Glenn Manning: The most relatable giant monster ever.
The Amazing Colossal Man, the third Bert I Gordon movie to be released in 1957 (followed by three more in 1958), represents a, well, colossal leap forward quality-wise when compared to his earlier efforts King Dinosaur, The Cyclops and Beginning of the End. It’s certainly not perfect, and the special effects, with an often transparent gigantic Glenn Manning rampaging rather frugally through Las Vegas, remain, generously, overly ambitious or less generously, rather shoddy.
Even so, there are several good points here. The origin of the ACM is good enough that Stan Lee ripped it off for the origin of the Incredible Hulk, which Mr. Gordon was still bitter about decades later when I asked him about it. The script is rather good, on the whole, especially in conveying the tragedy of the AMC’s predicament, anchored as it is by a surprisingly touching performance by Glenn Langan. Aside from the far more famous’ performance of Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, there are few better lead performances in a cheesy ’50s sci-fi flick.
And if Mr. Gordon’s traveling mattes are still rather unconvincing (to say the least), there are several large props to provide amusement, especially that man-sized hypodermic needle. And the use of that thing represents perfect kiddie matinee logic in a way that just makes you happy. Finally, as is usually the case with cheapie ‘50s sci-fi fare, the 80 minute running time in no way hurts.
Having already featured a (mutated) giant bald man in a previous picture, it’s little surprise that Manning, apparently done to death at the climax of his film, was to return with his own mutilated face, in War of the Colossal Beast the following year. Hence this is one of a rather few number of ‘50s sci-fi films to actually have a sequel.
To my knowledge The Amazing Colossal Man has yet to be released in this country on DVD or Blu Ray, although War of the Colossal Beast was released on an MGM double bill DVD way back in the day and much more recently on a limited edition Blu Ray. One can therefore only assume there are rights issues involved with its progenitor. This is a shame, because again, I think the film, for all it’s lovable goofiness (that little elephant! that chart!), is quite a bit better than its reputation.
