War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

CREATURE FEATURE FROM THE SAME ERA AS 'RODAN' & 'GODZILLA' BUT LACKING IN PLOT & PATHOS

IN A NUTSHELL: THE SEQUEL TO 'THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN'

'The Amazing Colossal Man' was a watchable though completely ordinary b-film that got this sequel, the 'War of the Colossal Beast', starring, Sally Fraser, Roger Pace, and Dean Parkin as the colossal beast. This sequel is a rather awful, formula creature-feature b-film from 1958.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: FAST START THEN A COMA

The beginning scenes depicting the mysterious disapearance of a truck carrying food, and the unseen giant on the inaccessible Mexican mesa are the film's high points. We have some tension and it is a scary ambience that sadly fails to be sustained.

AFTER THE MYSTERY: MIDDLE OF THE FILM BUT NO STORY

The 'monster' is captured, badly disfigured and seemingly no longer possessing a human awareness. Kept asleep for most of the middle of the film, we have only flashbacks of the epic climax of the first film, 'The Amazing Colossal Man', to keep us interested while the colossal beast lies in a coma that is disturbed only by his very loud breathing.

CLIMAX: AN ESCAPE BY THE MONSTER WHICH LEADS TO THE USUAL CLIMAX

Of course, like all creature-features, this one's climax is struck as the creature escapes. Of course the monster ends up with an L.A. school bus in his hands as crowds of parents and police groan.


-*THE CAST

Sally Fraser - Joyce Manning
Dean Parkin - Col. Glenn Manning
Roger Pace - Maj. Baird
Charles Stewart - Capt. Harris
George Becwar - Swanson
Robert Hernandez - Miguel
Rico Alaniz - Sgt. Luis Murillo
George Alexander - Army Officer
George Navarro - Mexican Doctor
John McNamara - Neurologist
Howard Wright - Medical Corps Officer
Roy Gordon - Mayor
George Milan - Gen. Nelson
Warren Frost - Switchboard Operator
Bill Giorgio - Bus Driver
June Jocelyn - Mother


-*THE CREW

Bert I. Gordon - Director / Producer / Screenwriter / Special Effects
George Worthing Yates - Screenwriter
Jack A. Marta - Cinematographer
Albert Glasser - Composer (Music Score)
Ronald Sinclair - Editor

-*THE MAJOR AWARDS

NONE

BOTTOM LINE: COULD THIS HAVE BEEN A GOOD FILM?

Seeing this film today does make one appreciate films such as the original 'Godzilla - King of the Monsters' and 'Rodan', for they were played with pathos and credibility that this film really lacks. What it would have taken to have raised the bar enough to have made this film be one that is well remembered, I do not precisely know. However, I do know that it is too obviously lacking in every filmmaking respect [after the first 20 minutes] even for a genre b-film from the 1950s meant for the 'Drive-In' market of the day, to be fondly remembered.

August 22, 2006

Fantastic sequel!!!

Col. Glenn Manning, from THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, is back, and after his fall from the top of Boulder Dam, is a hideously scarred, out of control monster, with no recollection of his previous life. The story centers on the giants sister trying desperately to bring him out of his madness, and keep the authorities from destroying him. This sequel is more entertaining than its predecessor, with an exciting, and touching, conclusion. Classic 50's sci fi at its best! February 22, 2004

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