BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER

The giant behemoth invades London

BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER (1958/original UK version of The Giant Behemoth). Directors: Eugene Lourie and Douglas Hickox. 

Atomic testing has revivified a sleeping, gigantic, and electrically-charged dinosaur -- a fictional paliosaurus -- that has become dangerously radioactive. In addition to stomping across the coastal areas, it leaves tens of thousands of dead fish in its wake, causing decided consternation for Cornish fishermen such as John Duncan (John Turner). While American Steven Karns (Gene Evans) of the Atomic Energy Commission tries to convince Professor James Bickford (Andre Morell) of the existence of this strange "behemoth," it attacks a ferry boat and then smashes into London itself. How can they destroy the beast without blowing all of its radioactive pieces into every part of the city? 

Gene Evans and Andre Morrell

This is the original UK version of The Giant Behemoth, and to my surprise, there are a number of differences. For one thing, the British version is eleven minutes shorter, which tightens up the picture and eliminates some unnecessary sequences -- all of the dinosaur scenes appear to be intact, however. The American version puts back some crowd-panic scenes and some stock footage. In the original version, when the behemoth struts through London, the music stops abruptly so that all you can hear, besides screaming pedestrians, is the ominous thud thudding of the monster's footsteps as well as its breathing and the occasional snarl or roar. Somehow it makes the sequence more chilling. (In addition to the music, the American version puts in the sound of an unseen man screaming as the monster's foot smashes down on his car, and also adds more screeches of soldiers as they are burned to death by the behemoth's terrible radioactive glare.) The announcement made on the radio at the very end of the film is slightly different in each version. 

Leigh Madison and John Turner

During the ferry-attack sequence, the monster is portrayed by a rubber model which looks good but has decidedly limited mobility (reportedly it had more mobility until it broke down just before filming). However, when the creature attacks London, Willis O'Brien's fluid stop-motion effects take over, and while the rampage is comparatively crude and low-budget (particularly as compared to today's FX work), the animation is still well-done and the sequence exciting. Edwin Astley's musical score adds to the generally eerie tone of the picture. Jack MacGowran is fun as a paleontologist who hopes to track down the monster, and Leigh Madison plays the daughter of a fisherman who becomes one of the behemoth's first victims. 

Verdict: Grim and absorbing. ***.