Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

MANEATER OF HYDRA AKA ISLAND OF THE DOOMED

MANEATER OF HYDRA (aka Island of the Doomed/1967). Director: Ernst Ritter von Theumer. Written by Mel Welles.

"Everyone has his own way of enjoying himself -- the baron and his plants that eat mice ..."

Baron von Weser (Cameron Mitchell) hosts a party of tourists that include Cora Robinson (Kai Fischer), a manhunter with an older husband (Ralph von Nackhoff); David Moss (George Martin), a handsome architect, and his girlfriend Beth (Elisa Montes); and Myrtle (Matilde Munoz Sampedro),, an annoying old woman who is always snapping pictures. As an actor Mel Welles was in the original Little Shop of Horrors -- as a writer, well let's just say he's not as good as he is as an actor. The "vampire tree" of the ads doesn't actually show up until the film's final moments, and by then most of the audience will have fallen asleep. Not as much fun if just as awful as From Hell It Came and Navy vs. the Night Monsters. Mitchell was also in Blood and Black Lace and many others.

Verdict: Quite tedious. **.

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