Sam Katzman had able to produce movies at a major studio with the production value of Roger Corman indie flicks. But that was part of what made him so valuable in Hollywood. He could make the cheapie B Film that would go out on a double feature package with the more expensive film. He was able to keep his productions working fast, on budget and stick to four reels. He was not an artist. He was made films and made a lot of them. When Colonel Tom Parker wanted to keep down the budget to bring in more profit for him and Elvis Presley, he brought aboard Sam for Harum Scarum and Kissin’ Cousins. Two of his films that felt like they had a real budget were It Came From Beneath the Sea and Earth vs The Flying Saucers. Both featured the work of Ray Harryhausen and became major hits. Columbia had Katzman make them a few more science fiction movies except without Harryhausen’s wizardry. Cold War Creatures – Four Films From Sam Katzman: Limited Edition boxset brings together his films from 1955-57 that played theaters during the golden age of black and white science fiction and now pop up on MeTV’s Svengoolie.
Creature with the Atom Brain (1955 – 69 minutes) merges the underworld crime drama with the mad scientist. Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger) is a mobster who has to flee the country after getting two-timed by other mobsters. While on the run in Europe, he crosses paths with Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye). The Nazi scientist swears he’s come up with a way to reanimate the dead. Instead of using a voodoo ritual, Steigg relies on a post mortem brain surgery and a mechanical device to program them. This gives Frank a great way to get revenge on his old business pals. He’s going to send killer zombies after them. The two sneak into America and attack. The police are freaked out as local mobsters turn up dead.
The Werewolf (1956 – 79 minutes) is a reworking of the Wolf Man in a way that Universal couldn’t sue Columbia. This isn’t a tale of a man bit by a wolf creature that discovers they’re a hairy-man-beast. A confused man (Steven Ritch) stumbles around a small town and into a bar. He has no idea of where he is or his name. He just remembers two doctors. Instead of getting answers, he heads outside and meets a mugger. Instead of handing over his wallet, he tears out the thug’s throat. He later attacks another person. We discover that the Werewolf was the victim of a cruel army experiment where he received an untested treatment that has caused him to become a savage beast. Is there any hope of him reverting back to a normal human?
Zombies of Mora Tau (1957 – 69 minutes) combines an underwater action film with undead creatures. George Harrison (Joel Ashley) is a rich guy eager to do a little treasure hunting. He brings his wife Mona (Allison Hayes) and diving buddy Jeff (Gregg Palmer) to an island off Africa where a ship with a valuable cargo sunk. They learn quickly that this isn’t there usual expedition when their local chauffer has to run over a few zombies on the road. Turns out that there’s even zombies under the water. The crew of the sunk ship have been cursed to protect the diamonds. Will this make George rethink his plans? Of course not. What’s a bunch of zombies matter to a dashing treasure hunter?
The Giant Claw (1957 – 75 minutes) is perhaps the science fiction film in the boxset known by movie watchers. Mainly because the giant flying monster is so ridiculous when it attack. Instead of a sophisticated stop-motion beast, Katzman signed off on a marionette puppet that looked like a cartoon buzzard. It’s not the most scary of creatures, but it is vicious as it attacks a plane and eats a parachuting passenger. You’d expect a higher grade of special effects since the movie stars Jeff Morrow from The Creature Walks Among Us and This Island Earth. But neither of those two films had Sam Katzman cracking the whip behind the camera. The Giant Claw came out around the same time as Universal’s Deadly Mantis. They make a perfect double feature.
The four films might not be as gripping or complex as other science fiction films from this era, but Sam Katzman made them entertaining. You can easily devour all four movies on lazy evening. The movies had previously been released on a barebones DVD set. The bonus features put together by Arrow Video have given the legacy of Sam Katzman quite a bit of respect. Cold War Creatures – Four Films From Sam Katzman makes the producer look like a guy who wanted to make films that didn’t make you walk out of the theater before the main feature began.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic for all four films. The 1080p transfers give the film a bit of depth to the black and white images. The audio is DTS-HD MA Mono on all films. Things sound smooth and loud as the scares come out at you. The movies are subtitles in English.
