With its strings clearly visible, nostrils flaring, and ping-pong ball eyes bulging out of their sockets, the bird (who is never named) inevitably trumps any attempt to make the film frightening.
Atomic age monster movies are some of my favorite creature features. Logic and science are mashed together with fantastic scenarios to produce some absolutely unbelievable plotlines. In 1957’s The Giant Claw, a gigantic bird begins smashing planes out of the sky for no apparent reason. The highlight of the movie is when a scientist explains its extraterrestrial origins with a completely straight face.
Like many science fiction films of the time, The Giant Claw begins with an expository montage of military stock footage. An electronics engineer named Mitch Macafee (Jeff Morrow) is flying test runs in a jet fighter to help calibrate anti-aircraft radar positions in the Arctic. His partner, mathematician Sally Caldwell (Mara Caraday,) assists him on the ground. When Macafee sees a UFO the size of a battleship, the Air Force scrambles aircraft to intercept. The pilots see nothing but one of their planes goes missing. Macafee is accused of costing a man his life.
Soon, though, sightings of this giant UFO spread over the northern United States. The military — forced to take the reports seriously — calls Macafee and Caldwell in to help them battle this menace to national security.
The Giant Claw begins as a rather taut and suspenseful thriller. That edifice shatters as soon as the “UFO” appears on-screen for the first time. The bird is portrayed by a giant, clumsy puppet. It appears to be a vulture with a Mohawk and a hilariously extended neck. The accompanying sound effects — the bird’s call — are more annoying than scary. With its strings clearly visible, nostrils flaring, and ping-pong ball eyes bulging out of their sockets, the bird (who is never named) inevitably trumps any attempt to make the film frightening.
Aside from the awful special effects, there’s little else of note in The Giant Claw. The story follows the same general arc of most monster films of the time. Jeff Morrow, who constantly grimaces like he’s soiled his pants, humorlessly delivers lines like, “Listen, General, this idea of mine may prove to be as phony as a three dollar bill, but I still think it’s worth a listen.”
Since there always has to be a love interest, Mara Caraday’s Sally and Morrow’s Macafee have to awkwardly snog. Caraday appears as if she’s lost a bet every time she’s required to kiss Morrow’s character. And, as the film is a product of its time, Sally may be a mathematician but she’s also required to fetch sandwiches and coffee for the men while they chat about the bird.
For fans of bad movies, The Giant Claw is a must-see. Those with more refined tastes will only wonder who in their right mind would think this movie would succeed.
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
