Atomic Age Cinema: The Offbeat, the Classic and the Obscure

By Barry Atkinson.

British author Barry Atkinson (You’re Not Old Enough Son; Indie Horrors!) embarks on an exploration of the cinematic world dominated by the atomic bomb, presenting readers with movies ranging from the rare to the unusual. While this specialized genre has offered sci-fi and horror gems such as The Thing from Another World and the 3D House of Wax, the author has decided to concentrate on the obscure and neglected lesser titles, many not seen for decades. Even the most devoted genre fan might not remember or even recognize such films as La Casa del Terror (a Mexican offering featuring Lon Chaney playing both a revived mummy and werewolf!), The Brain Machine, The Day the Earth Froze and many other movies featured in 33 chapters. In addition to the movies themselves, the author covers such themes as select monsters such as The Gillman (the best entrant in the trilogy), the Yeti in 50s fantastic films, Dr. Jekyll’s evil offspring and even Karloff and Lugosi’s work in the decade. There are also chapters that discuss and debate such questions as: does colorization enhance a black-and-white favorite and how do monster special effects rate before CGI. The book covers a whole range of topics that are sure to enlighten and entertain fans of what many now recognize as the pivotal decade for horror, sci-fi and fantasy.