O Monstro Submarino

This film was made before the days of cgi and therefore must seem painfully dated to younger viewers but to us who grew up in the atomic monster age it is both scary and charming. We do not look with judgment on the film but rather on the times in which it was produced. Fond memories of drive-in theaters and Saturday night scarfests with friends. Carefree times of youth and adolescence. That said "Behemoth" is ultimately more entertaining with it's challenging fx than many of our modern day films which completely lack any charm. Simply filling a film with eye catching Cgi does not a movie make. Willis O'Brian's painstaking stop-motion effects and Eugene Lourie's talent with a minuscule budget unite to make a scary premise very entertaining and certainly fondly remembered.

There were many "giant-monster" films from the 50's . Some were terrible. Most were good, including this one. Yeah, if one were picky they could say the stop-motion effects (from King Kong effects man Willis O'Brien) are not as well done as Ray Harryhausen's or the pacing is a bit slow at times. For the most part, the actors do a credible job although Gene Evans (Dr. Karnes) overplays his part a bit. There is enough action to sustain interest and the story is pretty good (if not original). This monster just isn't in a talking mood! It's not only radioactive but has an electric charge that sends out the radiation. There is some decent stock footage as well. If you're a fan of 1950's sci-fi films, give this one a try.

Director Eugene (Gene) Lourie made three similarly-themed giant monster flicks, beginning with 1953's 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms' to 1961's 'Gorgo', with 'Behemoth' sandwiched in between. The story line is much like a myriad of other films of the era (and very much like 'Beast...") but this one is a cut above. This time, the irradiated creature (weren't they all during the 50s?) turns up in British waters. Unlike 'Beast' and 'Gorgo' (as well as Godzilla and the others), this Behemoth not only was a huge creature, but also had the ability to project 'electrified fields of radiation', causing people to literally burn to death. Scenes with Behemoth climbing out of the Thames, destroying buildings and burning people to death (even kids aren't spared) is pretty exciting. While close-ups of Behemoth are not realistic (compared to Ray Harryhausen's work in 'Beast'), the full-body scenes done by Willis O'Brien are very effective. The acting, untypical of these films, is actually pretty well done. Character actor Gene Evans and Hammer Films regular Andre Morell do splendid jobs, and the supporting cast is fine too. One can quibble over which of these films is the best, but I agree with an observation made in Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film that The Giant Behemoth was "the scariest giant monster-on-the-loose film ever made." At least up to that point, anyway. Well worth having if you're a fan of old sci-fi & horror films.

Let me quickly begin by putting to rest once and for all a terrible error that is popping up everywhere concerning this film: THE GIANT BEHEMOTH was not, repeat NOT, "co-directed" by Mr Douglas Hickox. He was not an "uncredited" contributor to the film. Period. End of discussion. It was solely directed from start to finish by Eugene Lourie, a director (and production designer) of taste and imagination. How this rumor about Mr Hickox ever got started is beyond me.

If I accomplish nothing else but put this falsehood to rest I will be quite happy.

Now, on to the film. I recommend it highly. It is well-written, well-acted, nicely photographed and edited, and well-scored by Edwin Astley. It is a good example of what can be done on an extremely low budget. The producers were merciless in their budget-cutting which was very hard on master animators Willis O'Brien and Pete Peterson but it is a testament to their skill and integrity that they managed as well as they did. Their animation of the giant creature is of a very high order and is, of course, vastly superior to the work of a second special effects crew which was brought in to do the ferry boat sequence. The less said about that work the better, though the scene played well due to the fine editing and music scoring.

I greatly admire what was accomplished here by these talented people having almost no money to work with. That should be an inspiration to many an aspiring movie-maker.

Now, let me tell you I could be a little biased here with my scoring. For this film lit the light of remembrance and melancholy within me. As it took me back to my childhood. There was a time when the good old BBC would play these movies on a Saturday afternoon: On BBC2 while BBC1 had Grandstand. I remember watching these Sci-Fi monster flicks with my Nan on cold and wet winter days, usually in front of a warm gas fire. Those were good days. So, I thank the makers of the film for giving me this memory.

What you have is a pretty bog-standard tale of nuclear radiation mutation... as was par for the course in the fifties. Here though, not only does it mutate a creature to an enormous size, but apparently resurrects a long-dead dinosaur. This then goes on the rampage through London. Though what makes this a little better than the average film in this genre is the extra details. We don't start in London but in a little fishing village in Cornwall where strange things have been occurring; a man being burned with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns, shoals of dead fish washing up on the beach, and strange lights under the surface of the sea. This pulls the viewer in with the mystery. There's also the brilliant usage of the radiation because if you get too close to the creature then you burn. When we arrive at the rampage, the director uses parts of London not fully rebuilt after the war to create an atmosphere that works well. Also, the large amount of extra's running from the monster is just right - not one or two people, but a hole streets worth of men and women.

The director is very good at his work. He sets the pace of this film perfectly. There's a small crescendo at the beginning when Marine Biologist Steve Karnes' is warning the government about the possible side effects of radiation on the oceans and their populace. Then drops to a steadier pace with the mysterious happenings. Building up slowly to the rampage at the climax. Spot on perfect.

The special effects, for their time, are not quite as good as others. However, they are passable. It's nice the puppeteer changed out to a fully automated Behemoth for the later scenes as the fixed mouth version that attacked the ferry looked a little silly. I have to admit I really loved the part where the Behemoth walks through the dockyards. The part where he wrecks one crane by tearing it apart with his teeth and the other by simply walking through it is one of the better stop animation sequences I've seen. I liked the fact the director filmed it from the position of the pavement, which had the effect of giving size to the creature.

This was a very enjoyable flick, to say the least. The story and the filming were solid as too was the acting. Everybody put their skills into making this a very watchable movie. Not remembering the movie fully, I thought that the two main characters in the fishing village section Jean (Madison) and John (Turner) would be in the whole show, their acting is that good. However, when we leave the village we never see them again.

If you've never caught a '50's sci-fi monster flick then this one would be a nice place to start. And if you are a fan of the genre, then find a copy and watch this once more, it's worth it.