is its depiction of lawless mobs running around Los Angeles, who number in the half-dozens and include kids and middle aged women…probably offered the roles just before shooting started. Hutton also manages to create a romantic subplot between himself and co-star Susan Hart (who’s obviously half his age) while her dad looks on in approval. Such are the perks of calling the shots, I guess.
Though there’s plenty of fun to be had at the expense of both films, we still gotta appreciate the dedication on display, misguided as it might be. We sense everyone on both sides of the camera were trying their best to make good films. That they ultimately (and spectacularly) failed shouldn’t be held against them. After all, neither would be nearly as memorable if they were actually well made.
EXTRA KIBBLES
UNEARTHING THE SLIME PEOPLE - The best of the bonus features, this has author/historian Tom Weaver discussing the film, which also includes an online interview with actress Susan Hart.
FEATURETTE - Rubber Monsters, Real Fears: Mid-Century Sci-Fi is a slight, superfluous batch of clips and stills.
THE CRAWLING HAND AUDIO COMMENTARY - By podcaster Rob Kelly.
CLASSIC DRIVE-IN SCI-FI POSTER GALLERY
REVERSIBLE COVER
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