The Giant Claw (1957)

Director:

Fred F. Sears

Writers:

Paul Gangelin (writer)
Samuel Newman (writer)

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Flying beast out of prehistoric skies!

Plot:

Global panic ensues when it is revealed that a mysterious UFO is actually a giant bird that flies at supersonic speed and has no regard for life or architecture.

Plot Keywords:

UFO | Giant Bird | French Canadian | Radar | Supersonic Speed

Cast

Jeff Morrow	...	Mitchell 'Mitch' MacAfee
Mara Corday	...	Sally Caldwell
Morris Ankrum	...	Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
Louis Merrill	...	Pierre Broussard (as Louis D. Merrill)
Edgar Barrier	...	Dr. Karol Noymann
Robert Shayne	...	Gen. Van Buskirk
Frank Griffin	...	Pete, pilot (as Ruell Shayne)
Clark Howat	...	Maj. Bergen
Morgan Jones	...	Lieutenant, Radar Officer

Also Known As:

The Mark of the Claw (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Clover Productions

Trivia:

In an interview, star Jeff Morrow said that neither he nor anyone on the film saw the title "monster" until they went to the film's premiere in Morrow's home town. It turned out that producer Sam Katzman had contracted with a low-budget model-maker in Mexico City to construct the "Giant Claw" and no one in the cast or crew had any idea it would come out looking as bizarre and, frankly, laughable as it did. Morrow said that the audience roared with laughter every time the "monster" made an appearance, and he wound up slinking in embarrassment out of the theater before the film was over so that no one who knew him would recognize him.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Due to use of footage from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), a flying saucer can very briefly be glimpsed in Grand Central Terminal during the bird's attack on New York City.

Quotes:

Lt. Gen. Edward Considine: It's hard to come up with answers when you don't even know what the question is.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

From the studio that made Lawrence of Arabia.

Columbia, which made huge hits like Lawrence of Arabia and Jason and the Argonauts, were responsible for this.

A giant vulture like bird from outer space is responsible for aeroplanes disappearing and to make things worse, it has an anti-matter shield around it which makes it invisible on radar. After destroying some well known landmarks in Washington and New York and also picking a (model) train up in its beak, a way is devised to kill it and is successfully killed at the end when it is shot from an aeroplane.

The Giant Claw is one of the best so-bad-it's-good movies of the 1950's. When I first saw the giant wooden puppet bird, I couldn't stop laughing, even though it isn't supposed to be a comedy.

The cast includes 50s sci-fi regulars Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth, Kronos), Morris Ankrum (Invaders From Mars, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers)and Mara Corday (Tarantula, The Black Scorpian).

I enjoyed this movie very much and I don't see how anybody cannot enjoy it. Great fun.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.