THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958)

THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958)

Tagline: Towering above the skyline ~ an indestructible creature whose eyes rain death and destruction!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Brainwaves) [G]

Note: This movie was not given an MPAA rating, but it definitely would have been a [G]. Theatrically this movie came out as a double feature with THE SPACE CHILDREN. 

No, no. I believe that every man, that includes every great man, is a product of his mind and body. It’s through the divine spark in the creator that the interconnection of body and mind is achieved through the soul.

In this one Nobel Peace Prize-winning, Jeremy Spensser dies in an accident. In an effort to try and save him, his father decides to put his preserved brain in an 8-foot monstrosity of a body. At first, the colossus exhibits Jeremy’s kind personality but starts gaining strange powers and becomes increasingly violent. Can New York be saved from an indestructible force of mad science?

First off, if you are thinking the storyline for this movie sounds like a less “gore and macabre” laced version of FRANKENSTEIN, you would be right. The big difference is the colossus can talk and shoot freaking lasers out of his eyes. I will say that the colossus is big, but not as big as portrayed in the posters for the movie. The Frankenstein-Esque creature stands at 8 feet tall.

Acting wise I feel like this was another missed opportunity for the writers to get Mala Powers involved as Anne Spensser. She does have some lines in this crammed into the final 13 minutes or so but is essentially getting “THE UNKNOWN TERROR” treatment where she is off screen 95% of this film. I say that because they did the same thing with her character in that movie. Otto Kruger is fine as Dr. William Spensser but there is nothing masterful going on in this for him. John Baragrey is also decent as Dr. Henry Spensser, but overall Mala Powers really stood apart from everyone else. 

Where this movie kind of goes haywire is in the freakin score. If you read any of my reviews, you know I can’t stand loud pounding piano solos that don’t quite create the mood you want. Due to a musician strike at the time, this movie's score is piano only and while I have to commend the effort from pianist Van Cleave, it feels like you could have had some talented musicians come and back him up. Even just dudes from the local Jazz bar would have been better than what we got. I do also wish they had pushed this plot forward faster and given us more of the “menace colossus” the title implies. 

The colossus design is pretty cool and I loved that they gave him a mouth that worked a little. Even if it didn’t make any sense, because he is supposed to be all steel and his jaw didn’t have a hinge. I also liked the animated laser effects. Yes, they were slightly cheesy, but for the era and this movie, it was effective. What also went well in this movie is the dialog. It’s all pretty good and doesn’t feel like any lines were wasted. We even get a bit of backstory between Anne and Jeremy Spensser’s brother William. 

Overall this is a 4 out of 7, but it could have been higher if it wasn’t almost a straight-up mechanical retelling of the Frankenstein story. Also, if you happen to love New York, we don’t get a lot of “New York” in this flick. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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