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Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Starring Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett and Lon Chaney Jr.

In a plot that comes straight out of "Spider-man" comics, a scientist looking to create a serum that will magically allow people to re-grow severed limbs, taps into the regenerative power of the alligator. You can probably fill in the rest of the plot yourself, but in case you can't, rest assured someone gets exposed to this questionable science and slowly turns into the creature the film is named after. Who wouldn't be excited to see a film with such an easily-understood classic B-movie plot? "The Alligator People" is an entertaining film with a truly scary AND ridiculous monster. But, the entertaining part doesn't really begin until two-thirds in. The film moves at a snail's pace in the beginning and, if you're not used to deliberate 1950s pacing, it will seem almost painful to modern sensibilities. Aside from that, the film is competently made and is a great example of 1950s-drive-in cinema! It's hard to recommend "The Alligator People" outright, simply because of its extremely slow beginning. However, I believe that if you fight through it until the monster shows up, the film becomes an instant "so-bad-it's-good" classic that any B-movie film aficionado will love—and the ending is both pointless AND priceless!

Scream Queens!

During the years of classic horror and sci-fi films (1930-70), there were several actresses who did such a good job "emoting," they were repeatedly cast in roles that required them to "cheese it up." Six of these lovely ladies are listed below, followed by six lists of horror and sci-fi films. Your job this month is to match the films to the actress. Some are easy; some not so much! This promises to be a real "scream!" (NOTE: Mr. Mihm made one of the answers easy, if you've been reading carefully.)

1. Elsa Lanchester
2. Evelyn Ankers
3. Beverly Garland
4. Fay Wray
5. Allison Hayes
6. Faith Domergue

A: "Zombies or Mora Tau" (1956), "The Undead" (1957), "The Unearthly" (1957), "Attack of the 50ft. Woman" (1958)
B: "This Island Earth" (1955), "It Came From Beneath the Sea" (1955), "The Atomic Man" (1955) "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet" (1965)
C: "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), "The Ghost Goes West" (1935), "Bell, Book & Candle" (1958), "Willard" (1971)
D: "It Conquered the World" (1956), "Curucu: Beast of the Amazon" (1956) "Not of This Earth" (1957), "The Alligator People" (1959)
E: "The Wolf Man" (1941), "Son of Dracula" (1943), "The Mad Ghoul" (1943), "The Invisible Man's Revenge" (1944)
F: "Doctor X" (1932), "King Kong" (1933), "The Vampire Bat" (1933), "Black Moon" (1934)

Another month has rolled around and it is time for another moment in science. We're going back 109 years this time but, in some ways, we're actually going back much farther than that! Buckle into your time machine and let Dr. Bob Tesla take you back into pre-history!

On August 3rd, 1908, three clergymen discovered a nearly complete skeleton of a Neanderthal in a cave at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. There had been partial skeletons and bone fragments found for decades before this, but this became the most well-known Neanderthal skeleton of all time! Marcellin Boule, the French paleontologist, used his studies of this skeleton to shape the image of Neanderthals for decades! He drew the conclusion that Neanderthals were primitive brutes—a real "cave man" image, you might say. Too bad for Boule, he also demonstrated why science is always adjusting to new data and evolving, no pun intended.

Marcellin Boule had made some faulty observations based on some bones that suffered from osteoarthritis. Later paleontologists corrected the view of Neanderthals based on new data and we have found that they likely used tools and fire. They had a complex social system including burials and possibly crafted symbolic art. Definitely not the cave men GEICO would have you believe! As to what happened to the Neanderthals...well, there are many theories presented. There does appear to be a strong case for at least some interbreeding with us homo sapiens. In fact, the case is so strong that, if you have red hair, you likely share some Neanderthal genes!

Regardless of what happened to the Neanderthals 40,000 years ago, we have those 3 clergymen to thank for finding the skeleton back in 1908 and getting it to the right scientist. This is also a moment to reflect on how closely religion and science worked together a century ago. I know that, in the current political landscape, everyone thinks that religion and science are "enemies" and opposites, but that could not be further from the truth! Until recently, science and religion worked closely as they had the same goal (true knowledge) but different subjects. The father of modern genetics, Gregor Mendel, was an Austrian monk, for crying out loud! I will not get into the history and politics of how the sights of these two completely separate disciplines have been turned into a crossfire. That is far too explosive of a topic for me to address and I am a man who literally handles explosives! I can only speak for my discipline and I, for one, am thankful for all the help we've had to advance the study of SCIENCE!

"The Monster of Phantom Lake," "It Came From Another World!," "Cave Women on Mars," "Terror from Beneath the Earth," "Destination: Outer Space," "Attack of the Moon Zombies," "House of Ghosts," "The Giant Spider," "The Late Night Double Feature," "Danny Johnson Saves The World," "Weresquito: Nazi Hunter" and "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical" DVDs are now available at SaintEuphoria.com, the online home of the films of Christopher R. Mihm.

In addition, exclusive movie posters, collectibles and other merchandise are now in stock. Everything is available in extremely limited quantities, so get yours today before they run out!