The Mole People

The Mole Men

Director ~ Virgil W. Vogel

1956, b/w, USA

Writer ~ László Görög

Stars ~ John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont

 

Starts with about five minutes of screen time of filler, a Professor of English Frank C. Baxter  (real) running through the history of hollow Earth in mythology. So it starts as it means to go on, and it is amazing how much feels else like padding. They spend an awful long time climbing down a hole in pursuit someone who is obviously already dead.

 

So, some archaeologists (who make anthropological deductions too) go the top of a mountain to investigate some ruins and then descend through the mountain to discover an ancient Sumerian civilisation that worship Ishtar (which apparently wasn’t a thing they did). (So if they go right at top and then go down, I’m not sure they descended enough to be below the Earth’s crust… more “hollow mountain” theory than “hollow Earth”?). The Sumerian are albino and vulnerable to intense light – making the archaeologists’ torch a religious weapon – but luckily for these stock American men, there is a Caucasian woman considered lower caste for one to fall in love with. The archaeologists masquerade as divine and use their torch as a threat to survive the Sumerians’ religious murderous inclinations whilst sitting around being all masculine. It’s up to Alan Napier as Elinu, the High priest, to add some life to proceedings with his dissent and conniving, and merely by not phoning in his part.

 

 

The Mole People, who we’ve come for, have the highlight of dragging people under into the dirt. They have agreeable clunky men-in-suit designs with memorable enough masks, and although they are apparently harvesting gigantic subterranean mushrooms (?) for food, they seem to be mostly for milling around for regular whipping. But it’s not a film to monopolise on the potential of that particular analogy.

 

Some impressive avalanche stock footage, a little commentary about hierarchies, slavery, racism and population control; but although this is loaded context and colouring, it doesn’t ultimately feel like proving much. The appeal now is in its datedness and silliness, its ambition far exceeding its budget.  

 

 

But there are reports of a possible remake with Robert Kirkman involved, and I will consider that promising as I am big devotee of ‘The Walking Dead’ comics.