TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959)

This segment of Tomb Of Nostalgia takes the form of a double feature I watched this weekend…two personal favorite, old-school monster flicks!

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953)

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One of the all time great 1950’s creature features directed by Eugène Lourié with another classic monster from SPFX master Ray Harryhausen. Flick is based on a Ray Bradbury short story titled The Fog Horn and features genre favorite Kenneth Tobey. The story starts with an atomic bomb test in the Arctic which frees a prehistoric dinosaur from it’s icy grave. The creature wreaks havoc all down the coast as it heads toward NYC and a showdown with the military. Adding to the already aggressive nature of the beast is that it carries a bacteria in it’s blood that is unknown to today’s medicine and is quite lethal. Can it be stopped!?

Beast is the first of Lourié’s three classic monster movies (The Giant Behemoth and Gorgo being the others) and is directed in his serious and intense tone. The cast all take their roles seriously, too and it helps make this monster movie the classic it is. Obviously, the FX from Harryhausen are top notch and the Rhedosaurus is one of his most famous creations. Climax in New York is still thrilling even by today’s standards and is far better then the 1998 American Godzilla which was more a remake of this film then it was of the Japanese monster icon.
MONSTERZERO NJ EXTRA TRIVIA: Keep you eyes peeled for the army sharp shooter at the climax played by a then unknown Lee Van Cleef.

-MonsterZero NJ

4 Rhedosaurus.

 

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959)

Basically a retread of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms but set in England. Behemoth also has the same director, Eugène Lourié, who brings a serious tone to the proceedings as with his other monster movies. It is his taking the material seriously and having his cast do the same that makes this as effective as it is. The difference between this and Beast is this creature is dying from the radiation poisoning received from atomic tests, making it twice as vicious and it’s ability to emit radioactive waves from it’s body like an electric eel, make it twice as lethal. The effects of it’s radioactive condition on some of the characters is quite disturbing, even for a film of this era. A giant monster movie with a bit of a nasty edge. The FX are delivered, this time, with contributions from the great Willis O’Brian (King Kong) and there is some nice intensity as this creature, driven mad with pain, rampages through the streets of London destroying and killing anything in it’s path. Nostalgic charm is ever present with the combination of stop motion animation and black and white photography. Also amusing to watch London get leveled, giving New York and Tokyo a much needed break, although the ominous ending may suggest that break may not be a long one. Well done and intense monster movie. For my Eugène Lourié’s third giant monster flick, Gorgo click HERE.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 and 1/2 behemoths

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: GORGO (1961)

GORGO (1961)

In 1961, Great Britain decided to enter Godzilla territory and make it’s own giant monster movie. The result is Gorgo, an above average giant monster flick about an underwater volcano erupting off the coast of Ireland and releasing the title creature, a giant amphibious dinosaur. But when the creature named Gorgo is captured and brought to London as a circus spectacle, it’s far more enormous and powerful mother comes to rescue her baby leaving a path of death and destruction in her wake.

Directed by Eugène Lourié (Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Giant Behemoth), Gorgo is a better then average giant monster thriller because it has something most films of it’s type don’t…heart. At it’s core it’s the story of a mother’s love for her child. Even if she is a 200′ tall dinosaur, Gorgo’s mother rips through everything thrown at her to get to her baby. She’s not there to feed or destroy, she wants her child back. The use of the orphaned Irish boy, Sean (Vincent Winter) to mirror the monster Gorgo’s loneliness in captivity gives voice to the creature as Sean identifies with and sympathizes with the imprisoned animal. It is Sean who is the only one that realizes that London can only be saved if the arrogant adults around him simply give the prehistoric mom her offspring back. Aside from being well directed and acted, the SPFX are quite top notch for this kind of movie using the Japanese style man in suit approach and the scenes of a London under siege are well done and dramatically intense. At slightly under 80 minutes, Gorgo is a fast paced and fun flick despite a very serious tone and it has a nice heartwarming center amidst all the destruction and chaos.

Highly recommended for giant monster fans who have yet to discover this flick. A childhood favorite that is still a lot of fun to watch. Also stars Bill Travers and William Sylvester and was co-written by Lourié, Robert L. Richards and Daniel James.

3 and 1/2 mad mommas.