IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955) d. Robert Gordon (USA)
KING DINOSAUR (1955) d. Bert I. Gordon (USA)
Tonight, we step back seventy years to 1955—the cusp of the golden age for giant monster cinema, as atomic anxiety crept from the headlines onto the silver screen, mutating into monstrous metaphors that stomped, crawled, and slithered into our collective imagination. We’ll look at three emblematic 1955 films - Tarantula, It Came from Beneath the Sea, and King Dinosaur - and explore how their monsters weren’t just fanciful products of science fiction, but also reflections of Cold War fears, rapid technological advancement, and the uneasy relationship between scientific progress and military might.
In It Came from Beneath the Sea, directed by Robert Gordon, special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen brought a radioactive giant octopus to life in unforgettable stop-motion detail. The film dramatized fears of the deep—both literal and metaphorical—linking nuclear testing with uncontrollable natural retaliation.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bert I. Gordon’s King Dinosaur is a textbook example of low-budget outrageousness that entertains in spite of (or perhaps because of) its ludicrous plot, stiff acting, oodles of stock footage, and clumsy rear-projected lizards masquerading as prehistoric beasts.
Grab your flamethrowers and portable atomic bombs and join AC and his supersized panel of guests (Joyce Boss, Barry Kaufman, Mark Matzke, Joseph Wycoff) as we celebrate a trio of black-and-white sci-fi classics filled with messages, metaphors, and monsters!!
TARANTULA
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA
KING DINOSAUR
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