Review of The Monolith Monsters (1957) by Doug M — 23 Jan 2018

My favorite cheesy 1950's B-movie, a couple of cuts above the rest.

The writing, acting and production value are above average.

The menace here is unique, a mindless, relentless chemical process instead of a mutant or alien or giant bug or laser-breathing dinosaur lizard in a rubber suit.

If you can find a good transfer, the cinematography is crisp, rich black and white.

There are some exquisite miniature effects shots, top-notch for the time, that while not always 100% convincing, do convey scale and are artfully-shot and -executed. There are also some surprisingly complex and sophisticated composite shots. and some excellent sound design - not to mention an uncredited early Henry Mancino soundtrack, and even a comic cameo of (even then) veteran actor William Schallert as an insufferable weatherman, mocking the script's own pseudoscientific technobabble.

This is definitely one of the best and smartest of the dumb 1950's formulaic monster B-movies.

You can get DVDs of this pretty cheap if you don't mind really-bad transfers, but if you like this movie and/or want to get a better look at the effects and cinematography, I would recommend the (somewhat pricey) Universal "Vault Series" DVD, which is about as good a transfer as you can ever hope to get.