GEORGE PAL - Sci-Fi and Fantasy films pioneer

October 30th 2022

Matthew Teevan

George Pal was a film producer who specialised in making science fiction and fantasy films in the 1950s and 1960s. I grew up with many of these films being shown on TV. Sometimes as part of BC1s ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’ or as part of s season of Sci-Fi films or on Bank Holiday afternoon. I’m not sure who I knew who George Pal was, or that one person was responsible for so many films. But like Ray Harryhausen and Gerry Anderson this was in fact pretty much the case. Until the sci-fi boom of Star Wars in the last 70s a handful of visionary and dedicated people were responsible for over half of the ’cool Sci-Fi’ I grew up on.

George Pal was a Hollywood producer in the truest sense of the word. He had a vison for his films and brought in Directors and a creative team who could bring the vision to life, to its fullest potential.

He started as an Animator and in the 1940s made short stop-motion films based on popular fairy tales which he called Puppetoons to highlight them as different from the enormously popular cartoons such as Tom & Jerry, but of that same  entertaining genre.  The Puppetoons were very popular and highly regarded garnering Academy Award recognition. Although none of the nominated films won an award, George Pal was awarded a special Oscar in 1943 for this body of work, and for advancing stop-motion and film-making  techniques.

It was from here that Pal started to make live-action films, starting with The Great Rupert which is a heart-warming family film and features a ‘stop-motion’ squirrel who ‘helps’ a struggling couple by making a nest out of discarded money.  This was one of two independently financed films released in 1950. The second was Destination Moon which a present-day adventure following a mission to the moon. The film is steeped in authenticity, and contemporary accuracy of space flight. Much of the film is devoted to showing the space flight, the operation of space suits, zero gravity and the like.  Incidentally within the film there is a short film featuring Woody Woodpecker who explains the ambitious venture to would-be financiers. Walter Lantz, co-creator of Woody Woodpecker (with Ben ‘Bugs’ Hardaway) was a friend of Pal and helped him in his early career.  Destination Moon wan the Academy award for best special effects.  It was briskly followed up but the more fanciful When Worlds Collide (1951) where a new planet is discovered. But the planet, called Zyra and its sun Bellus are on an orbital path that will pass right through the Earth! An independent group of millionaires and technicians decide to build a spaceship in the hope that some people on Earth can survive. The fil is tense and features large scale destruction when Zyra passes close to the Erath, but not strike it. Floods and earthquakes abound, providing a some very human, down to earth moments. They will not be so lucky with Bellus and the spaceship christened the ‘Space Ark’ takes off with minutes to spare.

1950s saw a boom in science fiction movies – ushered in by Destination Moon and When Worlds Collide along with The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Thing – from Another World. Wow, what a time. Many of the films that followed were low budget ‘B Movies’. Some were very good (Them, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but a lot of it was junk intended for the Drive-In. George Pals film were in colour!

The most famous and successful of them all was The War of the Worlds (1953). The film is of course based on the novel by H.G. Wells, but is set in present day America (not turn of the century England as in the book) and replaces the tripods described so vividly in the book with floating ‘manta-ray’ shaped, almost ‘flying saucer’ like ships, with long cobra necks. These visuals accompanied by the excellent sound effects are true cinema gold.  Early concepts for the Martian machines and the Martians themselves were going to utilise Stop-Motion, a logical scenario given the options available at the time. I am not sure what prompted the change, possibly budget constraints (although well over half of the film’s budget was spent on the visual effects) , but the ‘manta rays’ certainly look suitably alien in the world of 1953. It is hard to imagine anything else being so effective, much in the same way as when a great actor inhabits a role so perfectly that you can’t imagine anyone else playing that part. The scenes of the Martian machines – designed by Albert Nozaki - and the destruction they cause are very well done under Special Photographic Supervisor Gordon Jennings. A must see. I believe the visual effects was so extensive took that Pal had time to make another non-effects movie and release it the same year. Houdini (1953) is loosely based on the life of Harry Houdini. The enjoyable Technicolor film stars the gorgeous husband and wife duo of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as Houdini and his wife.

