Attack of the Puppet People/Village of the Giants

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

John Hoyt, John Agar, June Kenney. A lonely doll maker shrinks people--including the woman he loves--down to doll size and adds them to his collection in this sci-fi/horror comedy. 1958/b&w/79 min/NR/fullscreen.

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Screen format: full screen
  • English: Mono
  • French and Spanish subtitles

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       John Agar - Bob Westley
       Johnny Crawford - Horsey
       Beau Bridges - Fred
       Michael Mark - Emil
       Jack Kosslyn - Sgt. Paterson
       Bob Random - Rick
       Charla Doherty - Nancy
       Scott Peters - Mac
       Kevin O'Neal - Harry
       Gale Gilmore - Elsa
       Jean Moorhead - Janet
       Hank Jones - Chuck
       Hal Bogart - Mailman
       Troy Patterson - Elevator Operator
       Bill Giorgio - Janitor
       Mark Lowell - Salesman
       Freddy Cannon

• Director:

  Bert I. Gordon

• Producer:

  Bert I. Gordon

• Screenwriter:

  Bert I. Gordon, George Worthing Yates, Alan Caillou

• Cinematographer:

  Ernest Laszlo, Paul Vogel

• Composer (Music Score):

  Albert Glasser, Jack Nitzsche

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Jack Nitzsche

• Editor:

  Ronald Sinclair, John A. Bushelman

• Art Director:

  Franz Bachelin

• Set Designer:

  Robert R. Benton

• Costume Designer:

  Leah Rhoads, Frank Richardson

• Makeup:

  Wally Westmore

• Special Effects:

  Bert I. Gordon, Flora Gordon

• Choreography:

  Toni Basil

• Short Story Author:

  H.G. Wells

REVIEW:

• Make no mistake about it, Village of the Giants is a bad movie -- but most viewers will have a lot more fun watching Giants than they will watching many much better films. By this point in his career, director/producer Bert I. Gordon had already gained a reputation for "big" pictures -- big in the sense that animals, insects or people tended to grow to monstrous size when he was at the helm. Where he got the inspired (so to speak) idea to combine this sci-fi staple with a musical teen-age beach-style movie is anybody's guess, but the result is every bit as dreadful as it sounds -- and that's all to the good. The plot makes absolutely no sense (even giving it significant latitude as an ostensible sci-fi movie), with the townspeople taking the appearance of gigantic animals and insects in stride as if it were an everyday occurrence. The dialogue is so painful that it produces groans that cascade into laughter. And despite a cast (Ronny Howard, Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges) that has more going for it than many other films of this level, the acting is amateurish. Gordon's direction is poor, and his special effects are delightfully cheesy. Some of the musical numbers are legitimately fun; others fun despite themselves. And the rain-and-mud dance that starts things off must be seen to be believed -- but that pretty much sums up all of Giants. A bad film in all departments, but very much a hoot. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi