The Deadly Mantis

This is an above-par gigantic monster thriller from the golden age, well-presented. A thawed, flesh-eating prehistoric preying mantis from the Arctic circle makes way for New York. Director Nathan Juran handles scenes well, including nostalgic map graphics detailing radar sites in the introduction, and using eerie nighttime photography covered in fog-shrouded atmosphere. Musical score is forceful and suspenseful, Clifford Stine special effects are fine for its era. Stock footage abounds but is not uninteresting, leads Craig Stevens and William Hopper are stalwart and wooden, but Alix Talton, a husky voiced former Miss Georgia and resembling Jane Wyman, is fun and natural. Last sequence still thrills, when we start to feel a little sympathy for this wounded animal, roaring and wailing as he meets inevitable doom.