The Naked Jungle (1954) Is a adventure/drama starring Charlton Heston as a plantation owner who must defend his land from rampaging fire ants. A ‘ripping yarn’ if ever there was one.  Conquest of Space (1955) was a return to space, this time with a mission to Mars. The film is based on a book by Willy Ley and Chesley Bonestall which outlines how a mission to Mars could be done.  And the film goes all in in putting this imagery up on the screen. These space shots that show space-men flying around, spaceship, space stations and renegade asteroids are ambitious and spectacular. However, this was one of the first films to extensively utilise blue screen travelling matte processes in the visual effects and in many cases the results look quite clumsy.  But overall it is the film that is just somewhat dull, and probably given all the sci-fi and monster movies popular at the time, a ‘serious’ science fiction film like this just did not have enough to excite audiences.

Tom Thumb (1958) was a triumph, directed by George Pal himself. Tom Thumb who was played with infectious appeal by Russ Tamblyn and this was a well budgeted, high quality production which received an academy award for best Visual Effects. This was followed up by The Time Machine (1960), which along with The War of the Worlds’ is probably regarded as Pal’s best film - both based on novel by H.G. Wells. This version maintains the original turn of the century setting, and does a great job at showing several different times. Rod Taylor is a very appealing lead who has intelligence, empathy and courage.  And manages to convey deeper world weariness, which never burdens the film. The film has a sense of wonder and a scenes of horror and menace. But under George Pal’s direction it maintains an excellent tone, while covering the different aspects of the story. The film has an enduring charm and continues to be well regarded and enjoyed over 60 years after it was made.

The same unfortunately cannot be said of Atlantis - the Lost Continent (1961), although this was not embraced by audiences at the time either. With the exception of some spectacle at the films climax, the film is pretty forgettable and really quite dull and silly.

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) was a big hit and showcases several of the famous brothers stories (ones that were not already made into films by Disney!) and was made in three camera Cinerama. How the West was Won is the only other narratively driven film). George Pal directed the Fairy Tales, many featuring stop-motion, and Henry Levin (Journey to the Centre of the Earth) did the scenes with the Brothers. I actually love the story of the Brothers and almost would prefer to see just that film, but this is a bit of a neglected gem and well worth a watch.

The 7 Faces of Dr Lau (1964) is a treat and for me feels not unlike an episode of The Twilight Zone, with its mix of American and fantasy and morality. As with all of pal’s production it is technical ambitious with the visual effects and make-up receiving recognition. It shows signs of the era in which it was made with American actor Tony Randal in the persona of Chinese Dr Lau.  Pal’s last cinematic feature film was The Power (1968) is a sci-fi thriller about ESP, mind control and sinister government groups and stars George Hamilton. (I need to see this one again as I think I was too young to appreciate it when I first saw it). In the early 1970s George Pal made a live-action TV movie of the 1940s pulp novel hero Doc Savage. Doc Savage Man of Bronze is an enjoyable romp aimed at family audiences   

George Pal was sincere about the films he made. He put all the money up on the screen. The films were first and foremost intended to be entertaining, but they did not shy away from some of the bigger core ideas within the subject matter involved, The Time Machine especially has a knowing eeriness. His films were typically very well made and were recognized for their technical merits, with Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds, Tom Thumb and The Time Machine all winning Oscars for Special Effects. 7 Faces of Dr Lau was nominated for VFX and won a special award for the many make-ups used to create the doctor’s ‘seven faces’.

His name may not be as familiar as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, James Cameron or other successful film-makers famous for making Fantasy or Sci-Fi films. But he was the first film producer to focus on doing sci-fi and fantasy films with a level of craftsmanship appropriate to tell these stories. The films resonated with audiences of the time when low budget ‘B movies’ were the norm. George Pal was striving to make acceptable sci-fi and fantasy films. he was successful and the best of these that have stood the test of time and are still watched and enjoyed today.

I recently completed a painting of the Ark from ‘When Words Collide’ (in the Classic Sci-Fi gallery) and I will be adding more artwork inspired by the works of George Pal.