PD Project Part 1B

Disc 1B
• She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) runtime: 1:03:02

  A gun smuggler and his brother get shipwrecked and end up on an island run by a group of female pearl-divers who live in constant fear of the "Shark God." The brothers have to find a way off the island before "The Company" that employs the women sends a boat to pick them up and turn them in.
  Roger Corman ladies and gentlemen! Let's hear it for the man! The movie's not too bad--silly and predictable at times, yes, but not too bad. What struck me were the elements of the setting--a company called only "The Company," an island populated by women run by a matriarch who, apparently, saved all the inhabitants, and a sacrifice cult focuses on an obscure god that may only be a shark but seems somehow more. That's just begging to be turned into a D20 Modern adventure.
  This film was already on the Internet Archive which means I didn't have to think about it beyond writing this little review.
  Archive.org page
  Wikipedia article
  

• The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) runtime: 57:17
  

  A bank robber is broken out of jail to be a guinea pig in an experiment designed to build an invisible army. Things start going wrong when loyalties begin to break down.
  Another one of those movies that I thought had a better idea than execution. This could be remade today with just a little more thought and effort than was originally put into it. In fact, a remake would be a pretty good film school project--it'd easily be within a student's budget and would provide a nice opportunity for simple, non-CG special effects. I think we need more pulp sci-fi coming out of academia, don't you?
  I had already uploaded this film to the Internet Archive which means I didn't have to think about it beyond writing this little review. Yay me.
  Archive.org page
  Film Trailer
  This was episode 0623 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and can be viewed on YouTube (in 11 parts) or downloaded from the Digital Archive Project.

• The Atomic Brain (1964) 1:04:52

  A woman seeking to live forever plots to have her brain transplanted into the head of a beautiful young woman. But the process is still experimental and the woman hasn't chosen her victim yet.
  This film was originally titled Monstrosity which is a way better name than The Atomic Brain although the latter does make for a better name of a post-punk band. This was featured as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and as that episode noted, what makes this film stand out is that instead of an evil, old lecherous man ogling young women, it's an evil, old lecherous woman ogling young women. Curiously progressive for 1964. Otherwise mostly silly. There are some nice sets but a woman has a cat's brain placed in her body and another woman has her brain placed in a cat's body, all of which just makes things sillier. Then there's an implication at the end that the story could go on. Could there still be an Atomic Brain 2: Electric Boogaloo waiting to be made? No? That's probably for the best.
  Archive.org page
  Wikipedia article
  This was episode 0518 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and can be purchased as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3.

I'll be back tomorrow with Disc 2: four more films--all public domain--including a spider with thumbs, two movies that are actually the same movie and another film by your messiah and mine, Mr. Roger Corman.