The Monolith Monsters (1957)

Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.

Director:

John Sherwood

Writers:

Norman Jolley (screenplay), Robert M. Fresco (screenplay),

Stars:

Grant Williams, Lola Albright, Les Tremayne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Grant Williams	...	Dave Miller
Lola Albright	...	Cathy Barrett
Les Tremayne	...	Martin Cochrane
Trevor Bardette	...	Prof. Arthur Flanders
Phil Harvey	...	Ben Gilbert
William Flaherty	...	Police Chief Dan Corey
Harry Jackson	...	Dr. Steve Hendricks
Richard H. Cutting	...	Dr. E.J. Reynolds (as Richard Cutting)
Linda Scheley	...	Ginny Simpson
Dean Cromer	...	Highway Patrolman
Steve Darrell	...	Joe Higgins

Storyline

A strange black meteor crashes near the town of San Angelo and litters the countryside with fragments. When a storm exposes these fragments to water, they grow into skyscraper-sized monoliths which then topple and shatter into thousands of pieces that grow into monoliths themselves and repeat the process. Any humans in the way are crushed or turned into human statues. The citizens of San Angelo desperately try to save themselves and the world from the spreading doom.

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Plot Keywords:

water | meteor | monolith | desert | rock | 

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Taglines:

The most startling science fiction concept ever brought to the screen!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monolith

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Universal Pictures released this film on a double feature with Love Slaves of the Amazons.

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Goofs

At the Simpson ranch, during the inspection, when Flanders shows Dave how the soil gets transposed, we see him pick up the dark soil in his right hand and the light soil in his left. When he shows it to Dave, the dark soil is in his left hand and the light in his right. Also, Dave reaches out to sample the soil with his right hand (showing his watch on his right arm). Immediately after, in the following scene, he's holding the soil in his left hand. Later on in the film you see that Dave wears his watch on his left arm.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: From time immemorial the Earth has been bombarded by objects from outer space. Bits and pieces of the Universe piercing our atmosphere in an invasion that never ends. Meteor, the shooting stars on which so many earthly wishes have been born! Of the thousands that plummet toward us, the greater part are destroyed in a firey flash as they strike the layers of the air that encircle us. Only a small percentage survives. Most of those fall into the water which covers two-thirds of our ...

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Connections

Featured in Coming Soon (1982)

User Reviews

Another nice little gem from Universal

The Monolith Monsters makes a pleasant change from all those giant animal and alien invasion movies. This time, we have giant crystals threatening the world, which multiply when in contact with water and make people turn to stone. Jack Arnold, who made the very enjoyable Tarantula (1955), was responsible for this eerie movie.

This movie stars Grant Williams (The Incredible Shrinking Man), Lola Albright as his love interest and Les Tremayne (The War Of the Worlds). Williams plays a good part and is normal size in this!

The special effects are very good and the desert settings make the movie rather eerie.

This movie is a must see for all 1950's sci-fi fans. Great stuff and interesting.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.