Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 February 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

From the depths of the sea... a tidal wave of terror!

Plot:

People are trapped on a shrinking island by intelligent, brain-eating giant crabs. Roger Corman directs.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Giant Crab | Exploding Airplane | Eating Brains | B Movie

Cast

Richard Garland	...	Dale Drewer
Pamela Duncan	...	Dr. Martha 'Marti' Hunter
Russell Johnson	...	Hank Chapman
Leslie Bradley	...	Dr. Karl Weigand
Mel Welles	...	Jules Deveroux
Richard H. Cutting	...	Dr. James Carson
Beach Dickerson	...	Seaman Ron Fellows
Tony Miller	...	Seaman Jack Sommers
Ed Nelson	...	Ensign Quinlan
Maitland Stuart	...	Seaman Mac
Charles B. Griffith	...	Seaman Tate
Robin Riley
Doug Robberts

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Los Altos Productions

Trivia:

Russell Johnson broke his toe while splashing around in the water during one scene. Due to the low budget of the film, director Roger Corman had a stage tech tape up Johnson's toe and immediately ordered him back in the water to finish the scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Deveroux calls out to the first team upon arriving at the island, the echo does not match what he shouts.

Quotes:

Martha Hunter: But Doctor, that theory doesn't explain why Jules' and Carson's minds have turned against us.
Dale Drewer: Preservation of the species. Once they were men. Now they are land crabs.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Attack of the Crab Monsters (#1.25)" (2007)

Unlike Anything Else

It took me years to track down this entertaining and creepy Corman classic. If the budget had matched the story and plot, it would have been one of the greatest SF pics ever.

The "crabs" (actually they are more like energy creatures in the shape of crabs) are unique and dangerous adversaries who absorb the minds and personalities of their victims. This leads to a lot of eerie moments where the voices of dead characters come back to lure the survivors. "My leg no longer bothers me," says one. "It is almost exhilarating! You must join us..." Everything about the crabs is unpredictable. Sometimes they are almost jovial. "That was quick thinking!" one tells a human who just tried to destroy it,using the voice of a dead comrade.

Unfortunately, the crab monsters are none too convincing in sustained shots (though they are certainly memorable). I was on the edge of my chair waiting to see how the scientists got out of this one.

If you're not some MST3K nerd who pokes fun at everything that doesn't have 21st century production values, "Attack of the Crab Monsters" will definitely intrigue and entertain!