At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

After opening w/ what, in spite of its nutty theories, could easily be confused w/ one of those educational films so many of us slept through in school, THE MOLE PEOPLE begins. While attempting to discover the origin of an ancient artifact, archaeologists John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and their team of extras (including that crusty boat captain from CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!), venture forth into the subterranean unknown, in search of a comrade, lost in a deep crevasse. This, after enduring multiple natural disasters- all in the first fifteen minutes! Our intrepid explorers soon encounter the goggle-eyed creatures of the title, and we're off to their underground la-la land. Alas, fooled by the title and promotional movie posters, viewers may expect tons of actual monster action, getting mostly dull humans and their endless palaver instead. More a study of class warfare than a creature feature, this film seems like an episode of some lost, 1950's sci-fi TV drama. An enjoyable enough slab of fantastical cheeeze... P.S.- You'll never look at high-powered flashlights or hats made from tea cozies in quite the same way again! Ever!...

This one is as corny as it gets but fun as all get-outs to me. An albino race of people living under the surface of the earth (way down inside a mountain top), still worshiping the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar after the great flood, using the Mole People as slaves and easily destroyed by bright light - like the light of a flashlight! Archeologists go up the mountain, one falls in after getting way up there and the others go down to find him... there is a cave-in and they are now trapped inside with these strange Ishtar worshipers and the Mole People!! Can the group escape? Will they meet their fate in the fires of Ishtar?!! Yes this movie is bad but yes it's crazy fun to watch - if you are into silly 'B' creature features of the 1950s. I had a lot of fun watching this one and it's great to see it again after years of no see.7/10

My pre-viewing research on "The Mole People" uncovered that it's not that well regarded by a number of fans of science fiction and monster movies from the 1950s. So I was prepared for the worst when I sat down to watch it. After watching it, I can understand why there are negative feelings towards it... though I didn't find it quite as bad as some people have made it out to be. Some of the sets and special effects don't look too bad, for one thing. But production values aside, the movie is kind of tough to sit through. Although it involves scientists finding an underground kingdom, the movie is surprisingly dull for the most part. Don't let the fairly short running time fool you; the movie moves very slowly, with a lot of blatant padding throughout, like the completely unnecessary opening sequence. And there is no sense of awe, wonder, or excitement. Instead, there is an almost casual attitude. A slight tongue in cheek attitude might have added some goofy charm, but there isn't even any comedy relief here. It goes to show that adding major studio gloss does not always make a movie better than low budget independent efforts.

"The Mole People" isn't your usual '50s sci-fi flick. It has a slightly more intellectual side to it: a combination of the Hollow Earth Theory and a look at ancient civilizations. The plot is that a pair of archaeologists uncover an underground civilization consisting of descendants of the Sumerians. The ancient culture takes the archaeologists for gods after the archaeologists' flashlight hurts their eyes, since five millenniums underground have made them photosensitive.Yeah, it's pretty far-fetched. The title characters are the civilization's slaves: burrowing creatures with arachnid heads and webbed hands. Overall, the movie is pretty original, and very enjoyable.Starring John Agar (Shirley Temple's first husband), Hugh Beaumont (the dad on "Leave It to Beaver"), and Alan Napier (Alfred on the 1960s "Batman").By "Asia" at the beginning of the movie, I'm guessing that they meant either the Middle East or Central Asia.