Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
“Nathan Hertz” (alias for Nathan Juran)
Written by Mark Hanna
1958/USA
Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc.
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Delivery man: [inventorying the items he has just brought] Meat hooks, four lengths of chain, forty gallons of plasma, and an elephant syringe.[/box]

This is a shoe-in for the coveted Best Bad Film of 1958 award.

Nancy Archer is fabulously wealthy and the owner of the gigantic Star of India diamond. Nancy’s life has gone on the skids since her marriage to the nasty, money-grubbing, womanizing Harry.  But she loves him and calls for his help constantly.  For his part, Harry is torn between killing her and committing her to an insane asylum.

Harry is having an affair with a bimbo, Nancy catches him, and takes a drive into the desert to clear her head.  Instead, she runs into a satellite that looks suspiciously like a ping-pong ball and is attacked by a 30-foot giant who is after her diamond.

Naturally, nobody believes Nancy at first.  Soon enough a couple of sightings confirm the story and Nancy’s rapid growth seals the deal, allowing her to get delicious revenge on her tormentors.

The key to a successful B movie is a catchy title and a lurid poster both of which this film has in spades.  The movie itself, however, was so embarrassingly bad that its director (who worked several times with Ray Harryhausen) refused to allow his name to be used in the credits.  It is a trifecta of awfulness, featuring god-awful acting, wooden dialogue, and “special effects” that must be seen to be believed.  My favorite is the giant woman’s hand which at various times looks like it is made of papier mache and at others like it is made of canvas.  Needless to say, I had a good time watching this space-age soap opera.

Trailer