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The Deadly Mantis (1957)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:40 pm    Post subject: The Deadly Mantis (1957) Reply with quote



I watched Them! just a few days ago and -- as always — I admired the story and the cast, but I cringed at the site of those poor, clumsy, hairy ants. They really detract from my enjoyment.

The Deadly Mantis uses a very large and realistic model of the mantis, and the FX guys move it around pretty well in most scenes — except for the laughable shots of it flying.

This is obviously a fake photo (the mantis model couldn't have been this big) — but it does show that the model was very detailed.






I think a large part of the problem is that we've all seen the graceful and eerie way a mantis moves, and this puppet comes just close enough to make us wish it had come closer.





Another thing it has in common with Them! is the unfortunate use of a constant "insect" noise which the mantis makes. With the ants in Them! it was a high-pitched squeal that sets my teeth on edge. (It's supposed to do that, of course.)

In The Deadly Mantis the offending noise is a symphony of buzzing bee noises — at least three sounds in different pitches, overlaid for maximum irritation.

If you haven't seen the movie, treat yourself to this example, especially in the last thirty seconds.






As for the plot and pacing, the story lacks the dynamic scenes that Harryhausen gave us in It Came from Beneath the Sea and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (the sinking of the ships in both movies, and wrecking of the lighthouse in Beast).

The closest thing we get to that in this movie is one brief shot of the mantis climbing the Washington Monument — and for that shot they used a real praying mantis!

The big showdown takes place in a smoke-filled Holland Tunnel, with abandoned cars all around. That part works fairly well and might have scared kids back in 1957.






The worthy cast includes Craig Stevens (Peter Gunn, A & C Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), and William Hopper (20 Million Miles to Earth). Alix Talton is the attractive lady reporter whose attentions the men compete for.

The story is by producer William Alland (a point of interest for its own sake), and the script is by Martine Berkeley.

Produced by William Alland (The Space Children, Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc.), directed by Nathan Juran (20 Million Miles to Earth, First Men in the Moon), and released by Universal.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Krel.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The reason for the full size ants in "Them!" is because the movie was originally suppose to be shot in 3D, and in color. Warner Brothers got cold feet and cut the budget. But the 3D spirit lives on in some of the scenes where they show the ants 3D style. The effects men had also come up with a coating for the ant's eyes that gave a rainbow effect. The effects men regretted that it wasn't seen in the movie.

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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:40 pm    Post subject: Re: The Deadly Mantis (1957) Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
...this puppet comes just close enough to make us wish it had come closer.

Ha! I don't have enough toes and fingers to count how many movie effects I've wished that for!

Hey, wait a minute... Every praying mantis I've ever seen has little hairlike antennae, which are noticeable even in their normal size
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with you,Bud.

While Them! remains one of the great classic 50s sf film, as well as a fav of mine, its giant ant props do not date well.

I realize that the artistic designers did as well as they could with what tech was available to them at that time. And within the limited budget that they possessed. I've always felt that had they employed stop-motion animation by either Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen that would have greatly enhanced the cinematic look of the film tremendously.

I also always thought that whoever designed the Giant Mantis model did a fantastic job, even if the movie is nothing but a B picture.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep, Them! is so well done that it's fun to watch even when the ants aren't around. In fact, in view of the flaws in the ant scenes, it's more fun in some ways.

I even like the lecture-and-film about ants that the professor gives the other scientists, military men, and police officials. I love a good "educational moment" that provides some real science in the of middle of a science fiction movie.

Thinking about the concepts is as much fun as watching the movie!
Very Happy
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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alltare
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

THE DEADLY MANTIS will be shown on ME TV/Svengoolie tonight, 11/21/2015. It's one of my favorites for several reasons. Lots of nifty old stock footage, for one thing.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It would be a fun movie to watch in the chat room. You should suggest it on the Friday Live Chat thread! Very Happy

http://www.allsci-fi.us/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2468&start=15

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alltare
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
It would be a fun movie to watch in the chat room. You should suggest it on the Friday Live Chat thread! Very Happy

http://www.allsci-fi.us/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2468&start=15

Too late! I already nominated THE GIANT CLAW, which might promote more chat room commentary than TDM.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alltare wrote:
THE DEADLY MANTIS will be shown on ME TV/Svengoolie tonight, 11/21/2015. It's one of my favorites for several reasons. Lots of nifty old stock footage, for one thing.

