Horror Channel celebrates Sci-Fi B-Movies with a second Classic Sci-Fi Weekend in April
The season includes five channel premieres: the heart-pounding Alien invasion classic IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, pulp-horror favourite TARANTULA, featuring an uncredited Clint Eastwood, subterranean monster thriller THE MOLE PEOPLE, the beastly mutant classic THE DEADLY MANTIS and THE MONOLITH MONSTERS, in which the world is attacked by thirsty giant crystals!
The season also embraces returning favourites such as mutant octopus-rampaging IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, Fred F. Sears’ saucer-invading caper EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS, Sears’ rampaging alien bird yarn THE GIANT CLAW, Nathan Juran’s Ray Harryhausen inspired 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and drive-in favourite THE BLOB, starring Steve McQueen.
Full film details in transmission order:
Saturday 16 April @ 13:00 – IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) *Channel Premiere
John Putnam (Richard Carlson), an amateur astronomer, is looking at the skies with his fiancée, schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), when they see what looks like a huge meteor crash into the desert. As events unfold, various townspeople start to disappear, including Ellen, to be replaced by alien ‘duplicates’ As the townspeople become aware of the danger, the likelihood of bloodshed becomes apparent. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury.
Saturday 16 April @ 14:40 – EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956)
UFOs from a doomed star system invade Earth with plans of world conquest. Surrender is not an option so the human race must fight to the bitter end. Special effects are by Ray Harryhausen.
Saturday 16 April @ 16:20 – TARANTULA (1955) *Channel Premiere
This classic science fiction film featuring screen legend Clint Eastwood, tells the story of a scientist who, while researching the effects of a new synthetic nutrient, releases a giant spider in the American Southwest. Directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar, Mara Corday and Leo G. Carroll.
Saturday 16 April @ 17:55 – IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1956)
While on a routine mission, Cmdr. Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey) runs into trouble when his submarine is nearly sunk by an unknown creature, which is identified as a giant octopus from the nether reaches of Mindanao Deep. The beast has been awakened by nearby nuclear testing and now, radioactive and monstrously huge, the rampaging leviathan is heading toward the North American Pacific Coast.
Saturday 16 April @ 19:30 - THE GIANT CLAW (1957)
When a strange flying object is spotted, it is believed to be a UFO. However, it turns out to be an extraterrestrial bird made of anti-matter which leaves a trail of death and destruction in its wake.
Sunday 17 April @ 13:00 – THE MOLE PEOPLE (1957) *Channel Premiere
John Bentley (John Agar), leads a Middle Eastern expedition in search of a lost tribe of Sumerians. He and his cohorts follow a tunnel deep below the surface of the earth, eventually coming across a tyrannical tribe of albino Sumerians, who use the semi-human Mole People as slaves. Aware of the danger the scientists pose, the subterranean High Priest wants them eliminated.
Sunday 17 April @ 14:30 – 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)
A manned space flight from Venus crash lands in the Mediterranean, losing its most precious cargo: reptilian eggs from the planet's surface. Italian zoologist (Frank Puglia), his American granddaughter, Marisa (Joan Taylor), and returned astronaut Calder (William Hopper) must battle to the creature before it destroys everything in its path.
Sunday 17 April @ 16:05 – THE DEADLY MANTIS (1957) *Channel Premiere
When a giant insect attacks several people in a remote Arctic region, Col. Joe Parkham (Craig Stevens) swings into action. Parkham and his associates, Dr. Ned Jackson (William Hopper) and Ned's assistant Margie Blake (Alix Talton), track the predatory mantis as it heads southward to Washington DC.
Sunday 17 April @ 17:40 – THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957) *Channel Premiere
A meteor crashes in the desert, leaving behind huge black chunks. While being analysed in a science lab, the crystalline stones are accidentally drenched with water and begin to grow to gargantuan dimensions. A sudden rainstorm further exacerbates the situation, causing the monoliths to grow to hitherto unimagined heights. Can the world be saved by the saline solution which the scientists are hurriedly developing in the lab?
Sunday 17 April @ 19:15 – THE BLOB (1958)
Two teenagers, Steve (Steve McQueen) and his best girl, Jane (Aneta Corseaut), notice a shooting star fall to earth, destroying an elderly man and growing to a terrifying size. The blob continues to grow, killing many, until the teenagers, with the, initially reluctant aid, of policeman Dave (Earl Rowe) discover a way to stop it.
TV: Sky 317 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 70 / Freesat 138
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