Das todbringende Ungeheuer

I saw this on MST3K, and it's one of my great favourites. The endless map sequence at the beginning is quite hilarious, but my weakness for this movie stems from the fact that almost the first third of it takes place in Canada's arctic, and my dad actually worked on the DEW Line while I was a kid. The stock footage of the building of the radar lines up in the Arctic was fun (stirring music and all), but I think that someone connected with making the movie must have either been on the DEW Line, or knew someone who had. There were so many odd little details I've never seen in another movie, even though 'The Deadly Mantis' is not original in its use of the military to fight off a giant invader. The giant "Check Your Antifreeze" sign prominently displayed at headquarters was one - who would think of a detail like that, unless they'd actually seen it somewhere? And the most bizarre thing was the guys dancing together at the little party on the base; when you think about it, it makes sense - no women up there, so if you want to dance, you'd have to have men dancing together, but it's just not something a writer would just dream up while writing a movie. Alas, my dad died before I saw this movie, so I couldn't ask him how authentic it was in its portrayal of life on the DEW Line, but I think of him every time I watch it, and I'm sure he would have laughed uproariously.

I'd gladly watch this one without the benefit of MST3K, as it wasn't half bad, considering the genre and era in which it was made. But then I'm a sucker for movies which open with giant maps, and story lines that offer military responses to life's problems.

To those of you who think this movie sucked, I suggest you view "Beginning of the End," another '50s era bug spectacular, this one featuring Peter Graves vs. a giant mutant grasshopper. I think after that you'd agree that the Mantis wasn't so bad.

A volcanic explosion on the island of Dot upends an iceberg on the other side of the world. Embedded within the ice is The Deadly Mantis, a gigantic flesh eating insect which has been in a cryogenic sleep since the Jurassic period or so. The ice melts, the Mantis awakens and embarks on a deadly reign of terror around the North Pole. It munches on some Air Force personnel who have set up radar stations in the remote wasteland, and then eats a couple of Inuits before anyone catches on. Dr. Ned Jackson, a renowned expert in the field of entomology, arrives on the scene with his friend and photographer Marge to confirm what Ned has already guessed: that a giant Praying Mantis is on the loose. Marge and Col. Joe Parkman fall instantly in love and the Mantis decides to head for a warmer climate, namely Washington DC!!!

This really isn't as bad as it sounds. True, "Tarantula" and "Them!" were much better, but at least this isn't as excruciating as "The Beginning of the End." As far as films about giant insects go, this one is pretty good, and it's interesting to note that the mantis did not become a huge monster due to radioactive mutation: it's just a dinosaur! And Ned is right there with an ant trapped in a globe of amber to explain it all, some 40+ years before Richard Attenborough spared no expense on Jurassic Park.

Decent fun.

One of the better giant monster on the loose films from Hollywood. This one has a giant praying mantis thaw out of a block of ice in Canada before heading south and warmer climes. To be certain the idea of a praying mantis hopping around in the snow is silly, but if you accept that-hell you're already accepting a giant insect- you'll have a pretty good time. Really watching it again for the first time years I was shocked at just how good the film is. To be certain its not really scary, but it does have a certain amount of tension, even when you know how and where its all going to end.

Definitely worth a look.

From that great series of classic prehistoric beasts of the Fifties, The Deadly Mantis is a prehistoric insect the size of about three tractor trailers who gets thawed out of the Arctic ice and begins moving south for warmer climate and food. The Air Force spends a lot of time trying to kill this tough old bug, throwing everything they can at it, save atomic weapons. Given the speeds that this mantis is going which rival and in some cases excel what our latest jet fighters are doing, that would have been impractical.

The film focuses on the efforts of three people to bring the mantis down, fighter pilot Craig Stevens, paleontologist William Hopper, and photojournalist Alix Talton. Of course a little romance gets going between Stevens and Talton while Hopper is strictly business.

You have to wonder though what ancient prehistoric earth might have been life if indeed insects got that big and were flying around at supersonic speeds. Maybe they're what killed the dinosaur.

Other than the special effects to create The Deadly Mantis that were done at a major studio being Universal, the film itself is a no frills affair even with a small romantic interlude. The Deadly Mantis is in keeping with a great tradition of Universal horror classics.