Captive Women (1952)

In a post-apocalyptic New York City, three tribes of mutants (the Norms, the Mutates and the Upriver people) battle each other to survive.

A thought-provoking morality tale involving the dangers of atomic power, the thin veneer of civilization, and the pitting of good forces vs. bad ones. The apocalyptic glimpses of New York City in ruins (courtesy of matte painter Irving Block) and the quasi-Medieval/ancient Mediterranean costumes were definitely inspired by the science fiction pulp magazines of the 1940s, as well as the script. Acting fairly good, especially by Margaret Field (mother of Sally). The action moves swiftly, the sets are imaginative (especially the sewers where the Norms live and the tunnel that is beneath the river) and the film has a mood of haunting sadness that stays with one. A fairly expensive-looking production from producers Pollexfen, Wisberg, and Zugsmith, certainly costing more than Pollexfen and Wisberg's previous Sci-Fi classic, The Man from Planet X.