The Magnetic Monster

"The Magnetic Monster" is a much better than average sci-fi/horror film from an era known for schlocky films in this genre. It works well because they manage to make the story seem possible...and much of it is because its told in a semi-documentary style.

When the story begins, some investigators from the OSI are looking into strange phenomena....and a really weird one comes to them. It seems a business is magnetized and all the clocks are broken. When Dr. Stewart (Richard Carlson) tosses some metal washers into the air, they are sucked onto the ceiling as some magnetic power is THAT strong and appears to be coming from the floor above. There, they find a dead man....killed from radiation. In fact, the whole place is very radioactive. What has happened here? And, where is the source of the magnetism, as it appears as if someone took the source with them...meaning that some object is MUCH more magnetic and dangerous than what the OSI team just found. What ttey don't realize is that the powerful substance is so powerful that it threatens to destroy the planet unless something is done quickly.

As I already mentioned, the style of the film makes it work well. Giving the story a seemingly credible scientific explanation also works well. Overall, an entertaining story which is surprisingly literate and enjoyable.

One of the best sci-fi B-movies of the Fifties! Stalwart hero-scientist Carlson is really terrific and convincing too; stock footage of dynamo is realistically intercut with new footage of a movie set built to look exactly like the one in the German film GOLD (1934), in which stock footage from the 1934 film is intercut with new footage. The film succeeds on all levels, made for an adult audience, and although a 'modern' American film, it had a film crew with a heritage in German impressionist cinema of the 1930s. Highly recommended! Great Science Fiction! Probably the only Fifties SF film besides ON THE BEACH (1959) to show the nuclear radiation problem realistically; especially chilling is the scene on board an airliner where the nuclear scientist who had a hand in creating the monster (Leonard Mudie) is dying of nuclear radiation and his gums are bleeding while he holds onto a briefcase in his lap containing the radioactive isotope. Rushed to a hospital after the plane lands, he dies in isolation. And a formidable, unknown, unseen monster! Badly dated now, but an effective, well-written thriller featuring the TV star of I LED THREE LIVES and the movie star of IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, Richard Carlson gives another fine performance.

Ivan Tors made a few Interesting Low Budget "real" Sci-Fi Movies in the Early to Mid 1950's with the Emphasis on Scientific Explanation and Rational Crime Solving in lieu of Giant Monsters, Aliens, Flying Saucers and Mutants.

The Goal was to bring "Down to Earth" some of the more Fantastic Ideas of Science Fiction and Present them with an Adult Tone that turned a Sense of Wonder into a Sense of Dread.

Radiation, Computers, the Hydrogen Bomb, Space Travel. These were all Things that We were Creating or Endeavoring to Create. Some were saying that we were letting the Technology Grow Faster than Our Ability to Understand (let alone control) it. Therein lies the Scary part and it was right Here in Reality among Us just Waiting to Devour and Destroy.

In this one it is the Exponential Growth of Energy wanting to Feed and be Fed Continuously as it Grows Beyond Sustainable Proportions. This is shown in Striking Lab Visuals through Screens and Electron Microscopes that have a Surreal Appeal. The Over-Sized "Weapon" We use to finally End it all is also Visually Impressive and Exciting.

With a Low Budget and High Concepts these few "Realistic" Scientific Movies from the Era are a welcome Diversion from the Latex, Insects, and Space Invaders.

This is very good 1950's science fiction. At the center is Curt Siodmak, a pretty good writer who involves us in a tale where the use of a particle accelerator causes magnetism to go crazy. It results in implosions that could eventually end all life on earth. It's up to Richard Carlson and King Donovan, staples in the movie genre of the time, to come up with a solution. This is post atom bomb time and we are treated to a lot of moralizing about life and its preciousness. This could have gotten out of hand but is reined in pretty well. I thought the science was reasonable and the acting quite good. Stereotyping was kept to a minimum and allowed the principles to do their thing. Very good scene in an appliance store at the beginning.

Two agents from the Office of Scientific Investigation are sent to investigate high levels of radiation and magnetism centered above a hardware store. They discover that a scientist, who has since fled with the element, has invented a new highly dangerous radioactive element that is able to "grow". If the element is not found and destroyed or contained, it could continue to grow until it sends the Earth off its orbit. The OSI men must locate the element and then find a way to destroy before its to late.

THE MAGNETIC MONSTER is one of the best low budget films from the 1950's. The story is intelligent and the science at least seems authentic. Ivan Tors deserves praise for trying to make a serious, realistic science fiction film. This is probably his best. His other science fiction films and T.V. series "Science Fiction Theater" also aimed for this kind of realism, but they were often to talky and slow moving. This film moves at the right pace and builds up to an excellent climax.

A few stray facts: Most of the special effects at the end were taken from the 1935 German science fiction film GOLD. This explains the outdated overcoat and fedora that Carlson wears at the the climax, to match the one worn by the German actor in the older film. Also Ivan Tors is said to have aped this films structure from the "Dragnet" TV series. The fictitious government agency The Office of Scientific Investigation turned up in Tors GOG (1954) and some episodes of "Science Fiction Theater."