The Amazing Colossal Man

Bert I. Gordon directed this surprise hit about Lt. Col. Glenn Manning, who is accidentally exposed to a plutonium blast at a desert Army base, burning him extensively, but survives. However, he mysteriously starts to grow, reaching 50Ft. He becomes an object of study, but is gradually losing his mind because of both the situation and decreased blood supply to his brain. Glenn, enraged and despondent, escapes and goes on a rampage, forcing a showdown with the Army he once served in. Despite a good performance from the lead actor, and a sympathetic script, the F/X are shoddy and the ridiculous plot dissolves into an obvious chase melodrama, ending at a dam. Not yet on DVD for some reason, though was on YouTube for awhile.

I liked this film. I liked it a lot. Sure it is by no means anything other than a poorly-crafted, deficient special effects laden film about a man that survives a plutonium blast that starts to grow almost 8 inches a day. Soon Colonel Glenn Manning becomes fifty feet high and starts to lose his mind. Bert I. Gordon is able to do something he rarely ever does, and that is make you care a bit for the characters. Glen Manning is punished for a good deed and his heroic personality, and the irony of his situation is never lost on him or the audience. Glenn Langlan does a pretty good job as the giant man despite the acting experience it was trying to seem gigantic. The rest of the cast is not quite at his mediocre level. Cathy Downs does a credible job as his love interest, but the two fellas playing the doctors had all the bedside charm of a brick wall. How bout that scene with the camel and the elephant? What a hoot! The special effects are some of the cheapest to come out of the fifties. Giant Glenn Manning is just projected onto other film. Nothing too special about that. Except in the close-ups, the giant always looks transparent(a symptom of the projection process...watch Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and you will see the same effect). The scene with the giant hypodermic needle is easily the best. Glenn finally gets his point across to an army scientist. The biggest low of the film for me was the ending. It seems very abrupt, almost like, "Hey, we ran out of money....let's end it like this....real fast!" Shortcomings notwithstanding...give The Amazing Colossal Man a try if you like good/bad science fiction films from the fifties. If your ideas of horror classics are Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street...stay away...nothing in this film will entertain you.

I have seen The Amazing Colossal Man several times and is one of Mr BIG's better movies.

As a plane crashes just before an atomic test at Camp Desert Rock, Glenn Manning goes to see if there are any survivors despite the danger. The bomb goes off and he gets caught right in the middle of the blast. He suffers 90% burns but doctors are very baffled when they take his bandages off to find him without any scars at all. Gradually, he increases in size and eventually, he goes on the rampage through Las Vagas and kills Major Lindstrom when he injects him with a formula to reduce him in size with the needle. Manning is shot by the Military and falls into the Colorado River but is not dead...

One of the better parts of the movie is where Manning kills the Major with the needle he was going to inject him with.

The cast includes Glenn Langan as Manning and 50's sci-fi regulars Cathy Downs (The She Creature), Russ Bender (It Conquered the World) and James Seay (Killers From Space). Most of the cast are used to fighting giant creatures looking at other sci-fi movies they were in at this time.

Despite the low budget, this movie was fun to watch.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Actually, I have seen this on and off, but watching it again in its entirety actually was a good thing. This is rare when describing Gordon's works.

Glenn Manning is the unfortunate guy who gets the full blast of a plutonium bomb. Poor guy is real mad about growing every day and being treated like a freak (hey, who doesn't). Although the effects are pure de Monsieur Gordon, it does work well with the film (I was cracking up with the big syringe). Glenn's rants and angina attacks do create some sympathy, but man, his girl sure stood by his side!! Some parts do tend to drag, there are lots of dimly lit hallways perfect for subterfuge and the miniature knick knacks were classic!

Um, there's a sequel?? Can I change my vote?

This movie makes an earnest attempt to show the emotional effect that the title character's condition has on him and on his loving fiance, and it comes off more serious and less campy than you might expect. BUT....it does look pretty cheap, and the "rear projection" techniques that are used are very clumsy. It's a terrifically SHORT movie, though. (**)