It's hard to begin to describe all the faults of this movie. The wooden dialog, perhaps? Or the wooden actors? Or the plot, which might have made a good 30-minute TWILIGHT ZONE but overstays its welcome in feature format? The subplot with Franz's old friend, and the long theater scene near the end, should have ended up on the cutting room floor.
Part of the weakness is the handling of the villain. The director can't seem to figure out if he wants us to be afraid of him, or feel sorry for him. The closing shot would argue for the latter. But the puppet master is obviously a twisted, manipulative individual. John Hoyt never really gives us that feeling. He might as well be Geppetto, for how frightening he comes across. Most of his victims seem not to care about their fate, which also reduces the fear factor.
The music is trite, with overblown stingers in the first 15-20 minutes every time we see a "puppet person," and restless churning in later action scenes. The special effect shots are amateurish and ineffective; perhaps in 1958, they would have caused a gasp or two. And good old Bert Gordon once again inserts an ad for his other big movie (COLOSSAL MAN). He did the same thing in EARTH VS THE SPIDER.
What struck me the most was how this film, more than SHRINKING MAN, became the blueprint for Irwin Allen's LAND OF THE GIANTS. We have the mixed array of tiny people, trying to communicate on over-sized phones, sliding down power cords and shimmying up desk drawers, and running across giant floors (shot from a crane). Then of course they have to contend with giant rats, cats, and automobiles. You can almost see the light turn on over Irwin's head as he watches.
I'm a fan of corny 50s and 60s science fiction flicks, but this one has little to recommend it, even in the schlock department. Beware: it may shrink your brain, or at least your attention span.
Part of the weakness is the handling of the villain. The director can't seem to figure out if he wants us to be afraid of him, or feel sorry for him. The closing shot would argue for the latter. But the puppet master is obviously a twisted, manipulative individual. John Hoyt never really gives us that feeling. He might as well be Geppetto, for how frightening he comes across. Most of his victims seem not to care about their fate, which also reduces the fear factor.
The music is trite, with overblown stingers in the first 15-20 minutes every time we see a "puppet person," and restless churning in later action scenes. The special effect shots are amateurish and ineffective; perhaps in 1958, they would have caused a gasp or two. And good old Bert Gordon once again inserts an ad for his other big movie (COLOSSAL MAN). He did the same thing in EARTH VS THE SPIDER.
What struck me the most was how this film, more than SHRINKING MAN, became the blueprint for Irwin Allen's LAND OF THE GIANTS. We have the mixed array of tiny people, trying to communicate on over-sized phones, sliding down power cords and shimmying up desk drawers, and running across giant floors (shot from a crane). Then of course they have to contend with giant rats, cats, and automobiles. You can almost see the light turn on over Irwin's head as he watches.
I'm a fan of corny 50s and 60s science fiction flicks, but this one has little to recommend it, even in the schlock department. Beware: it may shrink your brain, or at least your attention span.