Access Atlanta > Movies > Blog > Archives > 2005 > May > 09 > Entry
Tor Johnson wasn’t in every bad horror movie ever made
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Mr. Smithee,
You continually amaze me with your ability to answer movie inquiries based on the briefest of memories from your readers. Having said that, I need to put your astounding abilities to work for me.
When I was a child in the ’60s, I watched a black-and-white, low-budget horror movie that gave me nightmares. I only remember one scene toward the end where an earthquake or something made a house shake and fall apart and some girl in the basement with a blindfold over her eyes was trying to escape. She bumped into a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling and tore off her blindfold to reveal a mutilated eye. Hence the nightmares.
Now, spin forward to the late ’90s. While barely watching a movie on “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” I began sensing something familiar. At the end, I realized it was the same movie. I believe it was about a doctor who performed experiments on girls in the basement. I also believe Tor Johnson was in it.
I tried an Internet search starting with “Tor Johnson movies” and found and purchased “The Unearthly.” It wasn’t the right movie. Please work your movie magic. If you pull this one off, I’ll be your No. 1 fan for life!
Sally Guthrie, Acworth
Dear Newest No. 1 Fan For Life!
Like you, I was a child of the ’60s. I am like a white bird, in a golden cage, on a winter’s day, in the rain. And I must fly or I will …
Anyway, you know just enough about your movie to not know anything.
Yes. A girl in a basement. A doctor. A woman’s whacked-out face. A shaking house. My beloved “MST3K.” Alas, no Tor Johnson (though he was in the best bad movies you’ll ever see).
My dear Long Tall Sally, your 1964 movie bore the original title of “Monstrosity” and is now affectionately known as “The Atomic Brain.”
The doctor is into brain transplants, and it all ultimately hinges on a rich old woman who wants her noggin inserted into the body of a beautiful girl.
The film was first shown on “MST3K” on Comedy Central in December 1993.
You can buy a DVD of “The Atomic Brain” at places online such as Amazon.com.
For your amusement, there is an elaborately detailed retelling of the film by one Crystal Guillory at the webzine Horror-Wood at www.horror-wood.com/atomic.htm.
Alan
P.S. You get a “House of Wax” T-shirt and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
Dear Mr. Smithee,
I am a “Star Wars” nerd. I remember being upset when Time magazine revealed that Darth Vader was Luke’s father before “The Return of the Jedi.” I remember getting stuff from the first movie at Burger Chef, not Burger King. I time my vacation so I can go during “Star Wars” weekend at Disney-MGM Studios. Anyway, has there ever been a movie series that you were a “nerd” for?
Steve Carter, Tifton
Dear Are You Sure?
What kind of nerd worth his Toshi Station power converters would be upset by reading about Darth Vader being Luke’s father before the release of “Return of the Jedi” in 1983?
Because, my friend Steve-o, like, the big reveal actually occurred in “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980.
But what you really want to know - beyond any “Episode III” gifts that I might possibly wind your way - is whether me, myself, Mr. Smithee, hath ever been a nerd for a movie series.
I was a “Star Wars” fan until “The Phantom Menace” and, later, “Attack of the Clowns” showed up. I remain a bigger fan of “The Lord of the Rings” movies (the connection solidified during “The Two Towers” and then revisiting “The Fellowship of the Ring”; the extended versions of all three films are monster).
I was vastly impressed with the first “The Matrix,” but less enamored with the other two films (I am, however, a giant fan of Monica Bellucci).
But was I a nerd? I don’t have collections or posters everywhere. (My son, D.W. Smithee, does, but not me.)
As a wee lad, I did play intensely with James Bond toys - especially a small Aston Martin DB5. I was also a sucker for “Thunderball” and “You Only Live Twice.”
Some might say I am a general movie nerd. And that, my friend, would be a hard label for me to shake.
Alan
P.S. Lucky you, you get a “Star Wars” Sith T-shirt and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
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