Film Review: THE CRAWLING EYE a.k.a. THE TROLLENBERG TERROR (1958)

Welcome to The Horn Section's contribution to the 50's Monster Mash Blog-a-Thon at Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear!  This is my very first blogathon in the five years I've been reviewing the overlooked and obscure, and what better debut than a tribute to a bona fide genre standard starring The Horn Section's number one icon?

Be sure to check out the other entries from the online film blogger community during this six-day salute to the classic monsters of the 1950's.  There's 43 participants altogether, and this has been going on since Thursday morning!  While you're there, note that this isn't the first time Nate's hosted a Blog-a-Thon; the Roger Corman showcase from June is also there for your perusal.

So is my site, while you're here. (hint) If you happen to be browsing The Horn Section for the first time, welcome!   Feel free to sign up for notification via email (lower right column) or follow me on Twitter for future reviews and musings.  (hint hint) 

And now, with the commercials out of the way, our feature presentation.......

THE CRAWLING EYE a.k.a. THE TROLLENBERG TERROR (1958 Eros/DCA) Starring Forrest Tucker, Janet Munro, Jennifer Jayne, Laurence Payne, Warren Mitchell.  Directed by Quentin Lawrence.

OUR HERO: By day, a mild mannered scientist hiding his alter ego behind glasses and scholarly reading material

Look! Up from the paper!  It's a bird, it's a plane.....

No dude, it's Janet Munro fainting into your arms!  Time for action!

The glasses come off, the paper vanishes, and out comes the flask!  Mackin' TUCK has arrived!

The Alpine village of Trollenberg has been plagued by a series of fatal accidents on the town's namesake mountain. Numerous climbers have mysteriously vanished without a trace, and the only one who was found had been beheaded.  A static, radioactive cloud near the peak is the common denominator in the deaths and Mitchell, believing alien forces are involved, has summoned colleague Tucker to help.  Psychic sisters Jayne and Munro decide to tag along after the latter experiences a premonition on the train just before Tuck's scheduled stop there.

Called on because he and Mitchell witnessed similar lethal happenings in the Andes years earlier, Tuck is reluctant, for the prior fiasco almost ruined his career.  But a geologist ends up as a second decapitation victim, an experienced climber turns into a dead-eyed zombie with his murderous sights on Munro, and reporter Payne observes all of it.  The otherworldly creatures seem to become better acclimated to the conditions by the minute. With the entire village under assault and secrecy no longer an issue, Tucker takes charge and confronts his painful professional past.

HOW TOUGH IS HE?  We learn that it's cold enough up there to freeze the blankets inside the cabin.....

But Tuck doesn't even need a HAT!  You've had it this time, aliens!!

Unsubtly retitled THE CRAWLING EYE for its U.S. release, THE TROLLENBERG TERROR remains one of the most beloved sci-fi flicks of its decade.  The nostalgia factor goes beyond one's fondness for otherworldly monsters and vintage black and white film.  Pay close attention to alcohol consumption by the characters:  I'd say on a "drinks per minute" basis it's more than your typical DALLAS episode but less than an average BEWITCHED.  TERROR is more than suitable for inventing drinking games of your own (I recommend "cloud" as your trigger to "down it").   Quentin Lawrence's work was an influence on THE FOG and THE MIST (both John Carpenter and Stephen King are acknowledged fans) and the film ended up as MST3K's premiere episode in 1989.

Don't let that last fact fool you, though.  The film has been mocked for decades because of its blatant U.S. title, not a lack of quality.  Director Lawrence builds a genuine sense of dread and is able to successfully hide his low budget until TERROR's final act, when he's forced to employ the best special effects the funding will allow (subpar, to put it kindly) and to finally reveal what's been hiding in that cloud.  There's that word again--that's one gulp if you're playing along.

While THE TROLLENBERG TERROR is marred somewhat by the cheese factor late this flaw is nowhere near fatal.  In fact, to modern eyes the shortcomings only add to the fun.  It's also refreshing these days to see a reporter who isn't a sleaze ball in his pursuit of the story and actually pitches in willingly at the climax instead of being a hindrance.

Elsewhere, Munro smiles and faints a lot.  Jayne cuts loose with a good scream in the final act but is properly reserved otherwise, and Mitchell looks and sounds Einsteinian.  But it isn't Mitchell who solves the problem--this is Tucker's show all the way.  This was the second of a sci-fi trilogy for the action stalwart in the late fifties, and all three were British productions (the third was the rarely seen THE COSMIC MONSTERS, which TCM dusted off just last month).  After playing the greedy, unsympathetic "ugly American" butting heads with Peter Cushing in THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, Tuck gets to play a more traditional hero this time out and delivers one of his most authoritative performances.

On top of that, it seems pretty damn courageous for the guy just to climb up that mountain again after what happened to him in SNOWMAN and AUNTIE MAME. 

 What?  She ended up with the reporter?  You've GOT to be kidding!

Why he's Tuck and you're not: he smoothly moves on to big sis without missing a beat!  "Cigarette?"

"I've got a gal I met on the hill...she won't do it but her sister will...."

So...why didn't I ask: Why the Hell isn't this on DVD yet?

Because it IS--and it has been since 2001.  The release of the widescreen European edition includes interesting liner notes (Tuck admitted he had trouble keeping a straight face when he saw the title monster) and the original U.S. theatrical trailer.