As a New York City kid growing up in the 1950s I watched a lot of that era’s science fiction/horror flicks, mostly on WOR Channel 9’s “Million Dollar Movie.” (Given the miniscule budgets of these films, maybe it should’ve been called “Thousand Dollar Movie.”) Giant bugs/animals/people, space invaders, experiments gone awry—all of them scared the crap out of me back then. In subsequent years, re-watching them became more about fun and nostalgia.
Not all of those films were hokey, some of them addressing concerns of the day. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) looked at the fear of communism, with pod people having no individuality. Another issue, the unknown aftereffects of the new atomic/nuclear radiation, was covered in the excellent 1954 movie, Them! (their exclamation point) and its all-star cast. Invaders from other planets was featured in numerous films, most notably the classic H.G. Wells story, The War of the Worlds (1953).
But the majority of these 1950s films were produced by small studios on even smaller budgets with the goal of making a buck, and without interest in social commentary. I’m going to highlight two of my favorites.
THE SPIDER (1958)
Also known as Earth vs. the Spider, this one is so typical of its era. Produced for a whopping budget of $146,000, the black-and-white film features a giant spider menacing a couple of teenagers and the small town in which they live. While it is not played for laughs, there is a plethora of knee-slapping moments throughout its run time of 73 minutes. For total enjoyment, check out the number of “Goofs” on its IMDB page. It is extensive.
A little ’50s Rock ‘n Roll will bring the spider back to life.
For example, the spider is sometimes black, sometimes gray. It is sometimes large but can fit inside the high school gym for viewing (check out the photo), and sometimes gigantic—bigger than the school itself after it busts out. The actors playing the “teenagers,” Mike and Carol, are ages 37 and 25 respectively. (One of their “teen” friends is 48 and looks it. Maybe he got left back for 30 years.) And in an early scene, when the huge arachnid is supposedly killed (it is not), it is done by an exterminator with some DDT spray. (I’m not making this up!)
But for me this is all endearing, and a lot of fun. And I don’t have to apologize for The Spider scaring the crap out of me when I was a kid.
THE GIANT CLAW (1957)
This film, with a decent cast (Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday), began by establishing some early tension. Pilots in the air are reporting a fast-moving UFO, which we only see in a blur as it flies past. Planes are destroyed, people are killed by this unknown entity, and the military is mobilized to engage the threat.
Then, 15-20 minutes into the film, the giant bird is revealed in full, and the tension gushes out like a hole in a hot air balloon. The creature, a stationary puppet, is arguably the most ludicrous “horror” in the genre. (Again, check out the photo.)
The bird, allegedly modeled after Japan’s Rodan, was kept under wraps from all of the actors until the film’s premiere. Morrow himself saw the movie in a theater full of people, all of whom laughed hysterically each time the bird appeared. He left the theater, went home and got drunk.
The actors in The Giant Claw, which runs a short 75 minutes, took their roles seriously. There are discussions involving matter/anti-matter, and particle physics. Still, there is plenty of unintentional humor, most—of course—involving the bird, and what’s wrong with a little hokum?
Scary? Or ludicrous?
I revisited these two “gems” on Prime Video, which has a good-sized library of science fiction/horror films from the 1950s-60s. I’ll be checking out more of them in the future.