THE GIANT BEHEMOTH

The behemoth stomps through London

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959). Director: Eugene Lourie. American version of Behemoth, the Sea Monster. Colorized. 

The coast of Cornwall is covered with loads of dead fish. A fisherman is found horribly burned to death on the shore. A huge animal emitting waves of radiation comes out of the sea to destroy a farm and its inhabitants. And then an ocean liner. Steve Karnes (Gene Evans) and Professor Bickford (Andre Morrell) team up to try to find this "behemoth" that may be responsible for the devastation. Bickford isn't so certain that this creature exists, but the paleontologist Dr. Sampson (Jack MacGowran) insists it is a "paliosaurus" that has somehow managed to survive until modern times. And then it emerges from the river Thames and stomps through London ... 

The behemoth dwarfs a bus

I have seen this fun, creepy and often intense movie dozens of times but I must say that the colorizing process made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time. It definitely adds a new dimension. As usual, I find it interesting how midway through the film the monster switches from being an unknown animal created by radiation to just another dinosaur that has become irradiated. One suspects this change happened because director/writer Eugene Lourie also helmed the superior Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (there is also a colorized version of that). 

Monster hunters: Evans and Morrell

The scenes of people being turned to cinders by the monster's radiation have even more of a grisly impact in color. Evans and Morrell play with sincerity, John Turner is effective as the Welsh fisherman John Duncan, and Henri Vidon as Tom Trevethan has a great death scene on the beach as he intones the word "behemoth." Leigh Madison is merely decorative as his daughter. Maurice Kaufman is realistically frightened as the mini-sub captain who sneaks up on the behemoth in the climax. Jack MacGowran plays his role in somewhat campy fashion. The effects in this low-budget movie are uneven but Willis O'Brien and Pete Peterson contributed some rather good stop-motion sequences. Edwin Astley's score is a plus as well. The original British version may have a slight edge on the American print. 

Verdict: What can I say? I dig this movie (others beware). ***.