Giant from the Unknown (1958)

What woman using a Geiger counter all of a sudden stops to pull out a compact and check her make-up in the woods? Sally Fraser, that's who, in this entertaining but sometimes silly science fiction tale of a Spanish conquistador who comes back from the dead, preserve in a petrified forest, and seeking revenge (and female companionship) as he finds a whole different world around him, even in the great outdoors. The film opens with an indication that something is already out there causing havoc: Killing farm animals viciously and leaving their tattered carcasses all over the countryside, and eventually attacking a farmer. Ed Kemmer escorts scientist Morris Ankrum and his daughter (Fraser) out to this desolate countryside where they find the skeletons of the long dead conquistador's army as well as some of his headgear and weapons. Ankrum has boxed up an ordinary lizard which he claims he found living inside a rock, a species that has been extinct for centuries. This explanation is used mainly to explain how Buddy Baer, as the giant head conquistador, managed to survive somehow, and indeed, his presence is a bit terrifying as he roams the countryside. There is no explanation of the dead farm animals or murdered farmer other than to assume that Baer had come briefly back from his petrified state, killed these animals and returned to his dirt grave for a long rest. Veteran western actor Bob Steele plays a local sheriff who doesn't believe in the supernatural causes behind the murder, excelled when a young girl is approached by the grunting Baer, and later found dead, apparently raped before being murdered. Billy Dix is cast as a stereotypical native American ("Indian Joe", he's called in bad taste), cursing the white man for taking over the native's land, yet proclaiming friendship to Kemmer whom he had earlier shot at, claiming he was only hunting rabbits. Gary Crutcher, cast as a young local named Charlie Brown (!), gets the silliest moments as he vows revenge against the giant for killing his sister yet obviously stood no chance, being half the size of the giant. For some reason, the hot countryside all of a sudden becomes a snowy mountain as Kemmer and Baer go head to head near a rushing river that somehow leads into a volcanic cave that no man has ever explored. It ends on a thrilling note, even though it is utterly absurd of how it got there.

Truth to tell, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from "Giant From the Unknown." I'd seen two of director Richard Cunha's later works, "Missile to the Moon" and "Frankenstein's Daughter," and had found them both incredibly awful, albeit entertainingly so. Indeed, the latter might just be my favorite bad movie of all time. Still, it was to my surprise that "Giant," although certainly not a good movie by any reasonable definition, turned out to be yet another entertaining diversion from director Cunha. In it, a Spanish conquistador, buried 500 years ago by Indians in what is now California, rises from the earth to cause more mayhem. As played by Buddy Baer (brother of heavyweight prizefighter Max), and featuring a makeup job by Jack "Frankenstein" Pierce, this giant does make for one imposing sight. Scientist Morris Ankrum, his daughter Sally Fraser, and an ex-student, Edward Kemmer, all happen to be in this CA mountain community when old Vargas goes on his rampage, and the three make for appealing leads. This film features a fair amount of suspense, some startling moments, not too many unintentionally funny lines, and a fairly compact story line. Granted, some of the backdrops look as phony as can be (that lake, that ersatz dam), and some details don't make much sense if one ponders them later, but darn it, this movie was kinda fun! Maybe I've been watching too many shlocky films lately, and my standards are starting to slip, but still, I did enjoy this one. The DVD looks nice and crisp, too, although the source material seems damaged in spots. All in all, I certainly do not regret having rented this one out....

I can't think of any movie that has Morris Ankrum that I didn't really like...and yes, I have seen The Giant Claw (three times, in fact). That fact notwithstanding, Giant From The Unknown is a pretty good movie. The basic story has a Spanish Conquistador (who happens to be a giant and who happens to have travelled up into northern California after breaking with Cortez) waking up after five hundred years of suspended animation and going on a rampage of death and cattle mutilation.Don't let the plot turn you off. The script manages to make it all seem pretty believeable, and the acting is pretty good as well. Morris Ankrum is great. Ed Kemmer (Commander Buzz Corey on Space Patrol) is the hero. Cowboy and serial legend Bob Steele is the sheriff, and the lovely Janet Fraser is the love interest.The monster himself looks pretty good as well...for an unburied conquistador, that is. The finale at the sawmill is an excellent sequence...though don't try to adjust your VCR. That fuzziness is optically-printed snow on the sequence (it took me a couple of minutes to realize that...I thought the print had deteriorated).Giant From the Unknown is a good all-around example of fifties science fiction that is worth a look by fans of the genre.

RATING: *1/2 out of ****Director Cunha's first of four drive-in "horror classics" is merely typical, and not a big deal. It's about a trio of expeditionists unearthing an infamous 6' 6" Spanish Conquistador who promptly picks up his axe and stalks around the woods for a while.Ed Kemmer makes a likeable leading man, and Sally Fraser is the standard helpless heroine. Morris Ankrum seems hesitant to deliver his lines, and the film is sprinkled with enough silly acting to make it endurable for a single viewing.The film falls short with the title character; a helmeted tall man with dirt and mud on his face just doesn't terrify me. It's one of the last makeups done by genius artist Jack Pierce (famous for his timeless Wolf Man and Frankenstein designs for Universal), and not one of his best efforts. The giant does little during the time he's onscreen, and is disappointing.The best film director Cunha made in the genre - and required viewing for any fifties monster fan - is FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.