The Colossus of New York (1958)

A brilliant surgeon encases his dead son's brain in a large robot body, with unintended results...

Director:

Eugène Lourié (as Eugene Lourie)

Writers:

Thelma Schnee (screenplay), Willis Goldbeck (story)

Stars:

John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Otto Kruger

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Baragrey	...	Dr. Henry Spensser
Mala Powers	...	Anne Spensser
Otto Kruger	...	Dr. William Spensser
Robert Hutton	...	Dr. John Robert Carrington
Ross Martin	...	Dr. Jeremy 'Jerry' Spensser
Charles Herbert	...	Billy Spensser

Storyline

Jeremy Spensser, genius humanitarian, is killed in an accident just after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. His father William, a brilliant brain surgeon, works on the body in secret before burial; later revealing to his other son Henry that he has the brain on life support and hopes to encase it in a robot body! The resulting being is large, strong, and develops many strange powers. Initially it has Jeremy's gentle personality but this, too, begins to change, and a year later it decides to end its long seclusion... Unusual piano music score.

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Plot Keywords:

brainwave | kaiju | gin martini | psychotronic film | brain | 

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Taglines:

Towering above the skyline ~ an indestructible creature whose eyes rain death and destruction!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film features an unusually restrained piano score by Van Cleave. This was not so much an artistic choice but brought about by a musicians' strike.

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Goofs

At 49.44 when the Monster picks up the girl; her right arm drops and her left arm is not visible because it's between her and the Monster. But at 49.10 her left arm is now laying across her body .

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits text rises out of New York harbor, as its reflection on the water sinks to the bottom of the screen.

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: The Colossus of New York + Crack in the World (1979)

User Reviews

Great 50's Sci-Fi

Reading other comments forced me to write my own. One commenter complains of it being a 50's Sci-Fi with no name actors. Well I saw this movie several times in the 50's. It was one of my favorites for sure. I think there are numerous, outstanding, Sci-Fi and Horror movies in the 50's and this is one of them. It had a Hitchcock feel with the shadows and suspense. And if you were a 10 or 12 year old when that movie came out you could really identify with the story. It played for years in the Saturday matinees. And no name actors? How about Ross Martin! We all loved him in the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits. And of course he was great as Artemus Gordon in the Wild Wild West TV series. Heck check out his imdb credits. Anyhow now that I revealed my age I should mention that if you missed the 50's Sci-Fi while they were new releases you sure missed some fantastic fun. And it was those 50's Sci-Fi movies that motivated so many great talents to produce all the great ones that followed. I too hope this makes DVD.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Colossus of New York

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1