The Colossus of New York (1958)

A brilliant surgeon encases his dead son's brain in a large robot body, with unintended results...

Director:

Eugène Lourié

Writers:

Thelma Schnee (screenplay), Willis Goldbeck (story)

Stars:

John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Otto Kruger

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Baragrey	...	Dr. Henry Spensser
Mala Powers	...	Anne Spensser
Otto Kruger	...	Dr. William Spensser
Robert Hutton	...	Dr. John Robert Carrington
Ross Martin	...	Dr. Jeremy 'Jerry' Spensser
Charles Herbert	...	Billy Spensser

Storyline

Jeremy Spensser, genius humanitarian, is killed in an accident just after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. His father William, a brilliant brain surgeon, works on the body in secret before burial; later revealing to his other son Henry that he has the brain on life support and hopes to encase it in a robot body! The resulting being is large, strong, and develops many strange powers. Initially it has Jeremy's gentle personality but this, too, begins to change, and a year later it decides to end its long seclusion... Unusual piano music score.

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Plot Keywords:

brain | robot | toy airplane | dead woman on floor | death ray | 

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Taglines:

Towering above the skyline ~ an indestructible creature whose eyes rain death and destruction!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Koloss von New York

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Jeremy (the Colossus) crashes through the glass wall at the end of the movie, the very next scene there is a woman lying on the floor and the man to the left of her looks down at her. In the scene following, the Colossus starts shooting eye beams. The eye beam then hits the woman, now standing, and she falls to the floor, in the same position.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits text rises out of New York harbor, as its reflection on the water sinks to the bottom of the screen.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Man-Made Monsters (1996)

User Reviews

A Dark, Moody View Of Human Nature

In spite of the rather sullen acting, plausibility problems, plot discontinuities, plodding pace, etc. "Colossus of New York", nevertheless, remains an interesting curio for the 1950s sci-fi connoisseur. Essentially a modern day twist on the Frankenstein monster theme, the film features Ross Martin as the central character, a world-acclaimed scientist who is tragically killed in the early going. His brilliant brain is transplanted into a massive electromechanical body by an equally brilliant father/brother team. With predictable disastrous results. What makes the film interesting is the interactive circle involving Martin, his father and brother, and Martin's wife and young son. It is also interesting to note that the Frankenstein monster, although given a criminally defective brain, was capable of moments of kindness, while Colossus The Giant, brilliant as he was, resorted to extreme violence, including murder of his own brother and numerous strangers. Despite its shortcomings, a thought provoking film in some ways.