Monster from Green Hell.

In this episode of the "1950s Science Fiction Podcast," Edward German reviews the 1957 film "The Monster from Green Hell." They discuss the plot, where scientists investigate giant wasps in Africa caused by cosmic radiation. Despite its intriguing premise, Speaker 1 criticizes the film as one of the worst B-grade sci-fi movies they've seen, citing poor execution, repetitive special effects, and bad sound quality. They also mention the film's low ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes and inform listeners that it’s available on Tubi.com. The episode concludes with information on how to follow the podcast on social media.

Hello and welcome to the 1950s Science Fiction Podcast! It's been a while since I produced an episode of the series, so I am happy to be back and recording again. Today's topic is a movie review of "The Monster from Green Hell.". "Monster from Green Hell" was released in 1957 by DCA, an independent company, and directed by Kenneth G. Crane. The film starred Jim Davis, who later gained fame in the TV series "Dallas," and Barbara Turner. The producer was Al Zimblist, known for his B-grade sci-fi movies such as "Robot Monster" and "Cat Women on the Moon." The film's runtime was 71 minutes, and it was part of a double feature at the time of its release.

The movie begins with two scientists in the United States working on a space exploration project in the desert. They use rockets to send test subjects into outer space to study the effects of weightlessness and then have the rocket return with the samples. However, one of their rockets veers off course and lands in western Africa. After hearing reports of death and destruction in central Africa, the two scientists decide to investigate and travel to the African continent.

Once there, they embark on an expedition to meet a doctor who examined the first victim of a mysterious monster. Following an autopsy, the doctor concludes that the victim died from a massive amount of wasp venom. The scientists then realized that the payload from their crashed rocket, which contained a colony of wasps, had grown to a gigantic size due to exposure to cosmic radiation.

After a grueling trip to see the doctor who runs a remote mission in Africa, the two scientists are informed of the doctor's death at a nearby volcano. The doctor's daughter is devastated by her father's passing, and with the help of the doctor's assistant, the two scientists vow to destroy the giant wasp colony. The next day, the scientists, the daughter, the doctor's assistant, and an expedition guide venture into the caves where the wasp colony thrives. This area was referred to as "Green Hell" by the doctor, hence the movie's title.

The group discovers the colony and eliminates it using a small supply of explosives. These explosives are contained in hand grenade-sized containers filled with the latest material. One scientist uses all the explosives on the wasp, resulting in a landslide. This landslide traps the colony, and when the volcano erupts, the lava destroys the colony once and for all.

This movie is one of the worst B-grade sci-fi films I have ever seen. I once owned a copy of it as part of a VHS collection during the 1990s. I hadn't seen the movie until then, and after watching it just once, I found it to be truly terrible. Despite the poor video quality of the cassette, it was simply not well made.

I recently rewatched the movie for my review, and after nearly 30 years, still, I wouldn't say I liked it. The premise seemed promising, but the execution was lacking. The special effects used stop-motion for the wasp monsters, but the sequences were limited to just a few angles. Additionally, the sound quality was inferior.

Both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes give this disastrous movie a very low rating. If you're curious, you can watch it on Tubi.com, but you might find yourself wishing you could get back that hour and ten minutes.

That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed this episode of the 1950s Science Fiction Podcast. I plan to have another show out soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on social media:

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Thank you once again for listening!