The Giant Behemoth in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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The Giant Behemoth

Author	Comment
Rakshasa	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#41	[-]
Aug 27 05 7:50 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	QUOTE: "The Behemoth is cool" - Butthead
coonsanders	the giant behemoth	#42	[-]
Aug 27 05 1:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	yep it sure is great!! coonsanders
oldmanster	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#43	[-]
Aug 27 05 3:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I transferred a dupey copy (with the ferry boat scene), to a DVD-R today, and was struck that BEHEMOTH has numerous virtues beyond the obvious: One of the kind members of this group sent me a complete DVD copy to replace my truncated VHS version. Inclusion of the ferry sequence really adds considerable tension (and versimilitude) to the carnage such a beast would wreak as it moved up the Thames. All of your comments are spot on, David. I hadn't thought much about the crowd scenes, perhaps because they seemed so real I just let them move past me as logical reactions. As I peruse Lourie's filmography, it's interesting that he didn't get any more principal directing gigs after Gorgo (1961), although his credits as Production Designer and Art Director are pretty impressive and carry on for two more decades. Did he come to be associated with giant monster movies after Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Giant Behemoth, and Gorgo? ... Reed
Tim Lucas VW	Re: GENE EVANS & BEHEMOTH	#44	[-]
Aug 27 05 4:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Inclusion of the ferry sequence really adds considerable tension (and versimilitude) to the carnage such a beast would wreak as it moved up the Thames. A very good scene... if only the Behemoth's head didn't look like a modified brolly handle! I always liked this movie, but watched it again a couple of weeks ago, for the first time in close to a decade, and liked it less. Strong performance by Gene Evans, Andre Morell seems to be playing with tongue more in-cheek than usual (he occasionally seems to be lowering his head to hide his suppressed chuckles), and the animation suffers from too much recycling... but the direction is strong and the behemoth's radioactivity adds something new to the stew. Not bad, but not up to BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS or GORGO.
Ted Newsom	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#45	[-]
Aug 27 05 6:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Lourie directed a little bit of TV-- at least one episode of the mini-spy series WORLD OF GIANTS (as opposed to LAND OF THE GIANTS), for one thing. He was typed-- "Oh, he does those science fiction things." In the early 60s, for various reasons, he relocated to Spain and worked on the Bronston stuff, like KRAKATOA EAST OF JAVA and CRACK IN THE WORLD, & BATTLE OF THE BULGE. Had he waited for the next Hollywood or UK giant monster movie, he would've been unemplyed a long time. He was a nice, thoughtful and elegant man. In the Richard Gere remake of BREATHLESS, he has a little cameo near the end as a famous architect. The girl, a student, tells him something like, "You're work will last forever." He just smiles and says, "My dear... nothing lasts."
oldmanster	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#46	[-]
Aug 28 05 11:35 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Had he [Eugene Lourie] waited for the next Hollywood of UK giant monster movie, he would've been unemplyed a long time. A _very_ interesting and insightful comment, Ted. Did the spigot just turn off after 1961? The UK has never been noted for its giant critters. Wonder why? Just the cost of special fx, or something about the UK film culture in general? Certainly, there were plenty of big critter opportunities in the US during the 50s -- I haven't made much of a study of this aspect, but did they take a nosedive in the 60s, or did they become the purview of back-set theatrics ala Mr. B.I.G. ? ... Reed
TomWeaver999	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#47	[-]
Aug 28 05 11:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<< Just the cost of special fx, or something about the UK film culture in general? << I think -- just talking through my hat here -- that U.K. horror/sci-fi moviemakers usually didn't have a lot of bread to work with, and had to pretty much stick with monster movies where people standing around talking on sets could constitute 90-something percent of the running time. Well, look at Hammer -- they could have remade INVISIBLE MAN, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, DR. CYCLOPS, lots of different Universal-owned properties ... but pretty much stuck to the sit-around-the-castle-living-room-set-and-talk stories. Even things like bats were beyond them -- in their movies, they either said Dracula coiuldn't change into a bat, or used toy bats that Ed Wood might have balked at. You want these people making giant-monster movies when they can't even do a bat??? : ) Of course, finally, with lots of American help, they did eventually make a couple ... yyyaaaawwwwnnnn ... jeez, excuse me, where'd THAT come from?! They DID finally make a couple dinosaur movies -- that we could have done without.
