Attack of the Puppet People

An extremely cheap and cheerful B-movie from the notorious Mr. B. I. G. (that's Bert I. Gordon, incredibly still alive at this point in time). It plays with his obsession with giant-sized creatures or miniaturisation, but as a film it's quite the slog and seems almost entirely lacking in plot. The set-up takes forever and then there are only a couple of mildly perilous 'little people' scenes before the ridiculously anticlimactic ending. Sure, the acting and FX are what make this fun, but it's hardly one of the decade's enduring classics.

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Attack of the Puppet People is a "psycho-drama" — it's literally a case study of a mild-mannered man who is actually a demented, controlling sociopath. This isn't really a sci-fi film at all, and it certainly is very different from other Bert I.Gordon films in that the entire film takes place on a couple of small sets, and mostly in the claustrophobic, office-like laboratory. The film is completely about Mr. Franz and the extent to which he will destroy people's lives just so he can have complete control over them; Franz is Stalin in the guise of a grandfatherly lab technician and doll-restoration expert. Do not laugh at me when I say that I've watched this film 5 or 6 times in recent years and found that it improves with successive viewings. John Hoyt's performance is excellent. Attack of the Puppet People is an underrated film.

Typically, director Gordon here puts his mark on a popular horror theme – in this case, the shrinking of human beings (displayed in glass receptacles very similar to the ones in which Dr. Praetorius showed off his own 'little people' in James Whale's BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1935]!), that had seen service during the genre's heyday in both THE DEVIL-DOLL (1936) and DR. CYCLOPS (1940), and which was just reworked in Sci-Fi terms for the nuclear age in THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957); incidentally, the film under review made for an inverse scenario to its director's two "Colossal Man" efforts (which I will be checking out presently). Though the end result is certainly harmless and not unentertaining, I cannot say to have been very enthused with it either. The main reason for this, apart from the obvious lack of surprise within the narrative, is the fact that, much as the film wanted to render the villain (an excellent John Hoyt) sympathetic by emphasizing the consuming loneliness that caused him to take drastic action to overcome this, I simply could not buy it – both as a believable ploy (how did he ever expect his subjects to take their 'affliction' sitting down?!) and as a fantasy element (so the size of an object caught on camera is proportional to the projector's distance from the screen…but what exact bearing does this have on the re-assembling of atoms from one place to the other?!). Another unfortunate aspect to the movie is the apparently obligatory inclusion of 'hip' teenagers…who literally dance to the tune supplied by the puppet-master, that is, until the more level-headed arrival in their fold of star and genre regular John Agar! A subplot involving Hoyt's inconveniently enthusiastic old pal Michael Mark, a more traditional manager of marionettes, and his equally insufferable theatre caretaker does not help matters. For the record, the director's daughter (Susan) makes her acting debut in this one.

source: Attack of the Puppet People

This movie contains no puppets, puppet people or attacks but why should a movie title make sense? The story isn't great but the special effects are good for the 50s.

Kindly, but sad and lonely doll maker Mr. Franz (an excellent performance by John Hoyt) shrinks some folks to miniature size so he cam have some company. His latest victims are affable salesman Bob Westley (50's science fiction film regular John Agar in fine form) and sweet secretary Sally Reynolds (a charming turn by lovely blonde June Kenney). Bob, Sally and four other diminutive people try to find a way to get out of the clutches of the benign, yet deranged Franz. Director Bert I. Gordon relates the engrossing premise at a steady pace and maintains a generally serious tone throughout. George Worthington Yates' surprisingly thoughtful script offers a poignant portrait of how loneliness can drive someone crazy. This film further benefits from solid acting by a sturdy cast: Hoyt brings a moving blend of pathos and sympathy to his credible portrayal of Franz, Agar and Kenney make for highly engaging leads, plus there's bang-up support from Jack Kosslyn as the hard-nosed Sergeant Paterson, Michael Mark as friendly puppeteer Emil, Marlene Willis as spunky, adorable teenager Laurie, Ken Miller as the laid-back Stan, Laurie Mitchell as the sassy Georgia Lane, Scott Peters as the easygoing Mac, and Gordon's adorable daughter Susan as a cute girl scout with a broken doll. Ernest Laszlo's crisp black and white cinematography does the trick. The roaring dramatic score is likewise up to par. The huge props and sets are quite good. The special effects are pretty decent, if a tad on the chintzy side. Moreover, this movies delivers a few amusingly campy moments: Laurie serenades Franz with the catchy song "You're My Living Doll" and Georgia takes a bath in a big coffee can. An enjoyable picture.

