Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)

When an abused socialite grows to giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt, she goes after her cheating husband with revenge on her mind.

Director:

Nathan Juran (as Nathan Hertz)

Writer:

Mark Hanna

Stars:

Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Allison Hayes	...	Nancy Fowler Archer
William Hudson	...	Harry Archer
Yvette Vickers	...	Honey Parker
Roy Gordon	...	Dr. Isaac Cushing
George Douglas	...	Sheriff Dubbitt
Ken Terrell	...	Jess Stout
Otto Waldis	...	Dr. Heinrich Von Loeb
Eileen Stevens	...	Nurse (as Eileene Stevens)
Michael Ross	...	Tony the Bartender / Space Giant (as Mike Ross)
Frank Chase	...	Deputy Charlie

Storyline

Nancy Archer is a rich socialite who is unhappily married to husband Harry who left her once but came back to her when he needed money. It hasn't stopped him from continuing his affair with Honey Parker and Nancy knows it. After a confrontation at a local bar, Nancy takes off in her car and has an encounter with a large sphere on the road. There have been rumors of UFOs in the area but no one will believe her. After a second encounter, Nancy grows to an amazing size. More than enough to get her revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | b movie | alien | revenge | woman | 

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Taglines:

See a female colossus... her mountainous torso, skyscraper limbs, giant desires!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman

Filming Locations:

Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$88,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$480,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Nathan Juran insisted on being billed as "Nathan Hertz" (Hertz was Juran's middle name), apparently because he was embarrassed by this film's low budget and poor quality.

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Goofs

When Nancy picks up Harry, you can see the back of his shirt is pulled up, like he is attached to wires.

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Quotes

[first lines]
KRKR-TV Commentator: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is KRKR-TV. And now for the latest news. Early tonight the Captain of a Swedish ice-breaker in the Barents Sea, reported seeing a strange red fireball come out of the sky. Says the Captain, "It hovered above my ship for about a minute and then headed south by southwest." Unquote. Radio Cairo reports a herd of camels stampeded by a comet-like object, streaking southwest across the Sahara. And in Capetown, Africa, a Boer, no doubt, reports a ...

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Alternate Versions

This was one of a group of films for which Allied Artists prepared a special version for 16mm television syndication prints. The film would open with an introductory crawl followed by a scene from the movie and then the main title/credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Damage (2012)

User Reviews

Guilty pleasure? No way! I like it and I don't feel guilty!

How can you NOT like this film? It's very absurdity makes it an instant classic. What absurdity you ask? Well how about the fact that when the sheriff (George Douglas) and Jess the butler (Ken Terrell) enter the giant's space ship everything is scaled to our size? How about the fact that when the giant (Mike Ross) picks up the sheriff's car it's a station wagon, when he throws it to the ground it's a sedan, and when the sheriff checks the wreckage it's a station wagon again? Or maybe the fact that Alison Hayes height seems to vary from scene to scene; sometimes she's a mere 18 feet tall and in others she is much larger. Did I, or should I?, mention that you can see right through both giants in almost every scene?

And when she reaches through the roof of the bar to pick up her philandering husband (William Hudson, who also went face-to-ankle with THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN a year earlier) why didn't they cut the scene before you saw the doll Alison was picking up had no legs? Should I even mention the fact that this movie is set in California and the deputy (Frank Chase) has a Boston accent ("Hi ya Mistah Ahhhhcha!")?

You can spot Ken Terrell doing stunts in most of the Republic serials during the 40's. Roy Gordon (Dr. Cushing) appeared in THE WASP WOMAN in 1959, Yvette Vickers (Honey Parker) had a run-in with giant bloodsuckers in ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES. And Alison Hayes . . .ah, she was my dream girl when I was growing up.

Let the sourpusses deride this film, I think it's great fun. Don't waste your time with the remake, THIS is the one to catch.