ATTACK OF THE 50 FT. WOMAN (1958)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 66 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Nathan Hertz
Cast: Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers, Roy Gordon, George Douglas, Ken Terrell, Otto Waldis, Eileen Stevens, Frank Chase, Michael Ross
Attack of the 50 ft. Woman (1958) is a 50's sci-fi kitsch classic about an emotionally troubled and alcoholic heiress named Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes, The Zombies of Mora Tau), who has recently been released from the asylum following a mental breakdown. Not helping her road to recovery is the fact that her philandering husband Harry (William Hudson, The Amazing Colossal Man), who she has divorced once already, has a not-so-secret affair with local floozy Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers, Attack of the Giant Leeches), and the spend their time together swapping spit and scheming of ways to steal Nancy’s fortune.
One night Nancy has an alien encounter on an isolated back road, No one else witnessed the encounter and Harry thinks she might have flipped her wig for good this time, and attempt to use it as an excuse to have her committed permanently. This plan proves not to be so easy when a second encounter with the giant-sized alien zaps her with a dose of extraterrestrial radiation causing her to grow into the titular 50 foot woman, sending her on a jealously fueled rampage that won't end well for anyone involved involved in this biting love-triangle.
Aside from some iffy semi-translucent composited special effects shots, and that silly oversized rubber hand, the film is actually much better than my memory and it's reputation would have you believe. Directed by Nathan Hertz aka Nathan Juron who also helmed The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), Deadly Mantis (1957), plus 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), all within two years, this enduring drive-in classic has an easy flow to and some tasty love-triangle melodrama that makes for an entertaining watch, it also doesn't hurt that it runs just over an hour long either. The love-hate flowing between Nancy and Harry is entertaining stuff, and I enjoyed the keystone cop comedy provided by Deputy Charlie (Frank Chase), and the ridiculous Roman slave attire of the giant-sized alien man who remerges from spacecraft, which in the movie they only reference as a "satellite" for some reason. I guess that could be a reference to the then quite topical Sputnik satellite, which was also spherical in nature.
Audio/Video: Warner Archive went back to the original negative to perform a new new 4K scan for Attack of the 50 ft. Woman on Blu-ray, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) and looking fantastic. Grain levels are gorgeous looking, lush detail in close-up, textures are outstanding and the grayscale is impressive. It's truly stunning just how good the atomic-age sci-fi flick looks on Blu-ray. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue sounds crisp and clean, and the wonderful score from Ronald Stein (Dementia 13) is full-bodied.
Extras on this release include the archival Archival Audio Commentary with Yvette Vickers and Film Historian Tom Weaver, Vickers passing away a few years later in 2010. It's a fun and spirited track with Weaver prompting Vickers to recall her time making the film, her interactions with the cast, and her place in cinema history. We also get a 2-min Theatrical Trailer for the film. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with the iconic original illustrated movie poster artwork, the same key artwork is featured on the Blu-ray disc.
Special Features:
- Archival Audio Commentary with Yvette Vickers and Film Historian Tom Weaver (2007)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
If you're a lover of atomic-age sci-fi and schlocky 50's cheese this is a must-own, the new restoration by Warner Archive, as usual, is top-notch, and surpassed any expectation I might have had going into it. I do love it when Warner Archive dusts of these schlocky sci-fi flicks for restored HD releases, preserving them for future b-movie lovers. They're an essential outfit when it comes to preserving all manner of cinema, from the highly regarded classics down to the oftentimes disregarded lower-tiers of the movie shelves, they're truly doing the cinema lord's work.
Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:
