The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

The Monster That Challenged the World
Directed by Arnold Laven
Written by Pat Fielder; Story by David Duncan
1957/USA
Gramercy Pictures
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Dr. Jess Rogers: From the instant they’re born, they’re hungry.[/box]

Perhaps the greatest giant mollusk movie ever made.

Lt. Comdr. John Twiliger (Tim Holt) is the new guy at the U.S. Navy base on the Salton Sea.  He is a by-the-book type who does not seem to be making a big hit with his men.  A couple of Navy divers are mysteriously killed and Twiliger and some divers go out to recover one of the bodies.  While doing so, the men encounter a gigantic object which later proves to be an egg.  The boat is then attacked by mother.

Twiliger takes the egg back to the base’s research center.  Dr. Jess Rogers (Hans Conreid) informs him that they are dealing with an ancestor of the modern sea mollusk.  He foolishly keeps the egg alive.  At the research center, Twiliger’s crusty exterior is pierced by Rogers’ comely secretary (Audrey Dalton) and her little girl.  Most of the movie is spent battling the mollusk and its progeny.

For these things to work the monster must be either scary or absolutely ludicrous.  In this case, we have a creepy monster and its disgusting slime.  The movie was not going to win any awards but is a better than average example of its genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bvKgRk7Yn8

Trailer