Le scorpion noir

When you watch films like this, you must put aside your ideas of what are or are not good special effects......if we compare all older movies with present films with modern technology, we would write off classics like "King Kong" and "Lost World" because they don't look like "Jurassic Park". Times change, computer generated effects are "in" and we sometimes forget that people like Willis O'Brien were pioneers in the fx field, working with little but their imagination and creativity. So enjoy this typical 50's Big Bug entry for what it is. I have seen it a number of times and have a little soft spot in my heart (not my head!) for it. It is full of those actors that were popping up all the time during the 50's as second leads or in "B" films. The cavern scene with the worms and scorpions is pretty damn good but that little brat Juanito needed to be scorpion bait from the beginning! Probably the funniest thing in the film is the reaction of the military men in the stadium when one of their own gets electrocuted because someone forgot to turn off the power....they just blow it off and go on. It's a fun film......just enjoy it and don't think too much.

A volcano erupts and spits up these scorpions that are huge and prehistoric. This is the premise for The Black Scorpion, a 50's sci-fi/giant bug film. As cheesy 50's films go, this one is entertaining, if not a little slow in places. The Mexican landscape looks authentic and the scorpions themselves are pretty good when left in the hands of Willis O'Brien. But the close-ups of the creatures are a bit overused, almost to the point of becoming annoying. The scorpions kill each other off until one giant one is left to wreak his vengeance(and whet his appetite) in Mexico City. The best scene is the one when scientist Richard Denning(and his incredibly boring assistant Carlos Rivas, and annoying stow-a-way Juanito) are lowered into a giant cavern and the realm of Willis O'Brien's wonderful stop-motion animation. The rest of the film is rather predictable but still entertaining, and Mara Corday is at least pleasant to the eye as she must have had her clothing painted onto her.

Volcanic activity in Mexico frees an enormous variety of scorpion from entombment in the Earth. The beasts proceed to terrorize the locals, and it's up to macho geologists Hank Scott (Richard Denning) and Arturo Ramos (Carlos Rivas) to help save the day. Naturally, Hank also has to spend whatever spare moment he's got romancing rancher Teresa Alvarez (Mara Corday).

You're assured a reasonably good time with 1950s genre perennials Denning ("Creature from the Black Lagoon") and Corday ("Tarantula") as the stars, and with Willis O'Brien of "King Kong" fame doing the stop motion animation of the creatures. Now, granted, it's slow to start, tends to get dialogue heavy at times, and the romantic subplot also helps slow down the pace while the movie should be building to a peak. But "The Black Scorpion" hits its stride at the beginning of the middle third, once the creatures make their appearance. If you're anything like this viewer, you'll be laughing with appreciation every time they make an appearance. (Especially when they're shown in close-up. I, for one, wasn't aware that scorpions drooled this much.) The highlight has to be the big set piece when Hank and Arturo descend into the scorpions' lair and encounter not just the arachnids, but a tentacled worm that was originally intended for use in the "ravine bottom" sequence in "King Kong". Some of the special effects are dodgy, but that doesn't apply to O'Briens' work, which is impressive as always.

Denning, Rivas, and Corday are engaging leads who receive capable support from supporting players Mario Navarro (as the annoying tag along kid Juanito), Carlos Muzquiz (as Dr. Velazco), Pedro Galvan as Father Delgado, and Arturo Martinez as Major Cosio. Navarro is appealing, but he's required to play a kid who only succeeds at putting himself in harms' way in his attempts to "help".

Not among the best "giant creepy crawlie" features of the 1950s, but it's still pretty good fun, with an appropriately rousing finale.

Seven out of 10.

Black Scorpion, is another semi classic, 50s giant monster movie. It should have been called the scorpions that ate Mexico. If you enjoy other movies from the 50s that feature giant insects or other huge monsters wreaking havoc on mankind, you will also like Black Scorpion. You do have to keep in mind that this was made in 1957. Don't be looking for the thrills you can get from the special effects in today's horror movies. The movie has to be viewed within the context of the time it was released. For it's time, the special effects were great. This was truly a scary movie for it's time and continues to be exciting today. I found this to be a very entertaining movie and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the giant monsters of the 50s and early 60s. Enjoy.

Giant scorpions are unearthed by an earthquake and threaten to attack New Mexico. By the numbers script, but the acting is (surprisingly) good...it's just that the script is VERY dull. And when the giant scorpions (and worms and spiders) are on screen the movie is fantastic. These creatures look terrifying (the close ups of the scorpions' face are not pleasant) and the stop motion animation is superb. So...dull except when the monsters are on screen. Worth seeing for monster fans.