The Giant Claw (1957)

Gen. Van Buskirk: Three men reported they saw something. Two of them are now dead.
Mitch MacAfee: That makes me Chief Cook and Bottle Washer in a one-man Bird Watcher's Society!

Director:  Fred F. Sears
Producer:  Sam Katzman
Main Cast:  Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday
Runtime:  74 minutes

Sometimes you just can’t beat an old cheesy B movie classic and what better way to go than a monster movie from the 50’s!  I had never seen this movie before but had heard of it and whilst on the lower end of the monster movie scale (umm…a bit lower than that) it still remained an enjoyable movie, but to be honest you would really want to have a liking for these B (or is that C??) movies to appreciate it.

Mitch MacAfee (Jeff Morrow) goes for a flight to test a new radar system that is being installed and whist out on a routine run he spots a UFO and reports it accordingly however puzzlingly nothing shows up on radar.  Everyone thinks Mitch was just being a joker until several other sightings are made around the area and people start dying.  Upon further investigation it becomes clear that it was not a hoax and the gigantic bird is seen in real life but conventional weapons are no match for it.

Cheap B movie effects can be so bad sometimes that they are so cool!  Check out this rubber vulture with a freaky haircut and googly eyes!! Gotta love these movies.  In this case they hired low budget special effects team from New Mexico to create the bird and it really ended up being low budget as they needed strings to control the bird and sadly was bit of a laugh when the movie got released.  Interestingly, none of the actors saw the creature until the movie was complete but by then it was too late and the lead actor ended up quietly walking out of the cinema in embarrassment before anyone could see him.  Hilarious indeed 😊

Surprisingly, effects aside, the movie has quite a lot of technical science in it that makes you appreciate these 50’s sci-fi movies and the effort and thinking that goes into them.

The DVD reviewed here was imported from USA and contains four creature movies on one disc.  20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Mothra and our movie in review The Giant Claw.  
The video is in a 1.85:1 ratio and is actually quite good though some of the stock footage has some damage and scratches etc but overall it is quite a decent image for a low budget film.  The audio is simple Dolby Digital mono which is quite standard for these films and is quite clear and well presented.  There are no extras.

Overall I enjoyed the movie as what it is, a low budget B movie with humorous effects full of the B movie feel.  It’s not for everyone though and you can find better B movies that have better effects than this such as Tarantula, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, It Came from Outer Space and so on.  But if it’s that low budget B movie magic you want, even with dodgy effects, then this if your movie!  I would give it a 3 out 5 when taking into account the B movie fun but when judged in accordance with other movies, it’s a 2.  Recommended for B movie fans only.

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Forbidden Planet (1956)

Commander John J. Adams: Nice climate you have here. High oxygen content.
Robby the Robot: I seldom use it myself, sir. It promotes rust.

Director:  Fred McLeod Wilcox
Producer:  Nicholas Nayfack
Main Cast:  Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly
Runtime:  98 minutes

The 50’s really pumped out quite a few sci-fi films and is often classed as the “golden age of sci-fi” with such hits like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing from another World, This Island Earth, Destination Moon, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Incredible Shrinking Man and the list could go on, but generally speaking they were not given big budgets to play with so the vast majority of the films were “B” movies and were not designed or given opportunity to be premium feature films or the main attraction, but the second movie in a double feature.  If you’re a Star Trek or Star Wars fan you would be happy to know that this film heavily influenced the two and essentially helped make them what they are today, especially Star Trek.  It was also the first movie to have a completely electronic soundtrack and was well ahead of its time both in idea and effects.  You also have the $125,000 prop, Robby the Robot which may look quite familiar if you remember the Lost in Space TV series.  Interestingly, it also portrays humans as having the UFO tech and therefore fly to other worlds which is different from the usual we see where aliens have the tech and invade our earth.  

