Rating:
***/*****, or 6/10
Starring:
Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton
Directed
by Nathan Juran
USA:
Universal Pictures, 1957
Giant
movie monsters, usually (though not necessarily) spawn or awakened by
atomic experiments, that subsequently went rampaging through
unsuspecting cities could be divided into two categories in the
Fifties, the decade in which they were most prevalent. The first and
most famous category was reptilian in nature, and hearkened back to
Willis O'Brien's Brontosaurus crushing London in 1925's The Lost
World, eventually giving rise to
the famous ultimate atomic nightmare Gojira
(1954) (though certainly not stopping there). The second
category consists of the various types of creepy crawlies that
together can be sided under the general moniker of 'bugs'. As notable
creatures in this regard the giant ants of Them! (1954), the
gargantuan 'sixtopus' of Ray Harryhausen's It Came from Beneath
the Sea (1955) and the oversized spider in Tarantula (1955)
deserve honorable mention. Less well known is the tremendously large
praying mantis from The Deadly Mantis, which is not surprising
since it offers little that has not been seen in other bug movies,
save a different monstrous creature threatening mankind.
Nevertheless, it's a fairly entertaining atomic age flick.
Surprisingly,
the origin of the titular beastie is not actually atomic. In this
case, a volcanic eruption is responsible for freeing a 200-ft long
prehistoric mantis – since everybody knows that in prehistoric
times every animal was stupendously big after all – from its Arctic
tomb. The effect is all the same though. The creature travels
southwards, wreaking havoc and killing many people in its path. The
United States military soon responds to the loss of its polar
outposts and sends a team to investigate, which includes a
paleontologist, a handsome army officer and a beautiful woman. Of
course, the latter pair predictably gets more involved with each
other than with the big bug running rampant, as is all too typical
for movies from this era. But when the mantis finally attacks
Washington D.C. decisive military action is called for and the team
searches for a way to annihilate their hideous opponent. But
naturally not before it has had a decent opportunity to terrorize a
few national landmarks, also an ever delightful genre staple.
Nathan
Juran, who would continue making similar pictures like The Brain
from Planet Arous (1957) and the original cult classic Attack
of the 50 ft Woman (1958), serves as a capable director for
crafting an enjoyable monster movie out of a by this time already
worn-out premise, which betrays his qualities that would later cause
him to become a valuable collaborator on several excellent
Harryhausen movies, namely the rather similar 20 Million Miles to
Earth (1957) in which a reptilian/humanoid Venusian threatens
Rome, First Men in the Moon (1964) and of course, the
wonderful 7th Voyage of Sinbad
(1958). The obvious mantis mock-up doesn't look as phony as it could
have looked under the instructions of a lesser director (though a far
cry from realistic), while the cast plays their parts convincingly
enough for this type of B-movie. While The Deadly Mantis proves
less than a stellar entry into the 'creature' subgenre of the 1950s,
it remains somewhat of a cult favorite among fans of the science
fiction pictures of the era. However, it's also exemplary of the tail
end of the decade, that witnessed the notion of big beasties
trampling both civilization and audiences' interest to death in rapid
succession in ever cheaper and worse movies, despite the decent start
offered by all too similar pictures in the first few years of the
First Wave of science fiction films. Don't blame the mantis for that
though.
