The Mole People
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''The Mole People'' is a 1956 American
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
distributed by
Universal International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, which was produced by
William Alland William Alland (March 4, 1916 – November 11, 1997) was an American actor, film producer and writer, mainly of Western and science-fiction/monster films, including ''This Island Earth'', ''It Came From Outer Space'', ''Tarantula!'', ''The Dead ...
, directed by
Virgil W. Vogel Virgil William Vogel (November 29, 1919 – January 1, 1996) was an American television director, television and film director. His career spanned nearly sixty years, directing episodes of ''Wagon Train'', ''Bonanza'', ''The Big Valley'', and ' ...
, and stars
John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In hi ...
,
Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...
, and
Cynthia Patrick Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cynd ...
. The story is written by László Görög. The film was released on December 1, 1956, on a double feature with their jungle adventure film ''
Curucu, Beast of the Amazon ''Curucu, Beast of the Amazon'' is a 1956 American adventure/monster film, directed and written by Curt Siodmak and starring John Bromfield, Beverly Garland and Tom Payne. The title creature is pronounced "Koo-Ruh-SOO" ( pt, Curuçu). The film wa ...
''. It has also been featured on episodes of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'' and ''
Svengoolie ''Svengoolie'' is an American horror host, hosted horror movie television program. The show features horror and science fiction films and is hosted by the eponymous character Svengoolie, who was originally played by Jerry G. Bishop from 1970 to 1 ...
''. The film is loosely based on theories about the
hollow earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...
. It depicts an underground civilization created by
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian descendants, who worship
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...
.


Plot

A narration by Dr. Frank Baxter, an English professor at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, explains the premise of the film and its basis in reality. He briefly discusses the
hollow earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...
theories of John Symmes and
Cyrus Teed Cyrus Reed Teed (October 18, 1839 – December 22, 1908) was a U.S. eclectic physician and alchemist turned pseudoscientific religious leader and self-proclaimed messiah. In 1869, claiming divine inspiration, Teed took on the name Koresh and ...
among others, and says that the film is a fictionalized representation of these unorthodox theories.
Archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s Dr. Roger Bentley and Dr. Jud Bellamin find a race of
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian
albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
s living deep under the Earth. They keep mutant humanoid
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
men as their slaves to harvest
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
s, which serve as their primary food source. The Sumerian albinos' ancestors relocated into the subterranean after cataclysmic floods in ancient
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
. They believe the men are messengers of
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...
, their goddess. Whenever their population increases, they
sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
young women to the Eye of Ishtar. These people have lived underground for so long that they are weakened by the light coming from the archaeologists' flashlight. However, there is one girl named Adad with natural
Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...
skin who is disdained by the others since she has the "mark of darkness." When one of the archaeologists is killed by a mole person, Elinu, the High Priest, realizes they are not gods. He orders their capture and takes the flashlight to control the Mole People, not knowing it is depleted. The archaeologists are then sent to the Eye of Ishtar just as the Mole People rebel. Adad goes to the Eye only to realize it is really natural light coming from the surface and that the men had survived. They then climb to the surface. Unfortunately, as they are about to leave, an earthquake strikes. Adad suddenly decides to go back to her home but dies when a pillar falls on her.


Cast

*
John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In hi ...
as Dr. Roger Bentley *
Cynthia Patrick Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cynd ...
as Adad *
Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...
as Dr. Jud Bellamin *
Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...
as Elinu, the High Priest *
Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...
as Prof. Etienne Lafarge *
Phil Chambers Phil Chambers (June 16, 1916 – January 16, 1993) was an American actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, Phil Chambers was known for his role as Sergeant Myles Magruder in the television series '' The Gray Ghost''. Filmography Film *1953: ...
as Dr. Paul Stuart *
Rodd Redwing Rodd Redwing (August 24, 1904 – May 29, 1971) was born Webb Richardson on August 24, 1904 in Tennessee, USA. His father, Ulysses William Richardson (b. 1873), was Black and was an elevator man from Tennessee. His mother, Lillian Webb (b. 1 ...
as Nazar * Robin Hughes as First Officer * Frank Baxter as Himself


