The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Arnold Laven

Writers:

David Duncan (story)
Pat Fielder (writer)

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Crawling up from the depths... to terrify and torture!

Plot:

An earthquake in the Salton Sea unleashes a horde of prehistoric mollusk monsters. Discovering the creatures...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Scientist | Salton Sea | California | Naval Officer

Cast

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

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #18376) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Brawley, California, USA

Company:

Gramercy Pictures (I)

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Despite the divers going deeper and deeper (from 65 to 125+ feet), the amount of light underwater never diminishes - in fact, it actually gets brighter.

Quotes:

Dr. Jess Rogers: We must remember that these creatures can travel over land, too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bees (1998)

It Ain't Escargot!

A small naval base by the Salton Sea is under attack from some ancient mollusks freed by an earthquake through the floor of the sea. The film starts out in typical 50's sci-fi manner, and the first encounter between one of these caterpillar-looking creatures and a couple of sailors is rather good. The creatures leave some gooey stuff, apparently saliva, by each victim. The head of the base, a Twillinger, begins to try and find out what killed his men with the aid of scientist Hans Conried. Tim Holt, the fella that played Curtain in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, plays Twillinger(Twill), a brusque, by the book, no nonsense guy. It wasn't till near the end of the picture I realized it was Holt(having missed opening credits) as he was like a balloon compared to his early western films. Nonetheless Holt effectively takes charge of this "sticky" situation. Hans Conried excels as the scientist. The film is not a great sci-fi film, but it is an exciting one with a good pace, good acting, and decent special effects.