War of the Colossal Beast (1958)
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Starring Sally Fraser, Roger Pace, Duncan Parkin, Russ Bender, Rico Alaniz, George Becwar

For me, this is a perfect example where the sequel is better than the original. I know it might be hard to believe, but in this case it is more than true for me. Honestly, I was never a big fan of the first film, The Amazing Colossal Man (1957). It just seemed a little cheesy and the effects weren’t the greatest, or more than likely I grew tired of some half naked guy running around yelling “I DON’T WANT TO GROW ANYMORE!” Of course, you have to love the death by giant syringe scene, but besides that, not much going for it.

But the next year, AIP and Mr. B.I.G. followed it up with a sequel that takes place shortly after the first picture. A truckload of food disappears on the way to Mexico, leaving the driver in shock. When they do find the truck, it’s smashed and looted. Sally Fraser plays the sister of Glenn Manning, and she’s convinced her brother is still alive, especially since they never found the body. You’d think finding a 60 ft. body would be kind of easy, but apparently not. When she hears of these missing trucks, she travels down to Mexico to investigate herself convinced it is her brother, with someone from the military close behind.

I love the way they show how the government works even back then, as far as anybody taking responsibility. Congress says it’s not their responsibility, but check with the Department of Medical Research. And then they say check with the Health and Welfare Department. And then of course, they turn it back over to Congress. Nice to see that things haven’t changed since 1958.

Like the first one, there is a lot of unintentional humor here. My favorite line in the film is when Sally, along with a couple of guys from the Army and a scientist discover a huge footprint. The scientist states that the man who made this footprint would have to be 60 feet tall. Sally quickly pipes in, “Glenn was 60 feet tall!”, as if there might be another 60 foot giant running around! What a hoot.

While the optical effects are the same, I think they work a little better this time out. Maybe Mr. B.I.G. had more practice from the first one. But with the use of miniatures, they do a pretty good job pulling it off. When the creature has a dream (aka 6-minute flashback) from the events of the first movie, you can see how much they have improved in the sequel. Okay, not by a lot, but a little better. Plus, not really sure where the actual “War” from the title comes in. More of a skirmish, really.

One thing that I still find pretty remarkable is the makeup on the beast’s face. Created by Jack H. Young, the face that has half of the skin missing showing the skull underneath is something that stays in your head as a kid. Even today, it is not only pretty effective, but still holds up. Young did makeup from everything from Wizard of Oz (1939), the Gordon’s previous movie The Cyclops (1957), which does have a similar look to Colossal Beast, all the way to Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) to The Brood (1979) and Salem’s Lot (1979). Pretty impressive resume, don’t you think?

One other unique item in this movie is the brief color footage at the end of the film. Once the giant Manning decides to end it all and grabs the high tension wires, the film turns to color, as the sparks fly! AIP was doing that with a few of their films, such as in I Was A Teenage Frankenstein, which came out the year before. It’s a nice little surprise for the audiences.

Granted, these types of films have been beaten to death by the likes of Mystery Science Theater, who I think miss the whole point to these kinds of pictures. In fact, as shlocky the first Colossal Man movie was, it made close to a million dollars in the first six months it was out. And that was in 1957. So cheesy or not, Bert I. Gordon made a very successful movie. In fact, we know he did because we’re still talking about it today!

These kind of films are great for introducing a younger generation to monster movies without being afraid they are going to see any real gore or nudity. Just a lot of fun. I know when I watch this, it does make me yearn for those Saturday afternoons with my face glued to the small black and white TV in my room, and loving every minute of it.