| The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Roul Haig |
Release date |
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| Language | English |
The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus is a 1962 American black and white horror film directed by Roul Haig. The cast includes Sid Noel (who created the title character for television), Dan Barton and David Kleinberger.
Dr. Alexander Morgus, a New Orleans mad scientist, has created an instant people machine, capable of turning people into sand before restoring them to life. The ruler of an imaginary foreign country takes advantage of the device to elaborate a plan in order to spy on the United States.
The 'real' Morgus was a local New Orleans horror host, presenting House of Shock on WWL-TV from 1959 to 1967 (and then sporadically until his death). [1]
The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus was filmed on location in New Orleans, with additional shooting in Kiln, Mississippi, and Kenner, Louisiana. [2]
The film was Haig's second and last film as a director, his first being Okefenokee in 1959. It was his third (and also last) contribution to cinema as a writer, this time with Noel Haig. [3]
The film premiered in New Orleans on November 1, 1962. [2] It was screened in the same city around Halloween 2010 as a sort of homage to its main protagonist. [4]
Restrospective commentators find that, more than a horror film, The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus is more accurately described as a "tongue-in-cheek Cold War spy thriller." [5] The film has remained a cult classic, particularly in New Orleans. [1]
Bill Warren reviewed the film in Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, saying that the film "doesn't have a story so much as a parade of slightly linked incidents," and that the film's approach is "We'll do this for a while, then we'll do that." He sums up his assessment, "The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus is not influenced by other films, nor has it had any discernible effect on moviemaking. It's one of a kind, for which we should perhaps be grateful." [6]
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1956 American science-fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in 2.00:1 Superscope and in the film noir style. Daniel Mainwaring adapted the screenplay from Jack Finney's 1954 science-fiction novel The Body Snatchers. The film was released by Allied Artists Pictures as a double feature with the British science-fiction film The Atomic Man.
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Morgus the Magnificent, also known as Momus Alexander Morgus, is a fictional character created and portrayed by actor Sidney Noel Rideau. From the late 1950s into the 1980s, Morgus was a "horror host" of late-night science fiction and horror movies and television shows that originated in the New Orleans, Louisiana market. Morgus is a quintessential mad scientist, assisted by executioner-styled sidekick, Chopsley. Morgus' well-intentioned experiments often served as book-end pieces to the late-night films being shown, and typically went awry at the last minute.
Sidney Eddie Mosesian, known professionally as Sid Haig, was an American actor. He was known for his appearances in horror films, most notably his role as Captain Spaulding in the Rob Zombie films House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects and 3 from Hell. Haig's Captain Spaulding, and Haig himself, have been called icons of horror cinema. Haig had a leading role on the television series Jason of Star Command as the villain Dragos. He appeared in many television programs, including The Untouchables, Batman, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Star Trek, Get Smart, The Rockford Files, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, MacGyver, and Emergency!. Haig also had roles in several of Jack Hill's blaxploitation films from the 1970s.
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