ferbs54
By the time the sci-fi shocker "The Deadly Mantis" premiered in May 1957, American audiences had already been regaled by a steady stream of giant-monster movies on the big screen, starting with 1953's classic "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms." In 1954, "Them!," with its monstrously large ants, kicked off a subgenre of sorts, the giant-insect movie, and "Tarantula" would follow in 1955. After "The Deadly Mantis," "The Beginning of the End" (giant grasshoppers), "Monster From Green Hell" (giant wasps), "Earth vs. the Spider" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches" soon appeared to stun and amaze moviegoers. Unlike most of those other films, however, "TDM" featured a giant monster that was not the result of radioactive bombardment or an H-bomb blast, but that was just naturally humongous; a prehistoric entity released via natural phenomenon.In the film, the viewer witnesses a volcanic eruption that takes place near Antarctica, while our narrator intones the ominous words of Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." And, implausibly enough, this blowup near the South Pole soon triggers an earthquake near the North Pole, almost 7,900 miles away (!), which releases.... Anyway, cut to the intrepid men working at the polar DEW line, where odd events soon begin to transpire. Colonel Joe Parkman (Craig Stevens) investigates the demolition of a weather station, the downing of a C-47, and some very odd tracks in the snow. Before long, noted paleontologist Nedrick (!) Jackson (William Hopper, who many viewers will recall from his roles in "The Bad Seed" and "20 Million Miles to Earth") and museum reporter Marge Blaine (Alix Talton; a great screamer, as it turns out) join the colonel near the North Pole to join in the investigation, and Jackson isn't long in getting to the bottom of things, declaring "In all the kingdom of the living, there is no more deadly or voracious creature...than the praying mantis!"Of all the giant-monster films mentioned above, "The Deadly Mantis" is most reminiscent of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms," the granddaddy of them all and, in my humble opinion, the greatest dinosaur movie ever made. Like the 1953 film, it too opens in documentarylike fashion and with a dry, scientific narration. The monster in both films is first observed as a radar blip near the North Pole, and both pictures feature discussions regarding the thawed-out mammoth remains that had recently been discovered in Siberia. In both films, our prehistoric creature attacks a fishing trawler off the Canadian coast and is ultimately destroyed near a NYC landmark (Manhattan Beach in the former; in the depths of the "Manhattan Tunnel" in the latter). But whereas "Beast" had boasted the truly awesome stop-motion FX of the late Ray Harryhausen, "Mantis" had to make do with FX of a lesser-calibre, more traditional kind. Still, the creature looks impressive enough on the ground, if a tad silly while in flight. The film contains at least four memorable sequences: our first glimpse of the creature, from below, as it towers over a bunch of fleeing Greenlanders, who swarm away in kayaks out to sea; the creature's attack on the DEW station, repulsed by both rifle fire and flamethrower; the mantis' ascent of the Washington Monument; and finally, that Manhattan Tunnel windup, as Parkman and his men toss "3RG chemical mines" at the mantis in an already densely foggy environment. (This denouement might bring to mind the storm drain finale in "Them!") For once, the use of stock footage is well integrated; the footage used is crisp and clean and actually looks as though it had been shot for the film in question. Surprisingly, the first 1/3 of "The Deadly Mantis," before we even get a glimpse of our monster, might be the film's best section (an "Arctic tour de force," according to the "Maltin Classic Movie Guide"), slowly building suspense in an intelligent manner against its snowbound backdrop. The picture has been surprisingly well directed by Nathan Juran, although perhaps it is unfair of me to use the word "surprisingly"; Juran, after all, would go on to helm such cult favorites as "20 Million Miles to Earth" (released just one month later), "The Brain From Planet Arous," "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" AND "First Men in the Moon" (those last two WOULD benefit from Harryhausen's participation). "TDM" also features a love triangle of sorts--seemingly obligatory in many of these '50s sci-fi films--that is a tad surprising, as pretty Marge does NOT wind up with the guy you might be expecting. In all, a satisfying, nicely realized and intelligent monster movie, and perfect fare for viewing with your 8-year-old nephew, of course.Further good news regarding "The Deadly Mantis" is that it comes to us today as part of Universal Studios' Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, and is presented via a pristine-looking print. On the same DVD disc can be found the film "The Land Unknown," another B&W sci-fi outing from 1957 that also (strangely enough) clocks in at precisely 78 minutes and showcases prehistoric monsters in a polar setting. A perfect double feature, both films come highly recommended by this viewer, an admitted sucker for 1950s sci-fi. And speaking of that decade, back in the 1950s and '60s, I am old enough to recall, a NYC urban legend had it that there was a $1,000 fine for killing any praying mantis. Well, I'm sorry to report, baby boomers, that this popular myth just had no basis in reality, beneficial as these harmless, little insects might be. "Beneficial," "harmless" and "little"...three words, surely, that would NOT describe our "deadly mantis"....
dougdoepke
Better than average 50's sci-fi, thanks mainly to producer Alland, who put together such drive-in gems as Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and This Island Earth (1953), to name a couple. This creature feature doesn't reach that level but is very well mounted and acted. The use of arctic scenes combined with well-constructed sets gives the setting more believability than usual. Plus, we get not just one leading man, but two. Both of which went on to successful TV careers—Hopper and Stevens.The plot is pretty standard. A thawed out giant mantis decides to wreck what it can of human civilization and dine on those responsible. Needless to say, the Air Force and its citizen allies take a dim view of such anti-social antics, but the flying insect is tough to incinerate, especially when our pilots look like they need more target practice. Anyway, you can guess the outcome, especially when the comely, but slightly stiff Alix Talton, serves as a prize.Unfortunately the monster element suffers from two drawbacks. First, it's ugly as heck but not especially fearsome. The script should have shown it doing something really bad to an unfortunate human, then we could really loathe not just its looks but also what it does. The script depends too much on ugly close-ups to really instill fear. Nonetheless, the special effects are really quite well done.All in all, it's a drive-in feature I would have actually paid to see instead of using a buddy's car trunk. And, oh yes, to those folks finding fault with the technical details--- who is it, anyway, that goes to movies to be educated. Hollywood has never let fact stand in the way of story, good or bad.
Lee Eisenberg
Anyone who likes 1950s flicks about giant insects is sure to love "The Deadly Mantis", about a member of the order Mantodea who gets released from his arctic dwelling and proceeds to wreak havoc on Canada and the United States. Although it's interesting to hear the humans have scientific discussions about what kind of an animal this might be, the big guy remains the star. As is typical in these movies, the obvious phoniness of the insect -- along with the campy soundtrack -- is what makes the movie really enjoyable. A very hokey movie, but one that you definitely gotta admire. This overgrown bug is truly a mant'* of war! (pardon the pun) PS: William Hopper was Dennis Hopper's cousin, and played Natalie Wood's father in "Rebel without a Cause". Also, director Nathan Juran is best known for "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman".*"Mant" was actually the title of the movie-within-a-movie in Joe Dante's "Matinee", in which a producer (John Goodman) brings a movie about a man turning into an ant to Key West, Florida, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
