The Monolith Monsters

The Monolith Monsters
Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown
Directed by	John Sherwood
Produced by	Howard Christie
Written by	Story: Jack Arnold Robert M. Fresco Screenplay: Norman Jolley Robert M. Fresco
Starring	Grant Williams Lola Albright Les Tremayne Linda Scheley Trevor Bardette Phil Harvey William Flaherty Uncredited: Troy Donahue Paul Peterson
Narrated by	Paul Frees (uncredited)
Music by	Uncredited: Henry Mancini Irving Getz Herman Stein
Cinematography	Ellis W. Carter
Edited by	Patrick McCormack
Production company	Universal-International
Distributed by	Universal-International
Release dates	1957
Running time	77 min.
Country	United States

The Monolith Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by Howard Christie and directed by John Sherwood, starring Grant Williams and Lola Albright. The film is based on a story by Jack Arnold and Robert M. Fresco, with a screenplay by Fresco and Norman Jolley.^[1]

The Monolith Monsters tells the story of a large meteorite that crashes in the desert and explodes into hundreds of black fragments with strange properties. When those fragments are exposed to water, they grow very large and tall. They also infect various inhabitants of a nearby small Southern California desert town. The story that unfolds becomes one of human survival against an encroaching unnatural disaster, that if not stopped, could become a national ecological nightmare that could pose a possible threat to all of humanity.

Plot

In the desert outside of San Angelo, California, a huge meteorite crashes and explodes, scattering hundreds of black fragments over a wide area. The next day, Federal geologist Ben Gilbert (Phil Harvey) brings one of the fragments to his office, where he and local newspaper publisher Martin Cochrane (Les Tremayne) examine it. That night, a strong wind blows over a full water container onto the black rock, starting a chemical reaction.

When Dave Miller (Grant Williams), the head of San Angelo's district geological office, returns from a business trip, he finds Ben's corpse in a rock-hard, petrified state and the office's lab damaged by large rock fragments. Dave's girlfriend, teacher Cathy Barrett (Lola Albright), takes her students on a desert field trip; young Ginny Simpson (Linda Scheley) pockets a piece of the black meteorite rock, later washing it in a large tub outside her family's farmhouse. In town Dr. E. J. Reynolds (Richard H. Cutting) performs Ben's autopsy and cannot explain the body's condition; he informs Dave and Police Chief Dan Corey (William Flaherty) the body is being sent to a specialist. Martin returns to the wrecked office with Dave where he recognizes the large fragments as the same type of black rock Ben had been examining.

Cathy joins them, also recognizing the fragments. She goes with the two men to the Simpson farm; they find the farmhouse in ruins under a large pile of black rocks and Ginny's parents dead. The girl is still alive but in a catatonic state. At Dr. Reynolds' request, they rush her to Dr. Steve Hendricks (Harry Jackson) at the California Medical Research Institute in Los Angeles. He later reports that Ginny is slowly turning to stone; her only hope lies with identifying the black rock within eight hours. Dave brings a fragment to his old college professor, Arthur Flanders (Trevor Bardette), who determines it came from a meteorite. Back at the Simpson farm, both men notice a discoloration in the ground: The black rock is draining something from everything it touches, including people. Later, tests show that silicon is that substance; in humans it is normally just a trace element. Dr. Reynolds explains that research indicates that one possible function of silicon is to maintain human tissue flexibility. They realize the meteorite's silicon absorption was the cause of Ben's death, Ginny's condition, and the death of her parents; Steve then prepares a silicon solution injection for the girl.

Returning to the desert, Dave and Arthur trace the fragments to the crashed meteor. Arthur deduces that the meteorite's atomic structure has been radically altered by the intense heat of atmospheric friction. Back in the lab, a rainstorm blows up while Dave and Arthur continue their investigation. A piece of black rock falls into the sink and begins to react when hot coffee is poured on it; the men then realize that water is the culprit. With it raining outside, they hurriedly return to the desert and see the black fragments now growing into stories-tall monoliths that rise up and then crash back to Earth, breaking into hundreds more fragments, each fragment then repeating that cycle. Dave quickly realizes that the monoliths' advancing path will take them directly through San Angelo, and from there the monoliths could spread and possibly threaten all life on Earth.

They report the threat to Dan, who then makes plans to evacuate San Angelo. At the hospital, Ginny finally revives, and Dave deduces that something in the silicon solution will check the fragments' growth. More locals are soon rushed to Dr. Reynolds' office in various stages of petrification. With little time left, and the telephone and electricity cut off, the monoliths continue to multiply and advance, soaking up water from the rain-soaked soil. Dave and Arthur struggle to find the correct formula; they finally realize the monoliths can be stopped with a simple saline solution, a part of Steve's silicon formula.

Dave plans to dynamite the local dam and flood the nearby salt flats, creating a large supply of salt water. Knowing they must halt the monoliths at the canyon's edge, Dave disregards the governor's concerns, and places dynamite charges; with only minutes left, the dynamite is detonated. The group watches as a great torrent of water flows over the salt deposits at the canyon's edge, reaching the monoliths; their growth is finally halted when the last huge formation of monoliths crashes down into the salty water. Dan then reveals to the group that the governor actually said to use dynamite "only" if he was absolutely certain of success. He then continues, first repeating Martin's observation that the region's salt flat was "Mother Nature's worst mistake", then pointing out, ironically, this event has just proved otherwise.

Cast

The uncredited opening narration is by Paul Frees.^[1]

Production

Many of the exteriors were filmed in the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California, whose rugged landscape has been used in films such as Gunga Din, High Sierra, Maverick, How the West Was Won, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and Gladiator. Most of the exteriors of downtown San Angelo were shot on Universal's back lot, particularly Courthouse Square.^[1]

The film's "California Medical Research Institute" is the same fictional facility that also features prominently in Universal's The Incredible Shrinking Man, released eight months earlier, which also starred Grant Williams.^[1]

Special effects

The film's special effects were created by Clifford Stine, whose career began in 1933 with King Kong. Alternate takes from Universal's It Came from Outer Space (1953), which Stine also created, were used for the meteor crash in the film's opening sequence.^[1]

Legacy

The Monolith Monsters extraterrestrial meteorite fragments served as the basis for what would become Tiberium in the Command & Conquer videogame series.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• The Monolith Monsters at the Internet Movie Database
• The Monolith Monsters at AllMovie
• Movie review at Rotten Tomatoes
• Review of The Monolith Monsters

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