Movie Night: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Review #613: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Cast
Allison Hayes (Nancy Archer), William Hudson (Harry Archer), Yvette Vickers (Honey Parker), Roy Gordon (Dr. Isaac Cushing), George Douglas (Sheriff Dubbitt), Ken Terrell (Jess Stout), Otto Waldis (Dr. Heinrich Von Loeb), Eileen Stevens (Nurse), Michael Ross (Tony the Bartender / Space Giant), and Frank Chase (Deputy Charlie) Directed by Nathan H. Juran.

Review

When you're watching a movie called Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, you know the movie's probably bad, but at least it's 50s bad, which I guess is okay. But this? Oh boy. The movie could be picked apart easily, by anyone, but let's not dwell on that too much. The movie was released on the heels of other movies released around the time based on size changing, such as The Amazing Colossal Man and The Incredible Shrinking Man (#420), except made on a lower budget. The actors are okay, I suppose, but come on, we all came to see when the 50 Foot Woman appears. And...it takes a hour to happen. Now granted, it does seem hypocritical to criticize it for taking a while to show the monster when praising Jaws for doing that. What's the main difference though? Jaws had actual tension, while this film has absolutely no tension, though lasting an hour doesn't help. But how are the effects? Hokey as can be, but for a movie like this, they fit the movie well. It's an oddball movie that is laughable, but endurable for all its flaws (Elephant syringe? Why does she look only 30 ft tall? Why did TCM show this in the afternoon and not at late night?), but perfect for anyone wanting to waste/spend a hour.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.