I love 1950s monster flicks. Despite the often cheesy special effects and low-budgets, they were often a ton of fun. So, whenever one of them comes on TV that I have not seen, I am sure to tune in and cheer for the giant ant, crab or whatever the screenwriters dreamed up in this installment. Some are great and some are pretty stupid, but they are enjoyable. However, "The Cyclops" manages to do something that few of them could do--it bored me half to death. So, it had the cheesy effects and budget but lacked fun.
The film begins with a wife (Gloria Talbot) hiring a pilot to go on a seemingly fruitless search for long-lost husband. Not surprisingly, they discover the husband has been turned into a giant cyclops and other creatures in this wilderness have turned giant-sized as well. Guess why this is...yup, atomic radiation!! Along for the ride are handsome James Craig and worthless Long Chaney, Jr.--and I say worthless because his part was incredibly one-dimensional even for one of these films. Every minute Chaney was on screen he whined and complained and schemed and I was thrilled when his character was killed! So why else didn't I like the film? After all giant creatures and atomic radiation--two sure ingredients for 50s-style fun! Well, the problem is that there is no suspense at all, little action and in the end, the survivors simply got aboard their plane and flew off...and the credits rolled. Sluggish and not at all fun...this is one you can skip.
The film begins with a wife (Gloria Talbot) hiring a pilot to go on a seemingly fruitless search for long-lost husband. Not surprisingly, they discover the husband has been turned into a giant cyclops and other creatures in this wilderness have turned giant-sized as well. Guess why this is...yup, atomic radiation!! Along for the ride are handsome James Craig and worthless Long Chaney, Jr.--and I say worthless because his part was incredibly one-dimensional even for one of these films. Every minute Chaney was on screen he whined and complained and schemed and I was thrilled when his character was killed! So why else didn't I like the film? After all giant creatures and atomic radiation--two sure ingredients for 50s-style fun! Well, the problem is that there is no suspense at all, little action and in the end, the survivors simply got aboard their plane and flew off...and the credits rolled. Sluggish and not at all fun...this is one you can skip.