The Mole People (1956)

**_A lost civilization of Sumerians found in mountainous Mesopotamia_**

The most interesting thing about this flick is how it influenced the original Star Trek a decade later. (Of course, “Forbidden Planet” had the biggest influence on that show, which debuted the month before this flick started shooting). Disregarding the prologue & first act, “The Mole People” is very similar to a Star Trek episode, just minus Spock. The archaeologists' flashlight could be viewed as a Federation phaser, sort of.

The commentary on the nature of most civilizations is also interesting: Politicians use religion to control the people; and the sheeple comply to the point of willingly walking to their deaths. Blonde Cynthia Patrick as Adad is also a plus.

Unfortunately, there are too many negatives to give this a higher rating. For instance, the two main protagonists are too similar to distinguish, not to mention both are boring characters. Then there’s the problem of the Sumerians speaking every-day American English (unless we are to assume that the protagonists were fluent in ancient Sumerian and therefore everyone is speaking in Sumerian once the lost civilization is revealed). Meanwhile the burrowing mole people are totally illogical if you think about it.

There’s a dance sequence thrown in reminiscent of Salome’s dance before Herod in the Bible. The curious thing about this is that the female is actually unattractive. Sequences like this would be done way better in near-future productions, such as in “King of Kings,” Fritz Lang’s “ The Tiger of Eschnapur”/”The Indian Tomb” and the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy.”

It runs 1h 17m and was shot in the spring of 1956 at Universal Studios in the heart of the Los Angeles area (although not technically part of the city).

GRADE: C/C-