‘The screen’s master of the weird… in his newest and most daring shocker!’
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 American sci-fi horror film about a mad doctor attempting to create atomic supermen.
The movie was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr (Plan 9 from Outer Space; Night of the Ghouls; Orgy of the Dead; Necromania).
The movie stars Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson (The Black Sleep; The Unearthly; The Beast of Yucca Flats), Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler.
The first incarnation of the film was a 1953 script by Alex Gordon titled The Atomic Monster, but a lack of financing prevented any production. Later, Ed Wood revived the project as The Monster of the Marshes.
Shooting began in October 1954 at the Ted Allan Studios, but further money problems quickly halted the production. The required funds were supplied by a rancher named Donald McCoy, who became the film’s producer. He also provided his son to star as the film’s hero.
Production resumed in 1955 at Centaur Studios and the film finally premiered at Hollywood’s Paramount movie house in May 1955, under the title Bride of the Atom.
Plot:
Doctor Eric Vornoff (Bela Lugosi), is experimenting with nuclear power with the help of his mute assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson). His goal is to eventually create an army of superpowered soldiers that he will use to conquer the Earth.
Their residence, an old mansion, is guarded by a giant octopus of Doctor Vornoff’s creation which lives in the surrounding swamp. The octopus (referred to as simply “the monster”) has been responsible for the deaths of local townspeople.
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Newspaper reporter Janet Lawton (Loretta King Hadler) investigates further, becoming a prisoner of Doctor Vornoff in the process. The police eventually follow, led by Lieutenant Dick Craig (Tony McCoy), who is also Lawton’s boyfriend.
Meanwhile, an official from Doctor Vornoff’s home country, Professor Strowksi (George Becwar), arrives and tries to persuade him to return to their homeland in hopes that his research will benefit their nation. However, Strowski is killed and Lobo unwittingly turns Doctor Vornoff into an atomic-powered superhuman being…
” … there is much to poke fun at here, but this is clearly one of Wood’s most mature, most competent efforts. One wonders what Wood’s legacy might have been had he continued collaborating with Alex Gordon. Instead of being remembered as one of the worst filmmakers in history, he might have been forgotten as just another of many boringly competent B-movie directors.” The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood book
“Tor Johnson, the obligatory brainless brute, makes a grab for Lugosi in one of the most pathetic fights ever photographed. And dig those amateurs, Tony McCoy and Loretta King. You have to see it to believe it.” John Stanley, Creature Features book
” … this fatuous flop nearly matches Plan 9 in the category of fascinating loveable camp.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers book
Related:
GLEN OR GLENDA (1953) Reviews of Ed Wood’s cross-dresser ‘classic’ – free to watch on YouTube
Trailer:
Full film – free to watch online in black and white [1080p HD]:
Full film – free to watch online in black and white [480p HD]:
Full film – free to watch online in colour [480p HD]:
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