"In archeology all things are possible."
An archeological team led by Dr. Roger Bentley (John Agar) and Dr. Jud Bellamin (Hugh Beaumont) are researching a lost civilization in a dig in Asia. An earthquake opens up a hole in the ground. When the scientists go down into it they discover a civilization that has adapted to living underground. The archeologists are looked at as gods for a time. The underground race uses humanoid mutant people called mole men as slaves to do menial labor.
When one archeologist is killed by a mole person Elinu (Alan Napier) the high priest, of the civilization realizes they are not gods and devises a way to get rid of them. Dr. Bentley saves a slave girl, Adad (Cynthia Patrick), who is a genetic throwback from the time the civilization lived above ground. He falls in love with her and takes her with them when they make their escape.
"The Mole People" was released in 1956 and was directed by Virgil Vogel. It starts out like a documentary. The announcer Dr. Frank Baxter, is an actual English professor, describes different hollow earth theories by John Symmes and Cyrus Teed.
The humps for the mole people were done by stuffing the backs of the actors who played them with newspapers. Footage of the mole people was later used in "The Wild World Of Batwoman" 1966, as monsters created by a supervillain.
The mythology in the movie is incorrect. Ishtar was not exactly a Sumerian goddess. Ishtar was the Babylonian version of Inanna. Inanna was Sumerian. Also the gods depicted on the temple walls are Egyptian not Sumerian. There are other incorrect mythology statements made during the movie, and some incorrect science, however, none of it takes anything away from it. Actually it shows that one can get lost in the story and enjoy it without analyzing it. Do you really care about the mythology itself or do you care about how the mythology fits in with the story of the movie?
This is one of those movies that I grew up with so I’ve always liked it. Its fun to watch for adults but a little creepy when you’re a kid. Especially having something drag you down below the dirt. And the cry of the mole people when they are being whipped is haunting. Still it didn’t keep me from watching it.
**Spoiler. I’ve heard from a couple sources that the ending to the movie was changed. Originally the slave girl Adad survives the final earthquake to marry Dr. Bentley, however the studio executives objected. They did not like the idea of an interracial relationship. **