oldmanster	Re: the giant behemoth	#48	[-]
Aug 28 05 12:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You're referring to the Doug McClure/ERB films, I take it?. But even with man-in-monster-suit effects, you'd think that Lourie would be an obvious attribute -- unless his skills were more attuned to human foibles and actions than these films called for? Here's a really dumb question -- are directors picked for their respective skills, or for box-office appeal, or just because they're buddies with the producers? I suspect the answer to that question is... yes. ... Reed
TomWeaver999	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#49	[-]
Aug 28 05 1:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<< You're referring to the Doug McClure/ERB films, I take it? << Actually, I had ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., WHEN DINOSAURS RULED ... yyyaaawwwnnn ... Jeez, there I go again! WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, etc., in mind.
oldmanster	Re: GENE EVANS & BEHEMOTH	#50	[-]
Aug 28 05 3:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Gotcha, the Hammer stuff, then. Which would seem to be tailor-made for Lourie -- use of stop-motion animation, etc. Hell, even Caveman would probably fit. The McClure/Burroughs stuff probably would not. ... Reed
coonsanders	special affects	#51	[-]
Aug 28 05 4:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hi one of the high points in the giant behemoth were the scenes where the kid gets killed and these 6 militay men get killed.these scenes were truly memorable 4 me.i nev- eer forgot them.they were achieved by haveing the act- ors "killed" and then irving block hand painted the burns and ashes over the pictures by hand.he was a genious. coonsanders
Ted Newsom	Re: special affects	#52	[-]
Aug 29 05 12:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* irving block hand painted the burns and ashes over the pictures by hand.he was a genious. Apparently this "genious" was responsible for destroying the intricate wire-operated hand puppet Obie created for the ferry scene, which is why they ended up having to use the thing like a bludgeon... they called him "Blocky"... (the FX guy, not the puppet.)
coonsanders	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#53	[-]
Aug 29 05 1:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hi ok maybe he isnt a genious but the scenes were these people were killed greatly helped make the fim more believeable.its to bad he screwed up the model.i agree with u on that. coonsanders
Ted Newsom	Re: the giant behemoth	#54	[-]
Aug 30 05 1:08 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Irving Block was apparently a very, very nice man. He's also the author of the original treatment FATAL PLANET-- which then became FORBIDDEN PLANET...
coonsanders	Re: The Giant Behemoth	#55	[-]
Aug 30 05 12:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hi so what is your point? coonsanders
Ted Newsom	Re: GENE EVANS & BEHEMOTH	#56	[-]
Aug 31 05 10:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	-- that maybe he was a genious...
DrPaulArmstrong	Re: GENE EVANS & BEHEMOTH	#57	[-]
Aug 31 05 11:10 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ted, when you think about it, what really is genious? Can any of us say?
oldmanster	Re: special affects	#58	[-]
Aug 31 05 12:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've always thought that Dr. Paul had a tetch of genious. He does science, after all. ... Reed
DrPaulArmstrong	Re: special affects	#59	[-]
Aug 31 05 12:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, a tetch a' somethin'.
SFfilmfan	Re: A Chip off the old Block	#60	[-]
Aug 31 05 4:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Gee, guys, is genius really that hard to spell? I regret that I was not able to interview Block, but when I sought him out after interviewing Bob Stotak, he was too ill. Nevertheless, Block was responsible for a lot of fun, low-budget effects work in '50s SF films. One of my favorites from him was KRONOS.

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