MovieChat Forums > The Giant Claw (1957) Discussion > NOT A BAD MOVIE

NOT A BAD MOVIE

posted 17 years ago by cpetr13
17 replies | jump to latest

When viewing this film and ignoring the post-op views of the bird, one gains a whole new appreciation for the great chemistry and performances of those involved, especially the leads. There are few cou0ples like Mara Corday and Jeff Morrow. It is clear they are not teenagers; they've been around the block and aren't reacting to hormones alone. It is one of the most realistic romances I've seen, and some of the best banter since the "Thin Man" series. The fact that the hero is petulant and prone to fly off the handle, and that the heroine tends to be a bit stodgy and conservative, makes for great passion as seen in real people.

Poor Mara Corday--it is sad that Hollywood never knew what to do with her. She is like Beverly Garland and a rare handful of other very feminine actresses who were too strong to sit around and wait for the heroes to save them. In this one, Mara can think for herself, doesn't need help when running from the creature (and doesn't go through the humiliating "falling during the chase" stunt most women had to in these movies), and at one point picks up a rifle with confidence and experience and actually fights just like the guys. You didn't see this kind of attitude again until Ripley in "Alien 2".

A great cast was wasted in a movie that was sabotaged by the cheapness of an accountant somewhere.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hobnob53 17 years ago

I agree with most of what you say, though I think it is a bit of a stretch to compare the dialogue between the two leads as some of the best since the "Thin Man" series -- the script's not anywhere remotely that good. But Miss Corday and Morrow do have a certain chemistry, and most of the supporting actors are at least game and competent.

Also, I never saw the cheapness of the movie as much of a problem in and of itself -- there are lots of cheap movies that are still pretty good, or at any rate fun. What did it in, in the popular mind at least, was the silliness of the giant bird -- not as a concept, but its appearance. More than its being a puppet, it has a ludicrous look. Here again, just a little more care and effort might have produced a credible little sci-fi thriller. The plot's no worse than other, similar films, and it has its share of gruesome scenes -- notably the various helpless parachutists being snapped up by the bird, right down to the "crunch" as he snaps down on them in mid-air.

But overall, and despite its reputation, THE GIANT CLAW has some merits, and is more fun, and enjoyable, than many other low-budget flicks of the era. I can think of many worse films...such as ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU, in the same Sam Katzman set: a dumb and boring film, which GIANT CLAW never is -- boring, I mean.

[–] obit1 17 years ago

When I was a wee little kid, they had this little ceramic figure that you could buy in gift shops. It was called a "worry bird" (evidently you put this on your desk and it did the worrying for you) and it looked like the plucked space turkey from THE GIANT CLAW except that the worry bird had a sad mopey expression and was in a position of rest, standing there, wings folded. But I laughingly have always LOVED that big bird in the Giant Claw, a bird as big as a battleship from "some God-forsaken, anti-matter galaxy" because, in the movie, it looks like New York is under attack from the world's largest worry bird... complete with tossled scalp feather!

AWK, AWK!

http://www.woodywelch.com

[–] Woodyanders 17 years ago

I thought this film was a lot of great campy fun. Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday were both fine in the leads, with solid support from Morris Ankrum, Robert Shayne, Louis Merrill and Edgar Barrier. The score and cinematography are both up to speed. But that laughably ludicrous behemoth buzzard beast ensures that this film remains pure kitsch all the same.

I write bios, therefore I am.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bonehunter7 17 years ago

I agree. When I was a kid back in the '60's this one showed up on the Friday night late horror show quite often. I enjoyed it then and still do. A fun B movie.

[–] orbit56 17 years ago

I hadn't seen The Giant Claw in a good many years, maybe not since the '60s when I saw it on TV. Unfortunately, I could only remember how silly the Claw looked when it finally got its close-up. Just got the DVD and enjoyed the movie tremendously.

Actually, it's par for the course for many of these Columbia sc-fi/horror films of the '50s. The acting is far from terrible, and the story actually is interesting. Tragically, the Claw is too grotesque to be horrifying; instead, it's outright laughable.

However, as an earlier poster noted, ignore the bird and just about everything else in the movie works fine. Jeff Morrow delivers a better, more restrained performance than he gave in Kronos; Mara Korday is smart first and gorgeous second.

This is all but negated by the bird. In fact the 2.3 rating this film has gotten from IMDB users probably has more to do with the sorry-looking puppet than the actual story.

[–] mvance-1 17 years ago

I really can't add anything new to the discussion (of course, that never stops me), so I'll just post my agreement with the concept that a better special effects effort would have lifted this film into the realm of quite respectable Fifties' sci-fi/horror. In fact, I feel there are some really memorable moments of suspense, such as when the cargo plane is being attacked by the (unseen, fortunately) mystery beast. The scene of the kids in the hotrod laughingly challenging the monster to come out to play always caused my stomach to twist into an icy knot when I watched it as a kid. I've read that the lead actors were really mortified upon seeing the goony puppet during the film's premiere. Steve V.

[–] shandy8 16 years ago

It would be interesting if someone would redo the bird scenes without that silly (but lovable) buzzard. The rest of the flick is as good as many of the better 50s giant monster flicks.

"I love corn!"

[–] agspiess 16 years ago

I think this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The bird aside, the sheer logical fallacies blew my mind. The bird is made of anti-matter and is protected from matter by an energy shield. That aside, it still takes several "rockets" to destroy the bird. Exposure to air alone should have caused an anti-matter object with that much mass to explode with terrific force.

I wanted to mute my TV because the sound effects were so damn annoying.

And the dialouge... Why were the pilots all hillbillies? Of couse my favorite line was "get that tin can off the road daddio".

[–] stevenrjohnson 15 years ago

Anyone deeming themselves clever enough to deride CLAW without first looking up what the monster's given name, "La Cocona," means has less on the ball than they think the movie does.

[–] mvance-1 14 years ago

Having re-watched my copy of CLAW tonight while waiting for 2011 to slide into place (what an exciting life I lead, eh?), I must take issue with your argument against the film's "logic." At least a bit.

Actually, the bird itself wasn't formed of anti-matter. This is straightforwardly stated a couple of times, most graphically when the remaining piece of feather from the monster is examined on-screen. The bird "exuded" (projected/radiated/beamed outward) an anti-matter force that enveloped it most of the time and which annihilated all of the ordinary-matter weaponry brought to bear against it, from bullets to bombs. The doctor points out that this shield is dropped when the creature wants or needs to use its claws, wings, or other body parts in relation to our earthly matter.

This fact brings up a couple of questions, of course: why didn't the air force simply parachute tons of fresh, bloody meat into the areas where the bird was hunting and then fire a few missles down its throat when it deactivated the shield to eat (as it did with the unfortunate parachuting pilots and passengers), or, once our heroes had located the gigantic nest, why didn't they wait to bring in some guns larger than rifles to blast the mama to smithereens while she incubated her egg (since she obviously would have lowered the shield then to keep from obliterating her progeny)?

I suppose it was just cooler to go with the whole "mu-mason" (I called them "new masons" when I watched this as a kid) tactic rather than taking the simpler and more efficient path. I still get a kick out of the flick, however (a little more due to Mara these days). Steve V.

[–] LarrupinLou 16 years ago

If the bird had been somewhat realistic and scary, "The Giant Claw" could have been a decent film. Alas...

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] Strazdamonas 14 years ago

This has to win the most random dialogue in the movie of all times award though.

----------
I've been vandalized by Elvis! -Ernest, Ernest Goes to Jail (1990)