Fully illustrated 60-page collector’s book featuring extensive new writing by Laura Drazin Boyes, Neil Mitchell, Barry Forshaw, Jon Towlson and Jackson Cooper
80-page collector’s art book featuring reproduction stills and artwork from each film and new writing by historian and critic Stephen R. Bissette
2 double-sided posters featuring newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
DISC 1 – CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN
Introduction (8:33) by historian and critic Kim Newman talks about how other movies and tv shows tried to mimic the title. He mentions how the movie shares footage with other Columbia productions as Katzman saves more production budget. He says the film went out as a double feature with Ray Harryhausen’s It Came From Beneath the Sea.
Audio commentary by critic Russell Dyball
Sam Katzman: Before and Beyond the Cold War Creatures (73:57) gets into the life, career and films of Sam Katzman by historian and critic Stephen R. Bissette. He gives a sense of all the low budget films that Sam Katzman cranked out during his Hollywood years. He talks about how theaters worked in the early years. Katzman made films for Monogram early in his career.
Condensed Super 8mm version of Creature with the Atom Brain (19:27) is pretty epic for the version made for home cinema viewing. This has sound instead of title cards.
Theatrical Trailer (2:11) gives us “A Dead Man Stalks the Streets!” The promise is only screams can describe the action.
Image Gallery gives us press kit photos of laboratories and crime scenes.
DISC 2 – THE WEREWOLF
Introduction (13:55) by critic Kim Newman has him explain how director Fred F. Sears. He points out how Fred became the go to guy for Katzman with westerns followed by Rock Around the Clock and Don’t Knock the Rock, and the science-fiction features Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and The Giant Claw. Sears directed nearly 50 feature films before dropping dead of a heart attack at his Columbia Studios office. He was only 45.
Audio commentary by critic Lee Gambin
Beyond Window Dressing (23:35) is historian and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas video essay about actresses in these four Sam Katzman movies.
Super 8mm version (7:33) of The Werewolf that was sold for home cinema viewing. A narrator patches together the highlights in the film.
Theatrical Trailer (1:57) promises us that evil scientists turned a man into a werewolf instead of a curse.
Image Gallery has about a dozen publicity stills.
DISC 3 – THE ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU
Introduction by critic Kim Newman (7:35) has him tell viewers to watch the films in order. He talks about this film being a bit of throwback with zombies not being like science fiction creatures. He also mentions that the Egyptian artifacts might be worth more than the diamonds in the film. He compares the zombies here with ones from George Romero and Lucio Fulci.
Audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger
Atomic Terror: Genre in Transformation (19:48) goes into rational world and the horror creatures found in Sam Katzman’s films. Josh Hurtado talks about things that went bump in the night could get new screams from old beasts. He speaks about all four films.
Theatrical Trailer (1:55) promises us the “Walking Dead.” There’s going to be a lot of women screaming in the film.
Image Gallery includes about two dozen publicity photos with the cast covered in sea weed and diving helmets.
DISC 4 – THE GIANT CLAW
Introduction (12:27) by critic Kim Newman has him appreciating the film. We’re back in Kim’s room with the quilt over the sofa and his numerous bookcases. Kim fills us in on the relationship between Katzman and Ray Harryhausen. Ray didn’t do the flying creature effects in The Giant Claw.
Audio commentary by critics Emma Westwood and Cerise Howard
Family Endangered! (12:51) allows critic Mike White to examine the Cold War paranoia in Sam Katzman monster movies. He points out as Katzman at his height was cranking out 10 movies a year. He sees that Katzman’s films did more than you can see in the quickie – low budget efforts.
Condensed Super 8mm version of The Giant Claw (6:29) was produced for watching on your home movie projector. They used to sell these at K-Mart in the time before VHS. This one is pretty classy since it has actual audio. It’s mostly bird attack footage.
Theatrical Trailer (2:03) actually shows the giant marionette creature. This allowed audiences to not complain about the effect when he arrived at the theater.
Image Gallery are a lot of production pics of the cast grasping each other and looking shocked at something off the frame.
Arrow Video presents Cold War Creatures – Four Films From Sam Katzman: Limited Edition. Produced by Sam Katzman. Starring Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Steven Ritch, Joyce Holden, Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes, Richard Denning and Angela Stevens. Boxset Contents: 4 movies on 4 Blu-ray discs. Rated: Unrated. Release Date: September 13, 2021.
