This is one of my most obscure "Monster PSA" posters, because most people--even people with a familiarity of old horror and sci-fi movies--don't know who Albert Dekker is.
He had a long career, appearing in such movies as The Killers, Gentlemen's Agreement, East of Eden, and The Wild Bunch; but I know him the odd 1940 film Dr. Cyclops, where he played a mad scientist who created a shrinking ray.
Dr. Cyclops, as a movie, is notable in many ways: it was directed by King Kong's Ernest Schoedsack, its in color, and has a comedic tone that is mixed in with the creepy performance by Dekker as Cyclops. Its not a classic by any means, but it has a certain something that really intrigues me.
The tagline refers to the rumors about how Dekker died: supposedly in a gruesome, sordid manner, his body found by police after he had been dead several days. I first heard about this many years ago, and have since come to learn that the story might not be true after all; and that it might have been someone's wild imagination that somehow became accepted fact.
So I thought if there was one lesson Mr. Dekker might want to impart, it would be not to necessarily believe everything you hear.
On a separate note, I notice I've added a bunch of new people on this blog's "Followers" list. I'm not sure where all you guys have come from, but I wanted to say thanks for following along, I really do appreciate it!
He had a long career, appearing in such movies as The Killers, Gentlemen's Agreement, East of Eden, and The Wild Bunch; but I know him the odd 1940 film Dr. Cyclops, where he played a mad scientist who created a shrinking ray.
Dr. Cyclops, as a movie, is notable in many ways: it was directed by King Kong's Ernest Schoedsack, its in color, and has a comedic tone that is mixed in with the creepy performance by Dekker as Cyclops. Its not a classic by any means, but it has a certain something that really intrigues me.
The tagline refers to the rumors about how Dekker died: supposedly in a gruesome, sordid manner, his body found by police after he had been dead several days. I first heard about this many years ago, and have since come to learn that the story might not be true after all; and that it might have been someone's wild imagination that somehow became accepted fact.
So I thought if there was one lesson Mr. Dekker might want to impart, it would be not to necessarily believe everything you hear.
On a separate note, I notice I've added a bunch of new people on this blog's "Followers" list. I'm not sure where all you guys have come from, but I wanted to say thanks for following along, I really do appreciate it!
2 comments:
is DR. Cyclops the one where he shrinks those people down and chases them through a hut? it sounds so familiar but then again if it is what i think it is it was one of those movies they'd show on channel 9 at 4:30 (waaaaaay before cable) back when I was a kid.
WIEC-
That's the one. A weird movie, with more comedy than horror (a shame), but Dekker's performance is so squirrely and weird that to me it makes the movie unforgettable.
Post a Comment