The Darkside Magazine Issue 188: The Man Who Made Monsters Back Issue

You may not immediately know the name, but if you have even the most cursory of interests in the monster B-movies of the 1950s, you’ve certainly seen the creatures Paul Blaisdell created, usually on a shoestring budget and working against the clock. Often goofy and colourful (even in black and white), Blaisdell’s monsters were certainly distinctive. From ‘Beulah’, the aggressive ‘cucumber’ from It Conquered the World (1956) to the title star of The She-Creature (1956), from the evil (and hilarious) walking tree Tabanga of From Hell It Came (1957), to the giant-headed mini-aliens in Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), Paul Blaisdell created them all. Not only that, he was also inside most of the distinctive creature suits on screen. With next to no money, he’d bring nightmares to life and created creatures long remembered by dedicated film fans. But the Paul Blaisdell story is also one of Hollywood’s cautionary tales.