'Oh dear.'
Welcome back to my Dark Corner of this Sick World
'Ready to go doc?'
'Yes, let me just check gyroscope.'
We’re reviewing At the Earth’s core, starring Doug McClure
You might remember himfrom such Dark Corners reviews as Humanoids from the Deep
At the Earth’s Core is a pretty accurate version of Edgar Rice Burrough’s novel
and follows McClure and Peter Cushing
‘Brawn before brains’
as they accidentally discover the underground world of Pellucidar.
‘What an unbelievable sight’
Turns out there’s a lot to enjoy At the Earth’s Core
‘I’ll drink to that’
For one thing there’s Caroline Munro
‘What a phenomenal sight’
No kidding.
Also an unending stream of rubber monsters:
Sam the Eagle
The doll-eating rhinos
The Molotov toad
And of course
‘A ramphorynchus of the middle Jurassic period!’
That’s the other thing to love about this film, while the plot keeps begging to be taken seriously
– which ain’t gonna happen.
'You can say that again.'
Peter Cushing is always there to lighten the mood by channelling the spirit of C3PO
'Confounded contraption.'
Shoo!Shoo!’
'So excitable, like all foreigners.'
'what a fiery beasty.'
Crossed with colonial governor during Indian mutiny.
‘You can’t mesmerise me, I’m British!’
So there’s a lot to like
‘Ah, very nice’
and yet I sort of don’t
‘Oh how disappointing’
This is a difficult film to review, because it’s silly
and it’s fun and it’s got rubber monsters and Caroline Munro
'What a phenomenal sight!'
But at times it’s also boring, weirdly po-faced
and a bit lazy
‘You’re beginning to annoy me’
It’s very hard not to think: boy I wish all this stuff was happening in a different story
or a better told version of this one
‘Oh you have many other fine qualities’
To explain: Doug and Mr Cushing - I can’t call him Peter
– are captured by Sagoths
Along with other humans, who we know are civilised because they speak English
'He is Hooja, the sly one. Do not trust him.'
But the Sagoth’s themselves are mesmerically in thrall to the Mayhars
who use the humans as slaves
and a snack.
It’s a terrible fate because
‘No one can escape from the Mayhar’s city’
Later that afternoon
Really didn’t seem that hard did it?
But that was just one person,you’d never get all the slaves out
‘The Mayhar’s are all seeing’
Later that afternoon.
The humans haven’t fought back because they’re all from different tribes
and the tribes will not work together
‘NO tribe trusts each other’
later that afternoon
‘Now, with the help of our new found friends, we are united'
But the Mayhar’s are all-powerful,
you’d need some cunning and subtle strategy to take them out
Like, hailing them with arrows.
It’s all so easy!
Not even the rubber monsters are any real hassle
'Bravo!'
I want more of everything:
more difficulty, more tension, more Caroline Munro.
who disappears completely for like half an hour
I don’t hate it
‘After what you’ve just seen’
it’s just a bit meh.
'Oh how very disappointing.'
Regardless of film, Peter Cushing always delivers a great performance.
what is his greatest role?
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