The Giant Claw (1957)

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

Cast

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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

anti matter | giant egg | muonic atom | ufo | giant bird | 

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Taglines:

Flying beast out of prehistoric skies!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mark of the Claw

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clover Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the interceptors were scrambled at the beginning of the film, in two shots they are clearly Canadian AVRO CF 100's. Canadian markings are on the fuselage.

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Goofs

Just before the CAB plane is attacked (0:27), the narrator gives the time as "oh-eighteen-fifteen" which is meaningless in military time. A moment later, he gives the time in the correct terminology, "oh-eight-sixteen (0816)."

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Quotes

Narrator: Once the world was big, and no man in his lifetime could circle it. Through the centuries, science has made man's lifetime bigger, and the world smaller. Now the farthest corner of the Earth is as close as a pushbutton, and time has lost all meaning as man-made devices speed many many times faster than sound itself.

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Connections

Edited from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

User Reviews

Somebody had to have thought this monster was scary. But who?

People always blast this movie and in some ways that is justified; I mean the monster does look like Sesame Street's "big Bird" on acid, but let's face it, the fact that it is laughable is not the fault of director Fred F. Sears (who had also done the very effective EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS and THE WEREWOLF). Nor can we blame it on the cast who do their jobs very well. Sam Katzman was an old hand at saving money even if he had to sacrifice quality so he had the special effects done in Mexico after the principal photography was done. Maybe someone south-of-the-border thought the giant bird-beast really was scary. I guess we will never know for sure. You have to love the dialogue. Robert Shayne's line "It's just a bird, a big bird. Enough firepower to wipe out a regiment can't even slow it down! Sure, it's just a bird." or Jeff Morrow's: "I don't care if that bird came from outer space or Upper Saddle River, NJ." and you can't forget the classic: "You keep your shirt on and I'll get my pants on." They just don't write gems like that anymore. Oh, has anyone else noticed that there is a character in this film named "Dr. Karol Noymann"? The same name was used for John Carradine's character in the 1959 film INVISIBLE INVADERS. Coincidence?