The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size.Jim Nicholson of American International Pictures had the rights to Homer Eon Flint's 1928 novel, "The Nth Man" about a man who was 10 miles high. Nicholson thought it could be adapted to cash in on the success of "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (released six months earlier in 1957) and originally announced Roger Corman as director. Charles B. Griffith was hired to adapt the novel and he turned it into a comedy. Then Corman dropped out and Bert Gordon was hired. Gordon worked on the script with Griffith but the collaboration only lasted a day before Griffith quit. Instead, Griffith's regular writing partner, Mark Hanna stepped in.Before Gordon became involved, the film was conceived with Dick Miller in mind for the lead. Unfortunately, this never happened, though it would have been a great casting coup. It was Gordon's first movie for AIP. Interestingly, although he has come to be known as "Mr. BIG", this was not even his own idea! Paul Corupe calls the film "a surprisingly nuanced creature feature dealing with the emotional aspect of body horror." He sees it as an "atomic-age update" to "The Wolf Man" in that sense, which seems a stretch. But the point is correct -- although now seen as campy or cheap, it was actually rather clever in its own way. They even bothered to address the issue of how his clothes grow.

The best thing about B-movies from the 50s is that they are almost always entertaining, if awful. Plan 9 From Outer Space certainly has more entertainment value than, say, Armageddon, and It Conquered the World was a funny little piece of silliness with performances that were definitely better than expected. The latter movie also featured the funniest movie monster I have ever seen.But The Amazing Colossal Man, simply put, has few things going for it. It looks promising, just take a glance at the priceless tagline: "A Seventy Foot Giant Is Terrorizing Las Vegas..." Sounds like a hilarious piece of schlock, doesn't it? Well, I was wrong to think so.The movie looks awful. Everything is too dark and since it is a black and white picture (although blue-and-black would be a more proper way to describe it), it is often difficult to tell what is really going on on the screen. Our hero, Glenn Langan's Lieutenant Manning, is a dull emo martyr who I found it difficult to feel sorry for. Sorry buddy, but if you run out in front of a nuclear explosion, you have yourself to blame.The main problem I had was with the ludicrous story (man is badly burned by hydrogen bomb and starts growing) that we're supposed to take seriously. This isn't a tongue-in-cheek riot, it's a melodramatic, dragging bore. It has the entertainment value you'd expect from The Seventh Seal.It is also annoying how repetitive the scenes are. Giant-Manning will sit in his hospital bed, whining about his condition, and his girlfriend will console him and claim that the doctors are working day and night. A few scenes later, Giant-Manning will sit inside a circus tent and whine, his girlfriend will console him again and repeat that the doctors are doing all they can. It all screams "filler" and makes you long for the cheesy monster action of the Gamera movies.The only scene in which anything of interest happens occurs at the very end, where a seemingly stoned Manning goes on a very mild rampage in his city. Then he is shot down and killed. That's it. The end.The Amazing Colossal Man is a huge disappointment. While Plan 9 might not have the quality of TACM, it is certainly more fun to watch. Avoid.(r#7)

"The Amazing Colossal Man" gets my vote for Bert I. Gordon's best movie, meaning that it's not nearly as bad as his others.Gordon's sci-fi/horror films of the 1950s had the same basic plot: 1. Monster is created. 2. Monster attacks. 3. Monster is destroyed, accompanied by inept special effects. In this film, luckless serviceman Glenn Manning (Langan) is exposed to intense radiation from a plutonium bomb, and is burned over his entire body. The attending physician (Hudson) gives him zero chance for survival, but the next morning his skin has miraculously healed. Afterwards, Manning disappears, and his wife (Downs) finds him at a remote army base--50 feet tall! The healing process apparently had some unintended side-effects, and now Manning is kept in a circus tent. Hudson tells Downs that Manning is in pretty bad shape, and that "his mind will go first", a sure clue to the rest of the film. Sure enough, Manning goes crazy and escapes into the Nevada desert. Meanwhile an Army scientist (Larry Thor) has succeeded in his miniaturization experiments, and thinks if he can just give Manning an injection, everything will be fine. Of course, the usual no-nonsense 1950s Army guy (James Seay) shows up and says that if Manning causes any trouble, "we'll stop him cold!" Manning attacks Las Vegas, tearing up a few casino signs and causing a ruckus. Off go Hudson, Downs, and Thor in a helicopter, toting a 6-foot hypodermic needle. In the film's best (and funniest) sequence, Thor and Hudson give Manning an injection in his big toe, whereupon Manning picks up the giant needle and impales Thor with it. Sure looks painful.Apparently by now Gordon was out of ideas, because Manning shows up next on Boulder Dam, carries Downs around for a few minutes, then as soon as he puts her down, Seay yells, "FIRE!" His Army guys blast Manning with a variety of weapons, and in a very bad show of special effects, Manning ends up in the Colorado River. The End.What sets "The Amazing Colossal Man" apart from the rest of Gordon's 1950s films are the story and acting. The story is actually pretty intelligent (compared with, say, "The Beginning of the End"). The acting is not bad, and the little-known Langan gives something of a minor tour-de-force as Manning. Hudson, Downs, and Thor are also quite adequate in their roles.I recommend this film as a pretty good time-filler. Try watching without paying too much attention to the special effects. Gordon actually filmed a sequel, "War of the Colossal Beast", but it's pretty rock-bottom.

I really loved this movie. I remember watching it when I was just a little kid back in 1970. It was shown on a regular basis on independent TV stations every other 3 months or so. I couldn't wait to see it again so I kept watching the TV guide to see when they would show it again. I have always been a fan of B movies because it gives you the chance to see good actors in great stories. A favorite actor of mine is Glenn Langan. He started out in the late 30's and appeared in mostly action B movies. I believe he was never really given the chance to showcase all his talents. Most of the movies he's appeared in are difficult to find except this one, "The Amazing Colossal Man". Produced in 1957 by American International, this movie was actually the counterpart of Universal International's "The Incredible Shrinking Man". It's about an army man who is subjected to a blast of plutonium radiation and grows to towering proportions. Due to the success of this feature, A.I. produced a sequel called "War of the Colossal Beast" not as good, but still entertaining. If you should ever see this movie on your video shelf, I would get it, because it's worth it. In closing this statement, I would like to say that Glenn Langan will go down in film history as the first Amazing Colossal Man.