| The Mole People | |
|---|---|
film poster by Joseph Smith |
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| Directed by | Virgil W. Vogel |
| Produced by | William Alland |
| Written by | László Görög |
| Starring | John Agar Hugh Beaumont Cynthia Patrick |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Company |
| Release date(s) | USA: 1956 and 1964 (re-release); Finland: 1957 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000 |
The Mole People is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Virgil W. Vogel.
Contents |
The film begins with a narration by Dr. Frank Baxter, an English professor at the University of Southern California, explaining the premise of the movie and its basis in reality. He briefly discusses the hollow earth theories of John Symmes and Cyrus Teed among others, and says that the movie is a fictionalized representation of this unorthodox point-of-view.
In this movie, archaeologists Dr. Roger Bentley and Dr. Jud Bellamin stumble upon a race of Sumerian albinos living deep under the Earth. They keep mutant humanoid mole men as their slaves to harvest mushrooms, their primary food source, since they can grow without sunlight. The Sumerian albinos' ancestors moved into the subterranean after the cataclysmic floods in ancient Mesopotamia. Whenever their population increases, they sacrifice old people to the Eye of Ishtar, which is really natural light coming from the surface. These people have lived underground for so long that they are weakened by bright light which the archaeologists brought in the form of a flashlight. However, there is one girl named Adad who has natural Caucasian skin who is disdained by the others since she has the "mark of darkness." They believe the men are messengers of Ishtar, their goddess.
When one of the archaeologists is killed by a mole person, Elinu, the High Priest, realizes they are not gods. He orders their capture and takes the flashlight to control the Mole People, not knowing it is depleted. The archaeologists are then sent to the Eye just as the Mole People rebel. Adad goes to the Eye only to realize its true nature and the men had survived. They then leave for the surface. Unfortunately, Adad dies after reaching the surface, when an earthquake causes a column to fall over and crush her.
The role of Elinu, High Priest of the Sumerians, is acted by Alan Napier who also played Alfred on the Batman television show. Hugh Beaumont is cast as Dr. Jud Bellamin. Beaumont's most famous role was as father Ward Cleaver in the Leave It To Beaver television show series (1957-1963). The role of Adad is acted by Cynthia Patrick.
This film was parodied on the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
A clip from this movie was used in the 1968 film The Wild World of Batwoman, as creatures created by one of the movie's villains. This use was itself parodied on Mystery Science Theater 3000, with Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo mocking the classic slogan for Reese's Peanut Butter cups followed by Mike Nelson imitating the film's villain, proclaiming "That's enough of THAT film."