The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

good back-story, and good acting

Absolutely Brilliant!

Blistering performances.

This takes place in the Salton Sea in California. There are radioactive slugs in the sea and they begin to feast on the population. They are rubbery things that are created on a low budget. Radioactivity was a constant during this time, especially after the bomb in 1945. I've always had a problem with monster from the sea attacking those on land. There was that giant octopus that went after San Francisco. Its tentacles flopped down on land, but all people really should have done was to walk a few feet away. These things remind one of some sort of insect but they are more like rubber discs. This movie is not up to some of its 1950's peers.

This is one of the many movies that were made in the '50s featuring "giant" prehistoric creature. Out of the bunch, this is quality made, and is a good movie to watch even today.The acting is good in this movie, and it's not about men standing around and philosophizing over what to do as many of the movies of this type are. There's real story, and monsters appear when you want to see them. Suspense and intrigue is palpable, and just when you think the story is coming to an end, there's the second cliff hanger.This movie was popular back in the '60s as reruns on TV. It was a good watch back then, and it still holds its quality over the years. A very rare case for '50s B sci-fi movie.

California's Salton Sea is the site where an earthquake and some atomic tests result in the emergence of a sea creature that looks like a giant caterpillar and is later called an ancient mollusk. "The Monster That Challenged the World" first eats future "Beach Party" regular Jody McCrea (as Fred Johnson). Showing good taste, the monster also munches down beautiful Barbara Darro (as Jody) and handsome Robert Benevides (as Morty) when they go for a swim...Soon, we are told to imagine what an "army" of them would do. As you'll see, they are just as hungry by land as by sea. Main characters are heroic Tim Holt (as John "Twill" Twillinger), pretty single mom Audrey Dalton (as Gail MacKenzie), and helpful scientist Hans Conried (as Jess Rogers). After saying, "I don't want to alarm you," Mr. Conried explains, "The species could threaten the entire world." That sounds more alarming than reassuring...***** The Monster That Challenged the World (6/14/57) Arnold Laven ~ Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton, Hans Conried, Max Showalter

The monster that challenged the world! You can tell from the title alone that this is a very cheesy B&W monster movie. You will probably assume that it has a clunky story, boring characters, lame monster design and very cheap effects.Well, yes and no. This movie isn't as bad as I first thought it would be. It has that classic charm from most movies of it's time.Let's break down the elements of the film one by one.To explain the story in a nutshell, it's about a giant mollusk-type creature emerging from a lake after an earthquake, terrorizing the countryside. It's up to a handful of people to stop this creature.The acting: it was quite good actually. It's always a little tricky to act 'serious' when you face a giant fabricated monster, but they did a nice job in this movie. I didn't find any major inconsistencies in the plot or dialogs, which is nice. There are of course always some scenes in a movie like this that look pretty bad, but there weren't many in this film. In overall, I couldn't really complain about the characters.What is there to say about the music? It's just a classic, standard score that fits a movie like this just fine.The monster is quite original for a change. Sure, nowadays it may look silly or even unbelievably cheesy, but you got to have an open mind for films like these. I thought the monster was well-done and actually looks a little intimidating in some scenes. Not bad guys.What else is there worth mentioning? Well, if I have to name one point of critique, it would have to be the underwater scenes. A lot of shots are re-used and sometimes it doesn't look very realistic. Maybe it was done on purpose, but it just looks a bit messy.The monster that challenged the world is really not that bad. If you are a fan of B&W monster movies, then this one is a must for your collection. 7 out of 10 stars!