Episode 117 - 1950s Giant Monster Movies

Mar 3, 2026

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It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), and The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

There is something special about this decade, one that gave us so many sci-fi / horror films, with plenty of incredible monsters, whether they came from outer space, or right here from our backyard. And thanks to atomic energy, those monsters tended to be big ones! In fact... GIANT ONES! Just imagine a creature, from bugs to animals, and I'm sure someone in the 1950s made a movie about them- one where they were bigger and angrier!

In this episode, we take a look at three different examples, each using a different method to bring its humongous beast to life, from stop-motion animation, to practical mechanical effects, to the good old-fashioned approach of using a real creature with undersized sets. No matter how they did it, all of these films deliver some damn fine entertainment. So grab the popcorn, crank up your rock 'n' roll, and sit back for some fun!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

13 Ghosts (1960), Aliens (1986), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Attack of the Puppet People (1958), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Clash of the Titans (1981), Conquest of Space (1955), Creature with the Atom Brain (1955), Cult of the Cobra (1955), Curse of the Undead (1959), Dazed and Confused (1993), Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), The Giant Claw (1957), The Giant Gila Monster (1959), Gila! (2012), The Green Berets (1968), Gremlins 2 (1984), Fantastic Voyage (1966), The Fly (1958), Frankenstein 1970 (1958), Horror at Party Beach (1964), The Howling (1981), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), The Killer Shrews (1959), The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959), The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Mr. Sardonicus (1961), The Spider (1958), Tarantula (1955), Teenage Zombies (1959), Them! (1954), Thing from Another World (1951), This Island Earth (1955), This Stuff'll Kill Ya! (1971), The Time Machine (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Tormented (1960), The Vampire (1957), War of the Colossal Beast (1958), The Werewolf (1956), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)