Browsing Youtube tonight, I came across Trailers From Hell, hosted by Joe Dante. This film, The Black Scorpion, is a typical 1950's sic-fi movie, featuring the tried and true scenes played out in so many films of that era.
Of course, a train gets attacked by the giant scorpion. However, the film makers didn't try to hide the fact that a model train was used in the scene. Take a look at the film and in particular the scene starting at 1:21.
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I saw that at the theaters when it came out. Even back then the tender coupled backwards was obvious to my young eyes. Now I wonder if the train was running or if it was just photographed in stop action? I suspect the latter now.
Pete
The passenger cars? Lionel?
The backwards tender (and were they so dim, even in the passenger-train-rich 1950's, that they didn't know that "Lionel Lines" was NOT an actual railroad?) is just too horrifying in its own right - this is a horror film, though - I see that backwards tender thing on eBay.
I saw this as a kid - maybe in the theater, definitely on TV later - and I had no recollection of the train scene.
D500 posted:... The backwards tender ... is just too horrifying in its own right - this is a horror film, though ...
I have the DVD of it, I first noticed the tender"Lionel lines" when they released the VHS tape in the 80's the cars are american flyer pass cars that where painted up for a Mexican railroad. You are right, it was stop motion Willis O'Brien special effects as was the giant bugs. Mara Corday was smoking hot in the movie also.
One of my fav Sci fi 50's bug movies
Seems like all those B sic-fi movies from the '50s had hot chicks.
Dan,
That was a great clip and an unknown film to me. I've been watching bad B scifi movies on the weekends lately, including various Japanese Godzilla-type films and I love the obligatory train or subway scenes.
Last night I watched "Sharknado The Second One". There's an hour or so of my life that I'll never get back, but the up close and personal NYC subway footage was somewhat redeeming. The temptation to add a giant "monster" to my layout rears its ugly heard from time to time with all this celluloid inspiration.
TRRR
Could not be any worse than the train explosions on THE ADDAMS FAMILY!
TomlinsonRunRR posted:Dan,
That was a great clip and an unknown film to me. I've been watching bad B scifi movies on the weekends lately, including various Japanese Godzilla-type films and I love the obligatory train or subway scenes.
Last night I watched "Sharknado The Second One". There's an hour or so of my life that I'll never get back, but the up close and personal NYC subway footage was somewhat redeeming. The temptation to add a giant "monster" to my layout rears its ugly heard from time to time with all this celluloid inspiration.
TRRR
I have always been drawn to Sci-Fi B movies. Of course, growing up in the '50s, they were not considered B movies. I recall watching Dr Shock, then Saturday Night Dead with Stella. Both Philadelphia institutions. Back when we only had three channels and the UHF channels, there were Sci-Fi movies every Saturday. I like to sit there and find the errors in the films as I watch them. Some of the films are so bad, they're good !
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