A little from George Pal's estate...

[typhooforme]

Yep. One word here, a suggestion there, and the collection came into being.  As Groucho said in ANIMAL CRACKERS, "The whole thing was done with the white of an egg!" 

[monsterphile]

Like a creature from a movie, It grows!



Rob

[typhooforme]

Here's the latest, just got this today--George Pal's passport photo, on which he has signed including his middler name, Jules--which he seldom included in signing.  Nice item--small, but pretty cool.

[Mike Scott]

on which he has signed including his middler name, Jules--

Seems like I never heard his middle name, before? So he had George from Wells and Jules from Verne.

[typhooforme]

If no one ever said that to George (Wells/Verne)--or if he never said that about himself--the Fates were just not doin' their job!  That's a great line, Mike.  Pal surely had the creative spirit of both Wells and Verne.  He deserved much more cooperation from the studios and a free hand to do the films HE WANTED to do THE WAY HE WANTED to do 'em.  They gave Pal little respect and Pal's projects were dismissed.  We, the movie-going public, surely lost out.

[Haunted hearse]

If no one ever said that to George (Wells/Verne)--or if he never said that about himself--the Fates were just not doin' their job!  That's a great line, Mike.  Pal surely had the creative spirit of both Wells and Verne.  He deserved much more cooperation from the studios and a free hand to do the films HE WANTED to do THE WAY HE WANTED to do 'em.  They gave Pal little respect and Pal's projects were dismissed.  We, the movie-going public, surely lost out.

I remember seeing "Doc Savage, Man of Bronze" as a kid and loving it.  Haven't seen it in years.

[typhooforme]

My memory gets kind of Swiss-cheese-like these days--there are holes and gaps--but as I recall, the deal with DOC SAVAGE was roughly this:  Pal set out to film the book pretty accurately, and then hoped that would spur interest in the entire Kenneth Robeson series--which would have meant a nice line-up of movies starring "Doc"--kind of like the Tarzan films that had gone on and on.  But when the studio honchos watched the dailies, THEY felt that the movie should be more like the BATMAN tv series which was very popular at the time (and which I think we all love to this day).  What they wanted to do--and to some extent DID--was to add camp and giggles to DOC SAVAGE, more BIFF!  BOOM!  BANG!  So things were subtracted, things were added, things were meddled with--and the end result wasn't Pal's ideal film any longer.  It's not terrible--but it didn't do well at the boxoffice, and the studio guys (who had messed with it) said it was Pal's fault.  Thereafter, when Pal had a film idea, when he wanted to do a movie--he was put on hold, or shoved out of the way again and again.  I've been told that he never stopped trying and hoping, but--he was disappointed to the end of his life.  HE deserved better--and WE deserved more Pal movies.  Darn it.  if I've messed up any of the story or said anything wrong, I hope those who know the Pal story better will add their two cents worth.

[Mike Scott]

I remember seeing "Doc Savage, Man of Bronze" as a kid and loving it. 

Not my favorite Pal film, but it's fun!

[typhooforme]

Pretty much the Pal film at the bottom of my own list, Mike--I'm a fan (maybe you had that part figured out!  lol), and i love 'em all, but obviously there are the top of the heap ones--and then enjoyable-but-lesser ones--and below those, the "ok ones" which are sure watchable, they they don't have Martians or Morloks or Dr Lao in 'em!

[Mike Scott]

. . they they don't have Martians or Morloks or Dr Lao in 'em!

Yep, those are my faves, along with the other '50s space ones and "The Power".