The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

Boring

Admirable film.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A better title for the movie would surely have been "Boring Fat Baldy Bloke In A Nappy", though this may have affected box office takings somewhat. The opening sequence, with an Army Major subjected to a blast from an exploding plutonium bomb, may well have inspired the origin of The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Expanding Nappy he's given reminds me of Greenskin's never splitting trousers - though a simple explanation for said nappy is given. The instant radiation burns he suffers are actually pretty convincing, but from here on, it's all downhill.Our nominal hero - I say nominal because throughout the movie he creates no sympathy whatsoever for his plight - finds he is growing at the rate of 8 feet per day, having perfectly regenerated his badly burned skin. I suspect the surly mood he displays throughout the production may have to do with the actor's understandable embarrassment at being humiliated in front of thousands of movie-goers. Let's face it, his career was never gonna take off after this! Baldy Bloke In A Nappy(BBIN) gets an understandable strop on, and goes on the rampage in an occasionally back- projected, occasionally made out of cardboard, Las Vegas. If you've lasted this long with the movie you've had to sit through endless chats about his condition, some of the worst scientific reasoning ever committed to celluloid (the heart being a single cell is my own favourite)much moping from his girlfriend, some totally pointless flashbacks of the Korean War, in which stock footage showcases a battle involving four people, two on each side, (our hero is the only one who makes it)said Baldy bloke in a small set with doll's house furniture to convey the fact that he's big, the army apparently being able to feed him 8 feet-long chickens for his meals and a six feet-long hypodermic needle that can fit inside a small helicopter with three people in it.The climax comes when BBIN grabs his girlfriend when the scientists inject a cure into him, being persuaded to lower her to the ground, and promptly being killed by a co-ordinated bazooka strike at the Boulder Dam. Bloody Yanks - he was cured!!!BBIN's look is obviously patterned after Dr. Cyclops (1940) which features a baldy scientist who shrinks the rest of the cast, making himself look huge by comparison. I feel certain Albert Decker, who played the Doc, would never have worn a nappy...Although I have never partaken myself, I would heartily recommend viewing this movie under the influence of various hallucinogenics...

During a plutonium bomb test, Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) finds himself in the open and absorbs much of the force of the blast. Even though 95% of the skin on his body is burnt away, the bomb doesn't kill him. Doctors work tirelessly to keep him alive. Miraculously and in no time at all, not only is Manning out of danger, his body seems completely healed – no burns and no scars. Surely the plutonium had something to do with Manning's recovery. But what other side effects does Manning face form his plutonium exposure? As Manning begins a slow but steady growth to gargantuan proportions, the side effects become quite obvious.Bert I. Gordon made a lot of movies that can best be described as trash. I might have a good time with them, but I realize there not very good. That's not the case with The Amazing Colossal Man. I honestly think it's a decent enough movie. I realize that my judgment may be clouded by the fact that this is one of the very first movies I remember seeing. There's no accounting for nostalgia. And, I realize that today some of my enjoyment comes from scenes that fit the "so bad it's good" definition (Manning's trip to Las Vegas and the giant hypodermic needle obviously come to mind), but there are other moments that work for me as intended. For example, I think Manning's descent in to madness is well done. Whatever the reason, I find more good, enjoyable moments in The Amazing Colossal Man than I do bad, dull moments and have no trouble rating the movie a 6/10.But please, don't take my rating as some sort of recommendation. There are too many problems that even I can see for me to tout The Amazing Colossal Man as a "must see". If you decide to give it chance, don't blame me if you don't immediately move it into your top ten. To begin with, the special effects are weak – not only by today's standards, but by the standards of 1957. The rear projection scenes are quite badly done. In addition, some of the acting is just as bad as the special effects. Other than Langan, no one in the cast comes out looking very good. Finally, the movie is full of padding. The Amazing Colossal Man may only be 80 minutes in length, but a good part of the runtime is taken by Dr. Linstrom (William Hudson) spouting scientific theories at any given opportunity. My favorite is the "single cell" heart theory. And to make the padding even more obvious, he repeats the same scientific mumbo-jumbo on more than one occasion.

... as Fifties SCHLOCKO Movies go, that is, this is a Fine and an entertaining movie!One needs to suspend belief, and real science, of course, to truly enjoy this flick(though to Fifties Red Scare, etcetera, "Logic," the "regenerative qualities" of ALL Atomic radiation, especially from a Big H-BOMB, a "mortal" man's Surviving, even fantastically GROWING from an atomic bomb blast, with ah-hem, "front row seats," in poor Colonel Glenn Manning's case, it makes perfect SENSE! No, it does. Really.)And of course this FIRST "Colossal" Film tale tells a far Crisper tale than does the Sequel, "War of the Colossal Beast," which only rated a "5" IMDb score for me.Still, it's a great Friday night flick kind of movie!

I really loved this movie. I remember watching it when I was just a little kid back in 1970. It was shown on a regular basis on independent TV stations every other 3 months or so. I couldn't wait to see it again so I kept watching the TV guide to see when they would show it again. I have always been a fan of B movies because it gives you the chance to see good actors in great stories. A favorite actor of mine is Glenn Langan. He started out in the late 30's and appeared in mostly action B movies. I believe he was never really given the chance to showcase all his talents. Most of the movies he's appeared in are difficult to find except this one, "The Amazing Colossal Man". Produced in 1957 by American International, this movie was actually the counterpart of Universal International's "The Incredible Shrinking Man". It's about an army man who is subjected to a blast of plutonium radiation and grows to towering proportions. Due to the success of this feature, A.I. produced a sequel called "War of the Colossal Beast" not as good, but still entertaining. If you should ever see this movie on your video shelf, I would get it, because it's worth it. In closing this statement, I would like to say that Glenn Langan will go down in film history as the first Amazing Colossal Man.