The Mole People (film)

The Mole People
Year	1956
Directed by	Virgil W. Vogel
Produced by	William Alland
Written by	László Görög
Music by	Heinz Roemheld Hans J. Salter Herman Stein
Studio	Universal International Pictures
Cast	John Agar Cynthia Patrick Hugh Beaumont Nestor Paiva
Run time	77 minutes
Riffed in	Experiment #803

For the episode, see MST3K 803 - The Mole People.

This article is about the film used in Experiment #803. For the Mads' Mole People assistants, see Gerry and Sylvia.

The Mole People is a 1956 American sci-fi adventure movie directed by Virgil W. Vogel.

Plot

The Mole People

A narration by Dr. Frank Baxter, an English professor at the University of Southern California, explains the hollow earth theories of John Symmes and Cyrus Teed among others, and says that the movie is a fictionalized representation of these unorthodox theories.

Archaeologists Dr. Roger Bentley and Dr. Jud Bellamin find 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 mushrooms can grow without sunlight. The Sumerian albinos' ancestors relocated into the subterranean after 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 Adal 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.

The Mole People of The Mole People

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 its batteries are depleted. The archaeologists are then sent to the Eye just as the Mole People rebel. Adal goes to the Eye only to realize its true nature and that the men had survived. They then leave for the surface. Adal dies after reaching the surface, when an earthquake causes a column to fall over and crush her.

Cast

• John Agar as Dr. Roger Bentley
• Cynthia Patrick as Adal
• Hugh Beaumont as Dr. Jud Bellamin
• Nestor Paiva as Prof. Etienne LaFarge
• Alan Napier as Elinu
• Robin Hughes as First Officer

Notes

• The original ending had Bentley and Adal leaving together, presumably to start life together. The studio insisted that a new ending be shot two weeks after filming was completed because they were reluctant to imply an interracial relationship (as Adal was a Sumerian).
• The humps for the mole people were created by stuffing newspapers into the the backs of the actors' costumes. During the filming of the climatic slave revolt, an otherwise usable take had to be redone due to some of the newspapers getting dislodged and visibly appearing on the set floor.
• Shot in 17 days.
• Alan Napier (Elinu, the high priest) would later achieve prominence in the role of Alfred the butler on the 1960s Batman TV series.
• This movie was the inspiration for The Dickies' song "Attack of the Molemen".
• The intro by Dr. Frank Baxter was intended to lend some semblance of credibility to the movie, though Baxter was an English professor.
• Clips of The Mole People appear in the film The Wild Wild World of Batwoman, which was used in Experiment #515.
• Was nominated in The Golden Turkey Awards series for Worst Rodent Movie of All Time (the Medved brothers having made the common mistake of believing that the hunchback slaves were the titular Mole People). It lost to The Food of the Gods.

MST3K Connections

• Director Virgil Vogel was also editor for This Island Earth.
• Writer László Görög was also writer for Earth vs the Spider.
• John Agar also portrayed Dr. Farrell in Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Dr. Clete Ferguson in Revenge of the Creature.
• Hugh Beaumont also portrayed Robert Phillips in Lost Continent, Austin Welles in The Human Duplicators, and the narrator in A Date with Your Family.
• Nestor Paiva also portrayed Captain Lucas in Revenge of the Creature.
• Robin Hughes (first officer) also portrayed Gideon Drew in The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Marc Hamilton (priest) also portrayed a Metaluna inhabitant in This Island Earth.
• Bob Herron (mole person) also portrayed a slime person and was a stuntman in The Slime People.
• Bob Hoy (mole person) also portrayed Masterson in Master Ninja II and Charlie in Revenge of the Creature (as well as being a stuntman).
• Eddie Parker (mole person) also portrayed a Khan's guardsman in Undersea Kingdom and and Bela Lugosi's stunt double in Bride of the Monster.
• Patrick Whyte (guard) also portrayed Philip Varden in Kitten with a Whip.
• Producer William Alland was also producer for This Island Earth, Revenge of the Creature, The Deadly Mantis, and The Space Children.
• Score collaborator Heinz Roemheld also composed stock music used in The Phantom Creeps and Undersea Kingdom.
• Score collaborator Herman Stein was also stock music composer for Kitten with a Whip and The Thing That Couldn't Die as well as score collaborator for This Island Earth and Revenge of the Creature.
• Cinematographer Ellis W. Carter was also cinematographer for The Leech Woman and The Deadly Mantis.
• Editor Irving Birnbaum was also editor for The Phantom Creeps.
• Art director Alexander Golitzen was also art director for Kitten with a Whip, This Island Earth, Revenge of the Creature, The Leech Woman, The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Set decorator Russell A. Gausman was also set decorator for This Island Earth, The Brute Man, Revenge of the Creature, The Leech Woman, The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Costume designer Jay A. Morley Jr. was also costume designer for Revenge of the Creature and The Deadly Mantis.
• Hair stylist Joan St. Oegger was also hair stylist for The Amazing Colossal Man, This Island Earth, and Revenge of the Creature.
• Makeup artist Bud Westmore was also makeup artist for San Francisco International, Kitten with a Whip, This Island Earth, Revenge of the Creature, The Leech Woman, The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Sound technician Leslie I. Carey was sound technician for This Island Earth, Revenge of the Creature, The Leech Woman, The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Special effects technician Norman Breedlove also did special effects for The Amazing Colossal Man.
• Stuntman Regis Parton also portrayed the Metalunan mutant in This Island Earth.
• Stuntman George Robotham was also stuntman for Master Ninja I.
• Stuntman Fred Stromsoe also portrayed a slime person and was a stuntman in The Slime People.
• Visual effects technician Clifford Stine also did special photography for The Creeping Terror, This Island Earth (for which he was also cinematographer), The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die.
• Music supervisor Joseph Gershenson was also music supervisor for Kitten with a Whip, This Island Earth, Revenge of the Creature, The Deadly Mantis, and The Thing That Couldn't Die, as well as producer for The Leech Woman.
• Mole people mask maker Jack Kevan was also mutant constructor for This Island Earth and creature designer for Revenge of the Creature.

Critical Response

• Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two stars ... Probably the worst of Universal-International’s ’50s sci-fi movies."