“Attack of the Puppet People”
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Sally Reynolds is a young woman who is charmed into being a secretary by Mr. Franz, a lonely doll maker. Sally soon begins to realize that Mr. Franz isn’t quite what he seems. After her fiance, Bob, suddenly disappears, Sally shares his fate.
An amusing, but not very well done classic, B-Grade flick from Bert I. Gordon and American International to cash in on the success of “The Incredible Shrinking Man.” The acting is what one expects from these Golden Age B-Grades, adequate to the task. The effects are interesting but nothing that really stands out as impressive.
The writing leaves something to be desired. The film starts slow, presumably to build the mystery and suspense, yet doesn’t. Once the film does start to pick up, it struggles to engage the viewer. Mr. Franz comes across more as creepy (you know he’s up to something inappropriate) rather than lonely and there was little that made me empathize with the characters. The “puppets” are stereotypes of each of the characters they represent, but they’re portrayed as defeated and pliable. Except of course for Sally and her fiance, Bob, who bring a spark of rebellion and fight for freedom.
Something that I really didn’t like was a lack of conclusion. The film simply stopped, it didn’t really end. There was obviously more story that should have been told, yet it wasn’t.
I gave this film 2 coffees. It was amusing, but I doubt I’ll ever feel the need to return to it.
