The Monolith Monsters (1957)

Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.

Director:

John Sherwood

Writers:

Norman Jolley (screenplay), Robert M. Fresco (screenplay)

Stars:

Grant Williams, Lola Albright, Les Tremayne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Grant Williams	...	Dave Miller
Lola Albright	...	Cathy Barrett
Les Tremayne	...	Martin Cochrane
Trevor Bardette	...	Prof. Arthur Flanders
Phil Harvey	...	Ben Gilbert
William Flaherty	...	Police Chief Dan Corey
Harry Jackson	...	Dr. Steve Hendricks
Richard H. Cutting	...	Dr. E.J. Reynolds (as Richard Cutting)
Linda Scheley	...	Ginny Simpson
Dean Cromer	...	Highway Patrolman
Steve Darrell	...	Joe Higgins

Storyline

A strange black meteor crashes near the town of San Angelo and litters the countryside with fragments. When a storm exposes these fragments to water, they grow into skyscraper-sized monoliths which then topple and shatter into thousands of pieces that grow into monoliths themselves and repeat the process. Any humans in the way are crushed or turned into human statues. The citizens of San Angelo desperately try to save themselves and the world from the spreading doom.

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Plot Keywords:

turned to stone | saline | salt | printing press | scream | 

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Taglines:

Stranger Than Anything Science Had Ever Discovered As Thrill Crowds Upon Thrill!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released in the UK in December 1957 as supporting film to The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958).

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Goofs

When Ginny's hand begins to turn to stone, her fingers are straight out, as in a hand wave, but when her hand recovers while within the iron lung, it relaxes from being balled up in a clenched fist.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: From time immemorial the Earth has been bombarded by objects from outer space, bits and pieces of the universe piercing our atmosphere in an invasion that never ends. Meteors, the shooting stars on which so many earthly wishes have been born - of the thousands that plummet toward us, the greater part are destroyed in a fiery flash as they strike the layers of air that encircle us. Only a small percentage survives. Most of these fall into the water which covers two-thirds of our ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection: Volumes 1 & 2 (2008)

User Reviews

This Movie Rocks, Literally!

The first time I saw the Monolith Monsters was when I was a kid. It was great. A meteorite hits the earth and this kind of rock aliens when exposed to water begin to grow enormously. The grow so tall, fall over and then break apart reproducing and growing. A very good idea with decent special effects for the 1950's. It seemed like I saw this twice a year as a kid on Sir Graves Ghastley. The storyline and movie still stand up today. It's worth watching and even renting. The story, acting and effects are very entertaining and worthwhile. You won't be disappointed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monolith

Filming Locations:

Morris Dam, Azusa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1