Tuesday, February 19, 2013

THE GIANT CLAW (1957) movie review

The Giant Claw (1957) d. Sears, Fred F. (USA)

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! An enormous bird! An enormous bird puppet from beyond the stars here to wreak havoc and hilarity upon anyone who crosses its path! While a befuddled Jeff Morrow wonders where the hell it came from, and more importantly, what the hell happened to his career (“I was in This Island Earth, damn it!”), the nest-making pest swoops, lurches and screeches circles around his hapless human co-stars.






Morrow is forced to mutter claptrap about antimatter and alternate dimensions, while also wooing Tarantula star Mara Corday, she of the perfectly shaped eyebrows and pursed lips.


Despite the fact that it evokes more guffaws than goosebumps, credit must be given to the extraordinarily expressive monster bird, a hysterically spectacular and unforgettable creation, though it hardly conjures the image of "a flying battleship".


Doomed to obscurity for ages, this giant butterball finally emerged on a DVD box set celebrating legendary schlock producer Sam Katzman in 2007. Combining both the big bug and menace-from-outer-space genres with verve, this ranks among the best of the worst. Not to be missed.

2 comments:

  1. Love this movie. Such a goofily adorable creature.

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    1. Tied with BLOOD FREAK as *the* quintessential Turkey Day movie.

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