The attack doesn't come from puppets, but from shrunken humans, a la Dr. Cyclops. This isn't Technicolor big budget 1940 Paramount, but cheap, low- budget black and white American International, the pride of late 1950's drive in double features. In fact, this film salutes their reputation by showing two of the soon to be dolls watching "The Amazing Colossal Man" at the drive-in, giving audiences a thrill by being at the drive-in watching characters in a movie at the drive-in. Better than professional critical reviews lead me to believe it to be, this is best described as a hoot. It all surrounds the lonely old doll maker John Hoyt who keeps the people he likes as companions by shrinking them to doll size and plans to do them all in when he is on the verge of being discovered so they can be together forever. Campy and fun, this is just delightful in every respect. It gets really funny when the doll-sized humans end up in a little party with champagne and music, jitterbugging as the pathetic Hoyt watches. There really aren't any surprises, but the comic element keeps things moving at a rapid pace and the acting really isn't all that bad. John Agar and June Kenny are fine as the main two living dolls who put the plot together to get themselves back to life-sized humans. It gets more intense as his crazy plans are revealed, but the comic element remains, having Hoyt intermingle his dolls with the puppets he sometimes does show off on stage. Reversing the Colossal man and the 50' Woman, thus isn't as ground-breaking as "The Incredible Shrinking Man", but it isn't all wretched either. My only question is what became of the others left behind in the theater, as well as what ultimately happened to Hoyt after the final shot.

Bert I. Gordon (aka BIG) was known for his ridiculous but enjoyable movies. "Attack of the Puppet People" is a prime example. It's about a doll maker (John Hoyt) who is actually shrinking humans down to the size of dolls and keeping them. So, his secretary (June Kenney) becomes the latest victim. It's a pretty fun movie. In fact, there's a scene that I'm surprised got past the censors (you'll know it when you see it). Yes, the title and poster are both misleading (the dog only appears for about a minute), but the point of the movie is to have fun, and it succeeds, and even has a cool dance scene. As it was, I read that this movie played a role in Watergate: the person who was supposed to be keeping a lookout was watching "AotPP" and wouldn't tear himself away from it. I don't know if that story is true, but if it is, then he must have been savoring that one scene that I mentioned. That scene, for lack of a better description, is truly a PIECE OF HEAVEN! Anyway, really fun. PS: John Agar was Shirley Temple's first husband.

This is the case of a horror film whose title is much better than the film. So much of the title is wrong--a much better name would have been "Doll People Who Mostly Just Sit Around...and Stuff"! There is nothing at all resembling an attack and the people are shrunk to the size of Barbie dolls and are NOT puppets in any sense. But think about how creepy and wonderful it would have been if puppets really did come to life and have a reign of terror!! What an opportunity wasted. The film is about a creepy and lonely man (John Hoyt) who sells dolls but also turns people into his own special living dolls. The dolls are kept drugged and in suspended animation in plastic tubes and he takes them out occasionally to amuse himself because his life really sucks. It's hard to be horrified by the guy--he's more just some old creepster who is rather pathetic. And, eventually when the living dolls (at least two of them) are able to restore themselves to their original size, the film just ends! There is no real resolution or satisfaction--just an ending that leaves the viewer wondering why they gave up on the movie towards the finale (such as it was). The biggest problem with the film is the super-limp script. There is nothing particularly interesting about it other than the main plot idea--no chills, no excitement,...nothing. The scale of the doll people also often changes--showing that the film was rushed into theaters before it could all be worked out well. About the only interesting thing about the film is seeing two very familiar TV actors of the age in non-traditional roles (John Hoyt, who seems to have done practically every sort of role over the years and Hank Patterson, who played 'Fred Zipfel' on "Green Acres"). Otherwise, it's a dud.