The Monolith Monsters *** (1957, Grant Williams, Lola Albright, Les Tremayne) – Classic Movie Review 5199

Ah yes, ‘Mammoth skyscrapers of stone thundering across the Earth!’ Director John Sherwood’s 1957 movie is an atmospheric, effective enough sci-fi film, in which the residents of a California desert town start dying after scientist Dave Miller (Grant Williams) finds that a meteorite has crashed nearby. The pieces of the meteorite take on an increasing life of their own with the help of compounds from the corpses.

Alas the climax is all too tame and not a bit absurd in what proves an unequal battle against the Monolith Monsters. But, otherwise, the film is taken seriously and imaginatively, and handled capably within its very low budget, even though it is from major studio Universal.

Playing Cathy Barrett, it is a comedown for its star Lola Albright, who starred with Kirk Douglas in Champion (1949),  The Tender Trap (1955) with Frank Sinatra and Kid Galahad (1962) with Elvis Presley. RIP the sultry, smoky, charming Lola Albright, who died on 23 March 2017, aged 91.

Also in the film are Les Tremayne, Phil Harvey, William Schallert, Trevor Bardette, William Flaherty, Harry Jackson, Richard Cutting, Linda Scheley,Dean Cromer, Steve Darrell and Paul Frees.

It is written by Norman Jolley and Robert M Fresco, based on a story by Fresco and Jack Arnold.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5199

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