If you didn't get to watch The Deadly Mantis on ME TV back in November (or if you're willing to watch it again with the folks here), we should definitely put this one on the Friday Live Chat voting thread and see if it wins in the next few weeks.

Anybody want to second the motion?

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Rocky Jones
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I caught it on ME (in spite of the constantly annoying host interruptions). I was kind of impressed at the filmmaking, though, in that they made some of the most skillful use of stock footage that I've seen in a low-budget film like this. They did overdo it in the narrated opening, which made it seem like documentary, but the mix of plane shots and snowscape footage with their own stuff was quite impressive.

And, of course, it's always good to see William Hopper. I recently got around to looking up his bio stuff. He was Hedda's son. They didn't have a very good relationship and she pressured him into acting. He kind of bounce back and forth from acting as well serving in WWII. He died in '70 in his 50s.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rocky Jones wrote:
And, of course, it's always good to see William Hopper. I recently got around to looking up his bio stuff. He was Hedda's son. They didn't have a very good relationship and she pressured him into acting. He kind of bounce back and forth from acting as well serving in WWII. He died in '70 in his 50s.

I'm a Perry Mason fan, and whenever I watch it I always think how good a spin-off series about the Paul Drake Detective Agency would have been. Paul and his men could investigate crimes for rich clients and rich lawyers (Perry and others), and then Hamilton Burger could prosecute the culprit and WIN the cases! Very Happy
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Rick
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw THE DEADLY MANTIS at my beloved LeRose Theater in 1961 and I loved it. Loved loved loved it. But . . . it must be admitted that this was the first of the giant bug movies I ever saw, so it had that firsties advantage goin' for it.

I still love it, but I certainly acknowledge its huge debt to THEM (and likewise have to admit how much THEM is modeled on BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS.) But that doesn't change the fact that, however great THEM is (and it is), it's not the one I saw when I was eleven.

I do think that you fellas are being WAY too tough on THEM and its ants. It's okay to chuckle at old-fashioned stuff in an old movie, but you also have to give due credit. The ants are, for 1954, pretty darn good. You can't really fault a 1954 movie for not having 21st Century effects, if what the movie offers was good for the time in which it was filmed.

The ants in THEM are not the cardboard tombstones or the Woolworth flying saucers of PLAN 9. They're pretty nigh top of the line for practical effects of their decade. If they bother you when you watch them, then they do. But to actually criticize the movie for being of its time...that's not really fair.

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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick wrote:
But to actually criticize the movie for being of its time...that's not really fair.

I recall being sufficiently critical at the time of their original screenings. ("Hey, that's not even the same airplane!" "Oh, that's just a V-2 rocket!" "Look, you can see the wires!")
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

To illustrate my point about how this movie doesn't manage to make the mantis as creepy as it should, watch this video. The mantis could have been terrifying.


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________ Giant Rainforest Mantis Vs Spiny Leaf Insect


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GETTING TO KNOW OUR FAVORITE MONSTERS!
________________________________

We love the giant monsters from our favorite sci-fi films, but just how much science and how much fiction is involved in these movies?

I've always thought The Deadly Mantis was a lost opportunity to make a great "giant monster in the city movie". The film has fine FX, but the story does NOT take good advantage of just how "deadly" a mantis really is!

First of all, leave out all the ridiculous flying scenes and that annoying sound the mantis makes. The film should have a few scenes of the mantis taking off and landing, probably best filmed as night scenes, with the creature coming out of the darkness to gobble up a fews cows in a field, and then flying off into the night.

Second, have some spectacular scenes of the monster hobbling down a city street, knocking cars aside, snatching up people, and battling well-armed squads of policemen.

We could even have it climb a skyscraper and combat airplanes, Kong-style!

There could also be a stunning scene in which the voracious monsters invades the city zoo and grabs several medium-sized animals like bears and gorillas, the way a real mantis eats frogs and lizards!

The video below is less than three minutes long, but it shows how the vicious female allows a male to begin mating with her . . . and then starts eating his head and torso while the rest of his body completes the fertilization out of pure reflex!

This is a horrible version of dinner and sex on the first date . . . and there is never a second one! Shocked

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__ Deadly Praying Mantis Love | World's Weirdest


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