The movie essentially starts out with a verbal introduction that man landed on the moon in the late 21^st century, then in the 2200’s man started the conquest and colonisation of deep space and a bit later could travel at light speed and greater.  In these times a spacecraft was sent to the Altair IV to colonise the planet but some 20 years later there was silence from the planet so another craft was sent to check up on them (sounds quite familiar to Ridley Scott’s Aliens).  The starship C-57D under the leadership of Commander Adams (Leslie Neilson – yes, the same one from the goofy comedies Flying High and The Naked Gun but now in a serious role) heads out to the planet to see if everything is ok and if so, why they never reported back to earth.  Upon landing, they are then led to the sole survivors Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaria Morbius (Anne Francis) and slowly begin to learn from him what was discovered on the planet and the problems they encountered. 

That night someone or something entered the spacecraft and damaged some equipment.  Who or what was it?  Is this similar to what happened to the original crew who came to the planet in the first spacecraft?  Will they suffer the same fate?

The special effects for its era was stunning and the attention and imagination to this new world also just as impressive with its green sky and rocky outcrops. Then as we delve deeper into Altair IV we see underground structures built by the Krell (the planet’s previous inhabitants) that are amazing in detail and impressive in scale.  In fact, it seems quite likely that this was also inspiration for Star Wars when designing some interior parts of the death star.

Then we have some of the Krell tech which also seems awfully similar to the Star Wars Princes Leia hologram, as shown below.

In regard to Star Trek there is confirmation from a biography of Gene Roddenberry, who created the original Star Trek TV series, about looking through the movie and taking stills of certain aspects of the spaceship for when they design their own. 

Then we have the DC Stasis of Forbidden Planet and Transporter Beam of Star Trek.  The roles are different but they look very similar.  The DC Stasis is a beam that protects the individual from the harsh effect of decelerating from Hyperspace to normal space but the Transporter Beam transports the individual from one place to another.

The soundtrack in probably unlike anything you have heard in a movie and was also classed as an amazing accomplishment upon its release.  It was the first movie to have no traditional music but an all-electronic soundtrack which is later revealed as being like the music of the Krell’s, so the movie’s depth extends to include that.

Whatever you make of the film one thing is clear, Forbidden Planet influenced the genre in a big way.  But what is the movie like?  Is it any good?  Personally, from a movie point of view I would go as far as saying it’s among the best of the 50’s era sci-fi films and certainly ranking pretty high in the decades after it.  The story is really good and the acting is good and the movie takes itself very seriously.  Like the 1927 film Metropolis the film excels on the technical aspect and the execution of it, not to mention the influence it had on future sci-fi.  It was the first movie to show humans owning and using UFO’s (interesting when you consider the possible WW2 and UFO link/history – I use UFO not in an alien sense but simply as in a spacecraft not common or usual for us).  I really enjoyed the movie though it naturally doesn’t have the scare or tension now as it did back in the 50’s but there are still areas of mystery and tension surrounding the film as to how the original crew members died and why some of the crew from the latest arrival are being killed, which is original and well thought out.  I would have to say that my rating of the movie would include the technical aspect of the film, just as it did with Metropolis and would certainly recommend viewing the movie primarily if you like sci-fi and/or 50’s films or to hire for a casual interested viewer.  It’s not the best movie out there but far from the worst and had enough depth to have multiple viewings.  

The Bluray reviewed is from the UK and therefore Region B so its playable in Aussie players.  For a movie this old the image quality is great and comes in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio and DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 for the sound.  The disc is also cram packed full of goodies such as:  

• Deleted Scenes and Lost Footage
• Additional full movie called The Invisible Boy starring Robby the Robot
• The Thin Man TV Series episode called Robot Client 
• TCM Original Documentary called Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us 
• Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet featurette 
• Robbie the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi icon featurette 
• Excerpts from the MGM Parade TV Series 
• Theatrical trailers of Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy

Overall the movie is recommended for a viewing, but a must own for Sci-fi fans particularly from the 50’s.  For me it’s a great movie and well worth watching.  The documentaries and featurettes are also excellent and very informative.  Highly Recommended!

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