The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

Giant mollusk monsters attack California.

Director:

Arnold Laven

Writers:

David Duncan (story), Pat Fielder

Stars:

Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton, Hans Conried

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Holt	...	Lt. Cmdr. John 'Twill' Twillinger
Audrey Dalton	...	Gail MacKenzie
Hans Conried	...	Dr. Jess Rogers
Harlan Warde	...	Lt. Robert 'Clem' Clemens
Max Showalter	...	Dr. Tad Johns (as Casey Adams)
Mimi Gibson	...	Sandy MacKenzie
Gordon Jones	...	Sheriff Josh Peters
Marjorie Stapp	...	Connie Blake
Dennis McCarthy	...	George Blake (lab assistant)
Barbara Darrow	...	Jody Simms
Robert Benevides	...	Seaman Morty Beatty (as Bob Beneveds)
Michael Dugan	...	Clarke
Mack Williams	...	Capt. Masters
Wallace Earl	...	Sally (as Eileen Harley)
Jody McCrea	...	Seaman Fred Johnson

Storyline

An earthquake in the Salton Sea unleashes a horde of prehistoric mollusk monsters. Discovering the creatures, a Naval officer and several scientists attempt to stop the monsters, but they escape into the canal system of the California's Imperial Valley and terrorize the populace.

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Plot Keywords:

navy | sailor | california | salton sea | monster | 

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Taglines:

A new kind of terror to numb the nerves!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alarm für Sperrzone 7

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$254,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gramercy Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The majority of the underwater scenes were shot at Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. The close-ups were later filmed in a tank filled with water and plastic sea-weed.

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Goofs

Action switches back and forth between the Salton Sea and NAS El Centro. These sites are about an hour's drive apart, but are represented as being co-located.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Lt. Cmdr. John 'Twill' Twillinger: Guess what, Sandy, you can go swimming again.
[excitedly]
Sandy MacKenzie: Can I?

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Connections

Edited into Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999)

User Reviews

Above par monster on the loose programmer.

I found this film about giant snails on the loose in the Salton sea area slightly better than most programmer monster films of the late 1950's. The giant snails are a believable menace in that they are presented as no more dangerous than any other large aquatic predator such a shark or crocodile. They put a fight but can be killed with several well aimed shots from a pistol or a heavy axe. The real danger as pointed in the film, is that snails are extremely fecund, and if they were to enter the ocean , they could reproduce in enormous numbers thus creating ecological havoc. Anyone who has ever had a fish tank knows once you introduce one tiny snail, in a matter of couple of weeks you have hundreds. One odd aspect everyone seems to comment on is that snails look like caterpillars in snail shells. There is a type of aquatic insect larva that uses a discarded snail shell as armour, much like a hermit crab does. Perhaps someone involved with the film had seen these insect larvae and mistook them for snails.