I remember when I was a kid seeing the poster for this classic 50s movie on the wall in a KFC restaurant in Basingstoke loads of times, I knew I was going to watch it one day, so I did when I got the opportunity, directed by Nathan Juran (as Nathan Hertz) (20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, First Men in the Moon). Basically, on KRKR-TV, an announcer (Dale Tate) reports sightings of a red fireball around the world. It has been calculated to be on a path to land in California. Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes) is a troubled wealthy socialite with a history of mental issues and alcoholism. She is unhappily married to Harry (William Hudson) who is having an affair with town floozy Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers). He pretends to be a good husband but hopes that Nancy will have a mental breakdown and return to an institute, leaving him in control of her $50 million estate. Nancy is driving in the desert at night when a glowing sphere satellite crash-lands on the deserted highway in front of her. After veering off the road, she gets out of the car to investigate the object, and a large creature's hand reaches for her. Nancy escapes and runs back to town, but she does not make sense, and nobody believes her because of her drinking problem and previously being in an institution. Nancy bargains with Harry, asking him to go back to the desert to find the "flying satellite", agreeing to a voluntary return to the institution if they find nothing. They drive around for some time with no hope, but then as night falls, Nancy is excited when the object appears, and she is proven right. A giant bald human (Michael Ross) emerges from the spacecraft. Harry fires his gun at the alien creature, but it causes it no harm. Harry flees, leaving Nancy behind. She is later discovered on the roof of her pool house in a delirious state. She is sedated by physician Dr. Isaac Cushing (Roy Gordon). The doctor mentions scratches found on Nancy's neck and theorises that she was exposed to radiation. Honey encourages Harry to inject Nancy with a lethal dose of her sedative to kill her. Returning home, Nancy's faithful butler Jess Stout (Ken Terrell) realises Harry's intentions and they fight, but Harry overpowers him and knocks him unconscious. When Harry enters Nancy's bedroom, he discovers that she has grown to a giant size. Like the earlier close encounter, only her enormous hand is seen as Harry reacts in horror. Dr. Cushing and specialist scientist Dr. Heinrich Von Loeb (Otto Waldis) have no idea how to treat their giant patient. They keep her in a morphine-induced coma and restrain her with chains while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Sheriff Dubbitt (George Douglas) and Jess decide to find the alien spacecraft themselves, tracking enormous footprints leading away from the estate. Finding the alien satellite, they find Nancy's diamond necklace (containing the largest diamond in the world) and other large diamonds. They speculate that the jewels are being used as a power source for the alien ship. The giant man reappears, and the sheriff and Jess flee, but it re-enters the craft and departs Earth. Meanwhile, Nancy wakes up and breaks free of her restraints. She tears off the mansion roof and, clothed bed linens arranged like a bikini, she heads to town to get revenge on her unfaithful husband. Reaching the local bar, she rips off the roof and Honey is killed during the collapse. Harry panics, grabbing the pistol of Deputy Charlie (Frank Chase) and shooting at Nancy. The gunshots are ineffective, and Nancy picks up Harry and walks away. As she is standing by a power mast, the sheriff fires a shotgun at her, causing the mast to explode, killing Nancy. The doctors find Harry lying dead in Nancy's hand. One of them remarks "She finally got Harry all to herself". Also starring Eileen Stevens as Nurse, Michael Ross as Tony the Bartender, and Nelson Leigh as Carl Duey. This is one of those low-budget independent movies you wonder why the filmmakers bothered making. The special effects are laughably terrible, from the faded attempts to make Hayes and the bald bloke look like giants, to the cheap large rubber hands; the crashing noises and camera shaking are not convincing either. Only some close-ups of power masts and hotel fronts are sort of charming, and the score by Ronald Stein is not bad, but the acting is lame and the narrative is absurd. The over-sized voluptuous woman going on a mad rampage must have been a bit of a turn-on back in the day, but it's hardly worth watching, and the Daryl Hannah TV remake is just as pointless, a silly cult science-fiction horror. Pretty poor!
Review of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
