Tag Archives: The Deadly Mantis

DtH Episode 72: 1950’s Giant Creepy Crawlers

by in Discover the Horror Podcast and tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Them! (1954), The Deadly Mantis (1957), and The Black Scorpion (1957)

The decade of the 1950s gave horror fans a ton of different giant monster flicks, but usually taking something seemingly harmless, such as ants or grasshoppers, but somehow, someway, are mutated into growing into gigantic proportions! We had giant spiders, praying mantis, mollusks, and anything these creative filmmakers could come up, just make them bigger and let them loose!

While modern critics, or even those at the time when these titles came out, passed them off as something for the kiddies and not to be taken seriously. And sure, they were definitely made under the term of exploitation, but when you really look at them, there is a lot of talented people behind and in front of the camera, and some really well-made and creative craftsmanship going on as well. Some aspects may seem and are very dated by today’s standards, but there is still a lot there, as well as a lot of entertainment value. So, grab your can of raid, a giant size flyswatter, and maybe even some industrial strength gloves to wear so you don’t have to tough any of these nasty little buggers and listen to us have a little fun discussing some big creepy crawlers!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: BUGS!

by in Friday Favorites and tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

In honor of heading out to the Skyline Drive-In this weekend for their Super Monster Movie Fest, featuring an array of movies dealing with bugs, we thought that this Friday we’d go with one of the tried and true themes back in the ’50s were ordinary insects or spiders that were somehow cause to grow to enormous sizes. That’s right, let’s celebrate the tiny beasts that we all know someday will take over the planet! Now we’re looking for your favorite bug movie, so it doesn’t have to be a giant one, like Them! (1954) or Deadly Mantis (1957), but could be just intelligent cockroaches like in William Castle’s Bug (1975), or maybe killer bees, like in The Swarm (1978).

As a kid, I loved all of these kind of movies. Even remembering being terrified watching The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) as he battled the normal size spider that had become a giant monster to him! But from giant tarantulas, to praying mantis, to even grasshoppers, they were always so much fun.

So? What about you? What is your favorite BUG movie!

Horror History: Nathan Juran

by in Horror History and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

nathanjuranNathan Juran
Born Sept. 1st, 1907 – Died Oct. 23rd, 2002

Juran’s first career was that of an architect before he got into the film business as an art director. This career choice won him an Oscar for How Green Was My Valley (1941) and another nomination for The Razor’s Edge (1946), working on several other films before he made his move into the director’s chair. His directorial debut was for The Black Castle (1952), staring Lon Chaney Jr. and Boris Karloff. He would go on to direct some great films in the sci-fi horror genre in the ’50s, such as The Deadly Mantis (1957), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). Of course, there were some films that didn’t get the praise that one would hope, like The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). At least from the critics back then. If they weren’t entertaining, fans wouldn’t still be watching them and talking about them and keeping them alive.

After working in film, he moved to television and worked on several series, like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, and a few more.

While Juran thought of filmmaking in the sense of a business as oppose to having a passion for it, when looking at some of the great films that he help create, it didn’t matter what the reasoning behind why he was making them. We will just be forever grateful for the work that he did give us.