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Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)

A high minded German scientist [in the 1950’s??] is duped by a vengeful, deported gangster into creating atomic-powered zombies from the recently deceased, stolen from the local morgue, in order to wreak revenge upon his enemies.[Whew!] Now that is a dynamite combination! Never mind how they got six or seven bodies out of police custody; or where they got the radioactive isotopes they are waving around. This one is fun!

A classic, know-it-all police MD, with a pre-women’s lib, blonde bombshell wife, and just-too-cute little daughter, is on their trail. He patiently tracks them down with the help of another scientist and his doomed police captain boss. The pipe smoking scene is hilarious; as is the inevitable science film: a trained dog being stimulated with electrodes. The villains give the doctor some scary moments. They even tear his little girl’s favorite doll limb from limb. But since the German scientist is radioactive, he cannot escape the ubiquitous geiger counter that appears in all of these films. The climactic battle between the police, the army, and the zombies is to be savored time and again. This one is a classic, and worth your while!