What can you say about Monster from Green Hell that hasn't already been said? Directed by Kenneth Crane (When Hell Broke Loose, The Manster), and written by Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes, Monster from Green Hell was released in 1957 on a double bill with The Brain from Planet Arous. It opened to rave reviews and was one of the highest-grossing films of 1957. Now that we've gotten past the alternative facts part, in writing about Monster from Green Hell, critic Glenn Erickson praised it by saying, ''Unadulterated awfulness.''
One of a spate of big bug pictures, this one has something to do with scientists sending small animals into space to see if the gamma rays produce mutations. Hint: They do. For a film like Monster from Green Hell, one needs the perfect composer, and they got him Albert Glasser, whose music graced some of the most beloved and classic low-budget films of the 1950s, including several other big bug movies like Beginning of the End and Earth vs. the Spider, as well as such other films as The Cyclops, The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People, War of the Colossal Beast, and The Boy and the Pirates.
Albert Glasser's music for Monster from Green Hell is classic Glasser all blaring brass and screeching strings and jagged rhythms, bombastically keeping the movie trudging along for all of its seventy-three endless minutes, and making it seem like something is actually happening. Glasser was an expert at this kind of thing, and clearly in his musical element.
This release was prepared from Albert Glasser's own tapes and our restoration expert, Chris Malone, has done his always-masterful job in transferring them and making them sound as good as possible.
Track listing
1. Prologue
2. Main Titles
3. Rocket Off Course to Africa
4. Death in Green Hell
5. The Mutant Wasp
6. Leave of Absence/Dr. Lawrence, I Presume
7. Natives Killed
8. Scientists in the Jungle
9. Unfriendly Natives Rally
10. No Water/Poisoned Waterhole
11. Dr. Lawrence Dead
12. Preparing for Green Hell
13. Village Destroyed
14. Snake vs. Wasp
15. Wasps Around the Campfire
16. Hiking by the Volcano
17. Final Thoughts/Finale
18. Jungle Jazz
19. Unused Cue
20. Monster from Green Hell (alternate) |
