verbusen This is a solid, and over the top film, with a super villain's atomic zombie monster army plot. I decided to watch this after looking up Richard Denning's lit of credits. He was really good in a Western film I was watching and reminded me a lot of Robert Young (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby MD). I loved the title being a fan of a film with a similar name "The Atomic Brain", a film with a much lower rating in the two's, I enjoyed it both original soundtrack or when riffed by Mystery Science Theater 3000, that's the film where the cat's brain goes into the human's and vice versa (using atomic power to make it work). This film would be awesome to watch riffed but on it's own it is fun to watch. The zombies are super strong and can take grenades and bullets! How can scrawny doc Richard Denning defeat this world-wide menace? Stay tuned! 8 of 10, for 50's sci fi or monster film fans.

dougdoepke A gangster uses a German atomic scientist to turn cadavers into man-killing zombies in order to wreak revenge on those who deported him.Actually, the 60-minutes is better than the title suggests, not much, but some. I don't know who Clover Productions is, but they managed a bigger budget than usual for a drive-in special like this. Note the well-stocked crowd scenes, the detailed atomic lab, and the effective use of location shots. Sure, it's a cheesy plot, dispatching atom-brained zombies to carry out revenge killings. Plus, the zombies really look like they're having a bad skin day, and totter forth like it's exam day at school. And catch the shuddery crack of that back-breaking episode. It's scarier than anything else. Then too, getting Denning for the lead lends a touch of class to the proceedings. But who is that nightmare hulk who dispatches the first victim. No need for gruesome make-up on him. Plus I'm still wondering why the cops hang around to get killed when it's obvious their bullets have no effect. Oh well, Hollywood does work in mysterious ways.Anyway, the producers got pretty good bang for their few bucks, even if the results fall just a teensy bit short of Oscar bait.

bkoganbing Richard Denning was another actor who for better or worse got to do some truly dreadful science fiction films of the 50s. I think if you took the comparative works of him, Peter Graves, and John Agar it might be a good contest to see who did the most dreadful.Creature With Atom Brain is among the dreadful. Denning is a doctor in a police laboratory who gets himself a pair of unusual cases, a mobster and a District Attorney killed apparently by the same man and method. Denning was only half right there, but his investigation leads to some startling conclusions.Talk about evil combinations. Former gangland boss Michael Granger who was deported years ago with the DA's prosecution and his former underboss ratting him out. Granger while in Europe hooks up with a former Nazi doctor Gregory Gaye who has been experimenting with dead animals by injecting the brains with radioactive electric impulses.Having a whole army of zombie hit men sounds like one fabulous idea for any would be Mafia don. So Granger and Gaye get some dead bodies and start recruiting. Lots of possibilities here, but Granger's going to settle some old accounts before moving on to new and better rackets.These 50s science fiction movies, even the worst of them are entertaining in a strange way. I'll say that the production got good value on its minuscule budget. It gets hilarious at times though.

Woodyanders Evil mob boss Frank Buchanan (a perfectly nasty Michael Granger) has ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (a nice turn by Gregory Gaye) reanimate the bodies of recently deceased criminals so Buchanan can get revenge on his enemies. Shrewd, hard-boiled police investigator Dr. Chet Walker (an excellent and engaging performance by Richard Denning) becomes determined to stop Buchanan. Capably directed by Edward L. Cahn, with a clever and compelling script by Curt Siodmak, a brisk pace, sharp, moody black and white cinematography by Fred Jackman, Jr., genuinely creepy zombies, a spooky, rousing score by Mischa Bakaleinikoff, a tight 69 minute running time, and a thrilling conclusion, this nifty little quickie provides an inspired and entertaining blend of snappy straightforward horror and gritty film noirish crime thriller. The fine supporting cast includes S. John Launer as Walker's amiable partner Captain Dave Harris, Angela Stevens as Walker's lovely, concerned wife Angela, Pierre Watkin as the irritable Mayor Bremer, Lane Chandler as the ramrod General Saunders, and Tristram Coffin as the ill-fated District Attorney MacGraw. A fun flick.