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Amazing Colossal Man, The

Entry updated 21 June 2022. Tagged: Film.

Film (1957). Malibu, American International Pictures. Produced and directed by Bert I Gordon. Written by Mark Hanna and Gordon, from a story by Gordon. Cast includes Cathy Downs, William Hudson and Glenn Langan. 81 minutes. Black and white.

An attempt to duplicate the commercially successful pathos of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) by reversing its procedure, The Amazing Colossal Man has an army officer exposed to the radiation from a "plutonium bomb" and consequently growing to 60ft (18m) tall. Poignant dialogues take place between the colossal man (Langan) and his fiancée (Downs): "At high school I was voted the guy most likely to reach the top." He goes mad and is shot, falling into the Hoover Dam. The poorly matted special effects allow people standing behind the colossal man to be seen through his body. Often regarded as schlock producer Gordon's best film, it raises the question of what his worst must look like: the sequel, War of the Colossal Beast (1958; vt The Terror Strikes), would be a good candidate. [PN]

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see also: Food of the Gods; Great and Small; Monster Movies.

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