The Monolith Monsters

The first time I saw the Monolith Monsters was when I was a kid. It was great. A meteorite hits the earth and this kind of rock aliens when exposed to water begin to grow enormously. The grow so tall, fall over and then break apart reproducing and growing. A very good idea with decent special effects for the 1950's. It seemed like I saw this twice a year as a kid on Sir Graves Ghastley. The storyline and movie still stand up today. It's worth watching and even renting. The story, acting and effects are very entertaining and worthwhile. You won't be disappointed

A meteorite crashes into the desert, fragments of which absorb silica when wet, attaining colossal proportions before crashing down on whatever lies in their 'downhill' path. I'm no geologist but I suspect that the petrology underpinning the plot is a bit sketchy, but nevertheless, the film is an original, well-made (for the budget) 'nature-run-wild' adventure. The 'monsters' are unique in that they are simply a natural phenomenon, and refreshingly, are played that way (there is none of the anthropomorphising the undercut the similar premise in "The Magnetic Monster" (1953)). The desert locale (typical of a Jack Arnold story) is well used, and the script and acting are fine (for the genre), although most of the 'comic relief' falls a bit flat (an exception being the scene with the weather forecaster, which is amusing). The special effects and miniature work is quite good as the towering crystals fall on the buildings and even the bargain-basement 'chemistry' scenes are reasonably effective. The sub-plot about people getting turned to stone is a bit far-fetched (even within context) but provides an opportunity to see a vintage 'iron-lung' at work. Definitely one of the better science-fiction 'B' movies to come out of the 1950's, and perhaps the most imaginative.

Ok you Sci-Fi B Movie Fans! This is an "A" of the "B" movies! It has it all..dialogue with "talk-over" at times that reminds me of "The Thing" and the interplay between characters is terrific. The special effects for this movie are very good, considering the time frame...the plot pretty good, and the actors fair as well.

The Plot is pretty typical of the Sci-Fi Movies of the time..there is a town in the middle of the desert, a child who ends up traumatized by her first encounter with the "entity". The female lead is a fairly independent woman on her own making her living as a teacher..the male lead is a geologist who is in love with the teacher...and they find themselves instant "guardians" of the girl after losing her parents. Then, it's the race to find a way to beat the monoliths before it destroys their town. The only thing missing from this one is the usual Nuclear Radiation theory that was so prevalent in the Sci-Fi movies of this time. It's just a plain old fashioned meteorite that causes the trouble in this one!

Enjoy this great Sci-Fi "B" movie....!!

The main thing I found appealing about this science fiction thriller from Universal was the films unique menace: deadly crystals from space that arrive with a meteor. When one one thinks about it, a meteor containing some deadly or destructive element or mineral causing havoc on Earth is more likely than destruction by alien invasion. The menace here are crystals that expand to enormous proportions when they come in contact with water. The crystals are also deadly if touched by someone when they are expanding.

The film has good but obvious special effects. The crystals rising and expanding are done simply by pushing them up through holes in the table top miniature sets. Grant Williams, fresh from THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, gives a good performance despite the fact his role is the standard scientist type found in most films of this nature from this period.

Film historian Bill Warren correctly described THE MONOLITH MONSTERS as Universals last "adult" science fiction of the 1950's. After THE MONOLITH MONSTERS every horror/science fiction film PRODUCED by that studio were lackluster quickies (THE LEECH WOMEN; THE THING THAT WOULDN'T DIE etc.) thrown out to support much better imported (Hammer films like HORROR OF DRACULA) or independent acquisitions (THE 4D MAN.) I would also like to note this was 1957's second "deadly mineral" film, the other being Columbia studio's THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED. I would also like to mention I found the scene where Grant Williams tries to get a weather forecast from weatherman William Schalert pretty funny.

In many ways, this movie follows the classic pattern of so many sci-fi features from the 1950s -- a small, isolated desert town finds itself threatened by a strange series of occurences which seem to defy logical explanation. However, the threat here is not the usual giant insect or alien invader but rather a meteorite which has splintered into a number of small, shiny black rocks. What happens with these rocks is "absorbing" but audiences then (and now) seemed to want villains with emotions and personalities. Rocks with curious properties, (or inanimate machines such as in "Kronos"), don't provide the necessary thrill. Calling this movie "The Monoliths" would have been more apt since it can't deliver the shocks you'd expect from a movie with "Monsters" in the title. Besides, while the town of San Angelo is threatened, the movie never really convinces you that the world itself is also in danger.

Still, this is a brisk and efficient piece of entertainment that has been put together with a degree of care which belies its modest budget.

The story on which "Monolith" is based was co-written by Jack Arnold who also directed its lead actor, Grant Williams, in that sci-fi classic, "The Incredible Shrinking Man."