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The Giant Claw (1957)

Approved | | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi | June 1957 (USA)
The Giant Claw Poster
Global panic ensues when it is revealed that a mysterious UFO is actually a giant bird that flies at supersonic speed and has no regard for life or architecture.

Director:

Fred F. Sears

Writers:

Samuel Newman, Paul Gangelin

Stars:

Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum | See full cast & crew »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jeff Morrow ... Mitch MacAfee
Mara Corday ... Sally Caldwell
Morris Ankrum ... Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
Louis Merrill Louis Merrill ... Pierre Broussard (as Louis D. Merrill)
Edgar Barrier ... Dr. Karol Noymann
Robert Shayne ... Gen. Van Buskirk
Frank Griffin Frank Griffin ... Pete - Pilot (as Ruell Shayne)
Clark Howat ... Maj. Bergen
Morgan Jones ... Lieutenant, Radar Officer
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

When electronics engineer Mitch MacAfee spots a UFO as "big as a battleship," from his plane, the Air Force scrambles planes to investigate. However, nothing shows up on radar, and one of the jets is lost during the action. MacAfee is regarded as a dangerous crackpot until other incidents and disappearances convince the authorities that the threat is real. Some believe it is a French-Canadian folk legend come to life, but it turns out to be an extraterrestrial giant bird composed of anti-matter whose disregard for human life and architecture threatens the world. Written by Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

ufo | giant bird | supersonic speed | radar | french canadian | See All (30) »

Taglines:

Flying beast out of prehistoric skies!

Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Mark of the Claw See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clover Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the better special effects are recycled from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). See more »

Goofs

If the gigantic bird were really from an antimatter galaxy, it could not enter the Earth's atmosphere. Its atoms would be comprised of positrons, anti-protons and anti-neutrons. These would immediately undergo annihilation events as they came in contact with any of the regular atomic matter of the air (molecular nitrogen, molecular oxygen, water vapor, etc.). See more »

Quotes

Sally: Well, flying battleships, pink elephants, same difference.
Mitch MacAfee: I said it looked like a battleship, not that it was a battleship.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Electric Dreams (1984) See more »

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User Reviews

 
The Giant Claw
28 April 2007 | by typhill – See all my reviews

Have an open mind and you'll love this movie. I wasn't even close to being alive in the 50's or even 60's so I'm not sure of what kind of technology they had to make movies, but I think this movie did a good job with it.

Yes it's a stick puppet but did they have anything better? At least they made it look good when it was going to eat someone, using the screen and then the guy in the front, then switching so it looks like he's actually getting eaten from afar. Yes the acting isn't the best, but it does the job.

And the science explanation for the bird, I loved that, it made sense if you don't know much about science and it works out. Possibly my favourite part of the movie.

I enjoyed this movie, and if you have an open mind it should be given a chance.
15 of 19 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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