The Mole People
Director: Virgil Vogel
Year: 1956
Rating: 5.0
I was
curious whether these mole people were related to those in Superman and the
Mole-men (1951). Perhaps distant cousins. These ones were much taller and
had the ability to pull a human underneath the earth. The film begins with
a real-life professor explaining to us that some people have theorized for
centuries that there was a world underneath ours or that we were actually
on the inside of the earth. I guess they even had their version of QAnon
back in the days of the Greek philosophers. I am sure if you would posit
this theory on social media today, the conspiracy would spread. Anyway, this
sets the audience up for the serious academic film that follows.
Four archeologists are digging somewhere
in a mountainous region of Asia when they find an ancient cuneiform tablet
that tells the tale of there having been a flood in which the leader led
his people and two animals each to safety. Why, why that's the story of the
ark exclaims one of them. How did a Sumerian tablet get here? Let's climb
to the top of the mountain and find out. Once up there a hole opens in the
earth and they climb back down and discover a civilization of albino men
and hot women who pray to Ishtar. They are about to kill the men when one
turns on a flashlight and they run away.
Fortunately, everyone speaks English and
the natives think the men have been sent from Ishtar. All they have to eat
are mushrooms and when there isn't enough to feed all the people, they sacrifice
a few but not before a maiden does a hootchie-kootchie dance. And then there
are of course the Mole People. These hideous sloth-like creatures with giant
eyes and gnarly scaly skin. They dig into the ground and can pull humans
down into the abyss and no matter how many times they do it the visuals are
cool and scary. They have been enslaved by the Ishtarians. All looks good
with a willowy blonde (Cynthia Patrick) tending to all their needs - but
oh oh the battery is running low.
My Kingdom for a budget. This is fairly
cool in thought but other than some fine matte backgrounds to make it look
like a grand palace there isn't a nickel to be spent. Solid cast as well
with John Agar and Hugh Beaumont as two of the men and Alan Napier as the
High Priest. Having John Agar in one of his many appearances in 1950's low-budget
sci-fi films usually ensures some quality and this is produced by Universal.
Agar debuted in Fort Apache, then She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Sands
of Iwo Jima during the 1940s before sliding into low-budget sci-fi land.
There must be a story there.
