(1957)
Overall: WOOF
Another cookie-cutter snooze-fest of a giant monster movie, Universal's The Deadly Mantis was the first of several in the science fiction vein to be directed by Nathan H. Juran. Written by Martin Berkely, (who had also authored the interchangeably lackluster and similar Tarantula two years earlier), and based off of a story concept by producer William Alland, it delivers the over-sized arthropod of the title yet sadly only does so for maybe a grand total of six minutes. The hydraulic, papier mâché model work is goofy looking and persistently unconvincing when it does show up, yet the production at least had the good sense to use an actual praying mantis for a brief moment where it climbs the Washington Monument. Elsewhere, it is the usual combination of military stock footage and unrecognizable, Caucasian B-actors delivering exasperatingly dull dialog to each other while standing in rooms. When the big, silly looking monster is flying through the air as fighter jet clips from other movies are utilized to make it look like a heart-racing battle is happening, the film almost livens up to remind the viewer that they are watching some factory-assembled camp. It is more likely though that you will be too bored to even notice that such an aviation vs insect showdown is even happening in the first place.
(1957)
Dir - Nathan Juran/Ray Harryhausen/Charles H. Schneer
Overall: MEH
The first of three collaborations between stop-motion artist Ray Harryhausen, producer Charles H. Schneer, and director Nathan H. Juran, 20 Million Miles to Earth, (The Beast from Space), is a highlight for some of its effects work, but otherwise standard to lackluster. Filming was broken up between Italy and the US, with the former allegedly being chosen because Harryhausen, (who initially pitched the story concept), wanted to vacation there. This resulted in different sequences being directed by three different people, depending on the locale. Not that it matters though since the narrative merely serves the purpose of getting us to the next monster-go-smashy set piece and thankfully there are several of them to enjoy. The beast here, (which was originally refereed to as a Ymir after Norse mythology), is a splendid and unique creation from Harryhausen as it grows exponentially throughout the movie. It also garnishes the audience's sympathy early on when it is relatively harmless, up until it is hunted down by the military who keep forgetting that bullets do absolutely nothing to harm it. As far as the characters and the plot go, it is wooden and flimsy stuff respectfully, but the pacing is agreeable for a change and Golden Era Hollywood giant monster fans will have plenty to savor.
(1957)
Dir - Nathan H. Juran
Overall: MEH
An alien possession B-movie done on the cheap, The Brain from Planet Arous takes unofficial inspiration from the 1949 novel Needle by Hal Clement and is an equally dopey and talky effort, but its plot is wacky enough to remain amusing. The evil, extraterrestrial brain of the title hangs out in a cave until a scientist happens to walk in there and then proceeds to take him over, proclaiming that he was carefully chosen even though his walking into said cave was an arbitrary act. Then a useless yet good hovering brain shows up, possesses a dog, and follows the evil brain/scientist guy around while being in cahoots with his fiance and soon-to-be father in law. This has plenty of unintentionally outrageous details to laugh at considering that the bad alien favors aggressive smooching, is prone to megalomaniacal outbursts, can explode entire cities by looking at them with silver eyeballs, and is ultimately outwitted by his host body merely overcoming him with an axe. Director Nathan H. Juran never leans into the inherent schlock of the whole thing, but John Agar thankfully gets to mug it up in his dual role while Dale Tate's alien voice-over indulges in "all of you puny humans will be my slave" type of dialog.
(1958)
Dir - Nathan Hertz
Overall: MEH
Allied Artists jumps on the bandwagon with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; yet another sci-fi B-movie with a "human is a different size than they should be" gimmick. This time the victim is a female who comes in contact with a glowing sphere with a creepy bald giant nestling inside of it. Whatever that is about. As is usual for these drive-in yarns, the first act is a slog and primarily focuses on a scumbag husband and his mistress, while his wife, (the eventual fifty-foot title woman), is persistently agitated that no one believes what she saw. Things eventually start to get amusingly odd, but it is still mostly doctors and police officials standing around talking about things as we wait and wait and wait for the action promised on the movie poster to start happening. Which it finally does...fifty-six minutes in. Definitely a case of too little too late, the script by Mark Hanna feels padded despite some quirky details and an unmistakable, quasi-cautionary theme of emotionally frail women who are pushed to the point of vengeance. Plus, how did Allison Hayes grow a scantily-clad outfit that she does not wear at any other time in the film? Probably the same reason that Bruce Banner's jeans never exploded off of him when he turns into the Hulk.
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