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.

---

Plot Keywords:

field trip | rock | water | monolith | meteor | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

---

Goofs

During the inspection at the Simpson ranch, when Flanders shows Dave the discolored soil, we see him pick up the dark soil in his right hand and the light soil in his left. When he shows it to Dave, the dark soil is in his left hand and the light in his right. Also, Dave reaches out to sample the soil with his right hand (showing his watch on his right arm). Immediately after, in the following scene, he's holding the soil in his left hand. Later on in the film you see that Dave wears his watch on his left arm.

---

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 ...
[...]

---

Connections

Edited from It Came from Outer Space (1953)

User Reviews

An intelligent concept, well presented.

Famed director Jack Arnold penned the original story on which this stand-out sci-fi film was based, directed with style and competence by John Sherwood from a screenplay by Norman Jolley and Robert M. Fresco.

The concept is quite original. The fragments of a meteorite which falls near a desert town begin to grow into hugh black crystals when they come in contract with water. When people pick up the smaller fragments, the fragments draw the water out of their bodies and turn them to stone. A sudden thunderstorm accelerates the growth of the skyscraper-size crystals, and they threaten to overrun the Earth. Great special effects created under the supervision of Clifford Stine.

Grant Williams (star of `The Incredible Shrinking Man') plays a geologist who struggles to solve the mystery of the strange growing crystals. Lola Albright is his gorgeous fiancé'. Les Tremayne (the general from `War of the Worlds' and the opening narrator of `Forbidden Planet') is good as the local newspaper man. Watch for a funny scene with William Schallert as a meteorologist.