Home media

Universal first released ''The Mole People'' on VHS on June 30, 1993. Later, in 2006, the film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in a boxed set called ''The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection'', which featured 4 other films (''
Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
'', ''
The Incredible Shrinking Man ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' is a 1957 American science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold based on Richard Matheson's 1956 novel ''The Shrinking Man''. The film stars Grant Williams as Scott and Randy Stuart as Scott's wife Louise. Wh ...
'', ''
The Monolith Monsters ''The Monolith Monsters'' is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by Howard Christie, directed by John Sherwood, and starring Grant Williams and Lola Albright. The film is based on a story b ...
'', and ''
Monster on the Campus ''Monster on the Campus'' (a.k.a. ''Monster in the Night'' and ''Stranger on the Campus'') is a 1958 American black-and-white science fiction/horror film from Universal Studios, Universal-International, produced by Joseph Gershenson, directed b ...
''). Universal then re-released this film in 2015 as a stand-alone DVD as part of its ''Universal Vault Series''. Shout Factory's 2019 Blu-ray release includes an audio commentary by Tom Weaver, David Schecter and Jan Alan Henderson, plus other extras. There is also a Region 2 DVD and bluray release of this film from 101 Films.


In other media

The film was featured on the television program ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''. The characters respond to the abrupt and unsatisfying ending by bitterly declaring "And no one trusted a John Agar movie again."; the ending was changed from a typical happily-ever-after scenario because members of the studio felt that Bentley's romance with Adad would promote interracial relationships. A segment of the film was used for 1968's ''
The Wild World of Batwoman ''The Wild World of Batwoman'' is a 1966 American science fiction comedy superhero film produced, written, directed and edited by Jerry Warren. The film stars Katherine Victor as Batwoman, George Andre as Professor G. Octavius Neon, and Steve Bro ...
'', as creatures created by one of the film's villains. This use was itself parodied by Mystery Science Theater 3000, with
Crow T. Robot Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Crow is a robot, who, along with others, ridicules poor-quality B to Z movies. Overview Accordin ...
and
Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a com ...
mocking the classic slogan for Reese's Peanut Butter cups followed by Mike Nelson imitating the film's villain, proclaiming "That's enough of THAT film."


Mythology

The fictionalized Mesopotamian history presented by the movie is based largely on
Panbabylonism Panbabylonism (also known as Panbabylonianism) was the school of thought that considered the cultures and religions of the Middle East and civilization in general to be ultimately derived from Babylonian myths which in turn they viewed as being ba ...
, as both Sumerian and Judaic stories describe the same events of the movie. Dr. Bentley states, erroneously, that the
Biblical flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...
is an established archaeological fact, and the stranding of the Sumerians atop the mountain is a reference to the tale of
Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...
. Similarly to the protagonists of the movie
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...
descends to the underworld. Jastrow There is a Panbabylonic connection between Ishtar's descent and the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
story of
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
. The
descent to the underworld A katabasis or catabasis ( grc, κατάβασις, from "down" and "go") is a journey to the underworld. Its original sense is usually associated with Greek mythology and Classical mythology more broadly, where the protagonist visits the Gree ...
is a common story of world mythologies, as is the
flood myth A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these Mythology, myths and the ...
. The movie erroneously associates Ishtar and the Sumerians. Ishtar was the Babylonian counterpart of the Sumerian goddess
Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
. The imagery associated with Ishtar in the movie is entirely fictional: Ishtar's symbol was an eight-pointed star representing
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
rather than the uneven chevron in the movie. All of the gods depicted on the temple walls are Egyptian, not Sumerian.
Adad Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad (Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...
is an Akkadian (male) storm-god, counterpart to the Sumerian Ishkur.


See also

*
Mole Man The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Mole Man is a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist of ...
(1961), character from the Marvel Universe


References


External links

* * *
MST3K Episode Guide: The Mole People

DVD Review of The Mole People


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mole People, The 1950s science fiction horror films 1956 directorial debut films 1956 films American black-and-white films American science fiction horror films Films about the Hollow Earth Inanna Lost world films Mesopotamian mythology in popular culture Universal Pictures films Sumer in fiction 1950s English-language films Films directed by Virgil W. Vogel 1950s American films