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The Giant Behemoth
[WB]
1958; b&w
Directed by Eugène Lourié
Starring: Gene Evans, André Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison & Jack MacGowran
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Another great nature-gone-amok-thanks-to-radiation flick from the '50s, this time with a giant dinosaur that can breathe (perhaps emit) radioactive waves which burn people to death. Sweet. Opening with the almost traditional A-test explosion and mushroom cloud coupled with mildly preachy voice-over about the adverse effects of atomic testing, radiation and fallout, the voice turns out to be that of an American scientist lecturing at an atomic energy conference in London. The story proper begins in the seaside town of Cornwall, where a local fisherman is attacked and hideously burned by an unseen force. Before he dies he repeats one word to his daughter and her boyfriend, "behemoth... behemoth..." Soon after, thousands of fish wash up dead on the beach and the government, as well as the American scientist, begin to take notice. From the get-go the scientist suspects a "large marine animal of some sort" but his theory falls on deaf ears while the government collects and analyzes samples from beaches up and down the coast. Large ships are also beginning to go missing and, when one turns up literally torn to shreds on a beach and some coastal families are killed and their farms destroyed, the American's ideas begin to gain an audience. After a photo of a giant dinosaur-like footprint is taken, the American and his British Atomic Energy Commission counterpart consult with a paleontology expert who tells them what kind of dinosaur they're looking for. (And that it's "electric, like an eel," which apparently explains how it can project the burning radioactive waves.) He also tells them the creature is headed straight for the Thames river because it wants to die in fresh water and is apparently so loaded with radiation absorbed from oceanic fallout that it's literally burning up from the inside out. Since blowing the creature up would send even more radiation into the atmosphere, the scientists realize speeding up the burnout process from the inside is the only way to stop this thing. So, as it finally makes landfall near the Tower Bridge and begins to stomp and burn most of what's in it's path, the eggheads prepare a torpedo with a highly radioactive warhead thinking a direct hit will penetrate the creature far enough to discharge the radiation inside it. Eventually, it gets tired of wreaking havoc on land and heads back to the river, where a sub pursues the creature until it can get a shot off. Needless to say, the one shot is a success and the creature dies but, in typical sci-fi fashion, radio reports of dead fish washing ashore all over the Eastern Seaboard of the US leave the door open as far as man's fate is concerned. The Giant Behemoth is not only a lot of fun, but it's one of the last examples of old school stop-frame motion animation by Willis O'Brien. (He did the original King Kong.) If you're a fan of '50s sci-fi, atomic mutants, campy creatures and things of that nature, you'll find plenty to like with this one.
—the Kommandant
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