The Universal-International fifties horror boom begins its downward descent with THE MOLE PEOPLE, on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

During an excavation in Asia, archaeologists Roger Bentley (John Agar, THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS), Jud Bellamin (LEAVE IT TO BEAVER's Hugh Beaumont), Etienne Lafarge (Nestor Paiva, KILLER APE), and Paul Stuart (Phil Chambers, GOOD DAY FOR A HANGING) unearth a Sumerian tablet and a young boy finds an ancient oil lamp in the aftermath of an earthquake that lead them to believe that the Sumerians boarded an ark during the biblical flood and found safety at the summit of Mount Kuhitara. The four men and guide Nazar (Rodd Redwing, THE NAKED JUNGLE) and discover the ruins of a Sumerian temple. When Stuart falls through a chasm that opens up beneath him, the others rappel down to rescue him but are too late and Nazar is killed in an ensuing collapse that seals in Bentley, Bellamin, and Lafarge. Realizing that the cave in which they sought shelter from the collapse was manmade, they follow it to a light at the end of a tunnel and discover a massive underground city but are dragged underneath the ground and imprisoned by mole-like humanoid creatures. They discover that these creatures are the slaves of the Sumerian king Sharu (Arthur D. Gilmour) and the high priest Elinu (BATMAN: THE SERIES' Alan Napier) who believes they are "evil ones" and sentences them to death by the Fire of Ishtar. During an escape attempt, the archaeologists discover the underground dwellers' extreme sensitivity to the light of their flashlights; which the Sumerians in turn interpret as portable Fire of Ishtar and proof that they must be gods. Sharu bids them welcome to the kingdom and gifts them the Adad (Cynthia Patrick) who has been ostracized because she is "marked by darkness" (i.e. non-albino). Elinu remains skeptical about the divine nature of the archaeologists and believes that he can control not only the mole people but Sharu and the rest of the kingdom with their torch and plots behind the king's back.

The seventh in Universal-International contract producer William Alland's string of science fiction films, THE MOLE PEOPLE is enormously entertaining and amusing in a by-the-numbers fashion with its Clifford Stine (THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN) process photography, mattes, miniatures, soundstage temples and ceremonial pageantry (one dancer looks more flapper girl than vestal virgin in her moves) with the mole people designs by Jack Kevan (THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS) the more accomplished aspect of the film's special effects than the usual proficiency of make-up artist Bud Westmore (SOYLENT GREEN) who is here tasked with painting actors white and adding a few claw wounds. Viewers not put off by the five minute introduction by Dr. Frank Baxter of the Bell Science filmstrips might have their patience tested by the archaeologist's exploration of the kingdom and the lip service subplot romance between Bentley and Adad. Agar and Beaumont are likeable leads but given little to do but wander and observe apart from a couple short bits of action, and the mole people are exploited more by the Sumerians than the filmmakers for horrific thrills.

Released to VHS in 1997 along with a handful of the other later Universal horror and sci-fi titles, and then on DVD as part of THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION in 2007, THE MOLE PEOPLE was first released on Blu-ray in Germany from Anolis in 2014 in a transfer framed at the non-anamorphic SuperScope aspect ratio of 2.00:1. Unlike Universal's Hammer/Universal-International SuperScope Blu-rays, Scream Factory's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC widescreen Blu-ray offers the choice of 1.85:1 or 2.00:1 viewing options. Viewers unfamiliar with the film or its history may despair at the transfer, as the high definition presentation fluctuates early on between crisp studio shots and other shots that are considerably softer and grainier; however, THE MOLE PEOPLE was one of the first of the Universal-International/Alland sci-fi titles to make heavy use of stock footage, and the commentary discusses the source utilized. The studio-shot footage is considerably crisper with gorgeous monochrome luminosity, which also clashes with the perfunctorily shot and lit Baxter introduction and a reshot portion of the ending (see the commentary).

Extras start off with a typically well-researched audio commentary by film historians/ authors Tom Weaver – with interjections by David Schecter – in which he reveals that the Baxter introduction was not added to pad the film to feature-length but to give the film some legitimacy, and that it was filmed on a library set used in several Universal film and TV projects (noting that it was indeed directed by the film's director Virgil Vogel and that Baxter was paid $750 for the day which was also the weekly rate of contract player Beaumont). He discusses Alland's tenure at Universal and the science fiction films that came before it including THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON series, IT CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, TARANTULA, and THIS ISLAND EARTH and noting that the penny-pinching decision to use stock footage was that of Alland, and that the stock footage came from the Academy Award-nominated 1953 documentary THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST and that the scope of its visuals is negated by it being blown up to 35mm black and white from 16mm color and that the SuperScope and 1.85:1 framings not only crop the summit of Everest but also hide some mole people bloopers visible on fullscreen TV and VHS versions. He is of the opinion that the move towards more stock footage was part of the downward slide of Alland's science fiction films which reached its nadir in THE DEADLY MANTIS. He also discusses the contributions of Vogel who made his debut here as director after editing THIS ISLAND EARTH, and of screenwriter László Görög (THE LAND UNKNOWN) who died at age ninety-three before Weaver could interview him in the sixties but he was able to learn something of the man and his work on the film from the writer's widow. The track features the novel concept of having transcribed interview quotations from Alland, Vogel, Agar, and Patrick re-enacted rather than read by THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA's Larry Blamire and his wife Jennifer Blaire.