Rating: 
Summary: Above-average giant bug film
Review: The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), directed by Arnold Laven and starring Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton and Hans Conried, is an above-average grade-B film about giant, mutated mollusks from the bottom of the Salton Sea. The action takes place in the vicinity of a naval base commanded by Tim Holt, with Conried the navy scientist who provides all the explanations. The huge creatures, mutated as a result of radioactivity from atomic testing and freed after millions of years thanks to earthquake activity, drain the body fluids out of their victims. Yuk. Above-average special effects, interesting story, and convincing acting combine to make this film one of the best of its type. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: A great 50s Monster Movie
Review: The plot has enough twists to keep on alert, the monsters are well conceived and Tim Holt is solid. A great way to spend 90 minutes!
Rating: 
Summary: Great under water effects
Review: Themovie was good for its timebut that type of movie would make it today. It had good story the acting was below average.THeunder water seens were real good. And the lst seen wear the egg hacthed in the lab was great. Well thats all
Rating:
Summary: Despite the title, one of the better Fifties monster movies
Review: There are a lot of really bad Science Fiction b-movies from the Fifties that are remembered, which is a shame when there is a pretty decent monster movie like "The Monster That Challenged the World" that is being forgotten, even if the title is pretty [silly]. This film starts out in what we would now consider to be a rather traditional fashion as an earthquake unleashes the titular creature in the Salton Sea. When a Navy parachutist go missing the investigation by Commander John Twillinger (Tim Holt) finds a boat with a dead sailor, the shriveled body of the parachutist, and a bunch of slime. There are more strange disappearances, but unlike the standard monster movie where the hero bumbles around while the danger grows, Twillinger finds the monster (some sort of prehistoric mollusk is what they keep saying, but it does not really look like a giant monster snail to me) and its cache of eggs and destroys them. Well, he gets almost all of the eggs, which is why the movie continues at this point.Monster movies usually hinge on the monster but in this one I think you need to pay more attention to the main trio of actors and their characters. As Twillinger actor Tim Holt ("The Treasure of the Sierra Madre") turns in a fine performance in what turned out to be his final major film role (I probably should have said final leading film role). "Twil" is too old and too overweight to be the traditional hero, but that is what gives the human half of the film its sense of realism (per se). Character actor Hans Conried plays Dr. Rogers, the requisite scientist in such tales, and the only one who has a clue as to what might be going on with the monstrous mollusks. But Rogers is having a hard time catching up with the situation and keeps finding that he has not thought of everything. The screenplay was written by Pat Fielder, a woman, which might explain why the female lead, Gail MacKenzie (Audrey Dalton), the secretary for Dr. Rogers, is not a traditional monster movie heroine either; no fainting for this brave single mother (ironically, it is the military guys who do the screaming at the start of the film). The monster is well above average for this decade of movie making and while this is clearly a low budget effort director Arnold Laven does not take a lot of short cuts. In fact, there is one sequence that anticipates the opening sequence of "Jaws," and Laven's efforts do not suffer than much in the comparison. Unfortunately, the first appearance of the monster is actually one of the lesser moments in the film. Still, on balance, "The Monster That Challenged the World" is ahead of the curve for Fifties monster films; I actually like it more than "The Creature From the Black Lagoon," which has a better looking monster to be sure, but a fairly pedestrian script and less than stellar acting.
Rating:
Summary: A monster movie actually about Escargot
Review: This is a good little movie; it reminded me of the old "Thing From Another World" from the same decade, in that it had several realistic and normal-sounding characters, which made the fantastic goings-on a little more believable. The monsters are pretty good, too, as long as you don't expect anything TOO fabulous. This MGM "Midnite Movies" DVD is- according to the packaging- released in the "standard" format, but no real cropping of the image (sharp and clear, by the way) was apparent, so maybe there ISN'T a letterbox variation available even if you wanted one. Not all movies in the 50's were filmed in widescreen, after all. I won't complain about the lack of extras (there aren't any, not even a trailer!), as if you shop around you can get this DVD pretty cheap. Chalk this one up as yet another inexpensive, modest pleasure from the growing MGM "Midnite Movies" series. Keep 'em coming!
Rating:
Summary: Mollusks Run Amuck
Review: This is a very good movie. Very well acted and the reasons for the monsters existing are acceptable. Good development of the players. I would have liked to have seen a little more of the monsters which were quite well done. Im not very informed on tech stuff but it seems to me the picture could have been filtered a little better for the dvd format. At any rate this movie ranks with the other "better than B" sci-fi movies of the 50's. Anyone who enjoys the big bug flicks should be pleased with this offering.
Rating:
Summary: Charming 1950's sci-fi
Review: This is a wonderful to revive those days of Saturday night "Creature Features" on tv. The movie is well done, the special effects are good and movie has a charm that's truly lovable. This is not a cheesy sci-fi film though. It's fun and intelligent and the monster is great. I would recommend this one as a double feature with "Them" or "Tarantula". Bring on the popcorn!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Charming 1950's sci-fi
Review: This is a wonderful to revive those days of Saturday night "Creature Features" on tv. The movie is well done, the special effects are good and movie has a charm that's truly lovable. This is not a cheesy sci-fi film though. It's fun and intelligent and the monster is great. I would recommend this one as a double feature with "Them" or "Tarantula". Bring on the popcorn!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Giant Mollusks
Review: This is an excellent low-budget movie of the 50's about giant mollusks. In an underwater earthquake "prehistoric" eggs, which look like half inflated balloons, are disrupted and then hatch (radiation get the blame once again). The giant mollusks suck all the liquids from the bodies of their victims. This movie is worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: One Of Benjamin's Favorites
Review: This is easily one of Benjamin's (4 years old) favorites. He loves to imitate the giant slugs as he slowly ambles about the room, making mouth pinchers with his fingers, and croaking out the breathy the "hooo-haaa" sound from the movie. Pure optimistic 50's SF where no problem can't be overcome if we just work together. And what science can't overcome, the army can just blow up.
|
