L'Attaque des crabes géants (1957)

Scientists become trapped on a shrinking island with intelligent, murderous giant crabs.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay by) (as Charles Griffith)

Stars:

Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Garland	...	Dale Brewer
Pamela Duncan	...	Martha Hunter
Russell Johnson	...	Hank Chapman
Leslie Bradley	...	Dr. Karl Weigand
Mel Welles	...	Jules Deveroux
Richard H. Cutting	...	Dr. James Carson (as Richard Cutting)
Beach Dickerson	...	Seaman Ron Fellows (as Beech Dickerson)
Tony Miller	...	Seaman Jack Sommers
Ed Nelson	...	Lt. Quinlan
Robin Riley	...	Seaman
Doug Roberts	...	Seaman

Storyline

A group of scientists travel to a remote island to study the effects of nuclear weapons tests, only to get stranded when their airplane explodes. The team soon discovers that the island has been taken over by crabs that have mutated into enormous, intelligent monsters. To add to their problems, the island is slowly sinking into the ocean. Will any of them manage to escape?

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Plot Keywords:

eumalacostraca | arthropods | arthouse | headless corpse | eating brains | 

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Taglines:

From the depths of the sea... a tidal wave of terror!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The seaplane shown in the movie is a Douglas Dolphin.

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Goofs

As Martha, swimming in the sea, approaches a giant clam on the sea bottom, a square reflection can be seen on the glass of the tank she is actually swimming in.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

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Alternate Versions

This was one of a group of films for which Allied Artists prepared a modified version for U.S. 16mm television syndication prints. These prints started off with a lengthy clip from the movie and added an introductory crawl. This extra padding brought the film's running time up to approximately 70 minutes.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

User Reviews

From the Man Who Has a LOCK on SCHLOCK! Crab Monsters is One That The Defines the Sub-Genre!

...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL

Nine Years Old…That's how old I was when CRAB MONSTERS was released! When did I become a B Movie junkie? Probably from age 7 or 8, who knows, maybe even 6! When the conversation turns to those schlocky B movies of the 50's and 60's, this Roger Corman classic is one of the first that comes to mind! Corman is King! He really knows how to pack a lot of action into 62 minutes! Yes, this 1957 Classic is barely over one hour in length! With this in mind, no doubt, CRAB MONSTERS gives us on screen fun within its first couple minutes…

What is there to analyze about a classic Corman film? From the beginning, we all knew that the bad guys (In this case, the gigantic via radiation Crabs) would all get theirs in the end and the world would be safe…until the next Roger Corman film was released a couple months later!....Ah….Those were the days, right? Whatever your age bracket, you can get together with friends, some popcorn, snacks and some ….(?????) and have an hour of cinematic roller-coaster fun, from one of the most prolific names in Hollywood, who has been involved in about 500 FILMS…WOW!

8*.....ENJOY!/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome![e-mail]

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'Attaque des crabes géants

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures, Los Altos Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1