Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

Bert I. Gordon (story)
George Worthing Yates (writer)

Release Date:

April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

Terror Comes In Small Packages!

Plot:

Lonely, deranged puppet-master designs a machine that shrinks people.

Plot Keywords:

Miniature People | Puppet | Mad Scientist | Shrinking | Miniaturization

Cast

John Agar	...	Bob Westley
John Hoyt	...	Mr. Franz
June Kenney	...	Sally Reynolds
Michael Mark	...	Emil
Jack Kosslyn	...	Sgt. Paterson
Marlene Willis	...	Laurie / Themesong Vocalist
Ken Miller	...	Stan
Laurie Mitchell	...	Georgia Lane
Scott Peters	...	Mac
Susan Gordon	...	Agnes
June Jocelyn	...	Brownie Leader
Jean Moorhead	...	Janet
Hank Patterson	...	Janitor
Hal Bogart	...	Special Delivery Man
Troy Patterson	...	Elevator Operator

Also Known As:

I Was a Teenage Doll (USA) (working title)
Six Inches Tall (UK)
The Fantastic Puppet People

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #18865)

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

This film was rushed into production by American International and Bert I. Gordon to ride the success of Universal-International's The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Goofs:

Continuity: The saucer of milk used to lure the cat into the lab changes position on the window sill between shots.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

Soundtrack:

You're My Living Doll

Blueprint for LAND OF THE GIANTS

It's hard to begin to describe all the faults of this movie. The wooden dialog, perhaps? Or the wooden actors? Or the plot, which might have made a good 30-minute TWILIGHT ZONE but overstays its welcome in feature format? The subplot with Franz's old friend, and the long theater scene near the end, should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Part of the weakness is the handling of the villain. The director can't seem to figure out if he wants us to be afraid of him, or feel sorry for him. The closing shot would argue for the latter. But the puppet master is obviously a twisted, manipulative individual. John Hoyt never really gives us that feeling. He might as well be Geppetto, for how frightening he comes across. Most of his victims seem not to care about their fate, which also reduces the fear factor.

The music is trite, with overblown stingers in the first 15-20 minutes every time we see a "puppet person," and restless churning in later action scenes. The special effect shots are amateurish and ineffective; perhaps in 1958, they would have caused a gasp or two. And good old Bert Gordon once again inserts an ad for his other big movie (COLOSSAL MAN). He did the same thing in EARTH VS THE SPIDER.

What struck me the most was how this film, more than SHRINKING MAN, became the blueprint for Irwin Allen's LAND OF THE GIANTS. We have the mixed array of tiny people, trying to communicate on over-sized phones, sliding down power cords and shimmying up desk drawers, and running across giant floors (shot from a crane). Then of course they have to contend with giant rats, cats, and automobiles. You can almost see the light turn on over Irwin's head as he watches.

I'm a fan of corny 50s and 60s science fiction flicks, but this one has little to recommend it, even in the schlock department. Beware: it may shrink your brain, or at least your attention span.