El monstruo alado

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.

When a military outpost and an airplane in Artic are destroyed, the investigation finds a mysterious object near the crashed airplane. The scientists advise that the famous paleontologist Dr. Nedrick Jackson (William Hopper) should give his opinion and he identifies as part of a spur of the leg of a giant insect. Soon Dr. Jackson and the military discover that a mantis is the responsible for the attacks and is heading to Washington.

"The Deadly Mantis" is an entertaining and funny movie released by Universal with a giant praying mantis that awakes with hunger and frightens the population. The special effects may be lame in 2018, but they were top-notch in 1957. The good guys are military, still a reflex of the WWII and the romantic conclusion was sort of standard in those years. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Fúria de uma Região Perdida" ("Rage of a Lost Region")

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.

The Deadly Mantis was made towards the end of Universal's 1950's cycle of monster/sci-fi movies. This one is one of the best.

A giant prehistoric mantis is awoken from a long sleep by atomic bomb testing in the North Pole. After going on the rampage in the frozen wastes and killing several people in the process, it heads first for Washington and then New York, where it is eventually gassed in Manhattan Tunnel.

The giant mantis in this movie looks quite impressive despite the low budget. The movie's cast is led by William Hopper (20 Million Miles to Earth). He and the others play good parts.

I found this movie quite enjoyable and is worth watching if you get the chance.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.