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1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man" was director's Bert I. Gordon's debut and most financially successful release for American International Pictures, while also his most acclaimed, not too surprising once you realize that virtually none of his other giant size creatures had any personality, neither "The Cyclops" nor the sequel "War of the Colossal Beast" giving their menace any dialogue. The simple inversion of Universal's massive hit "The Incredible Shrinking Man" was actually an uncredited adaptation of Homer Eon Flint's brief 1928 novel "The Nth Man," the rights to which just happened to belong to James H. Nicholson, and may have also inspired Stan Lee's origin story for The Incredible Hulk! In the lead was Glenn Langan, an actor who made a name for himself the previous decade in films like "Hangover Square" and "Dragonwyck" (facing off against Vincent Price), but had fallen on hard times here but a performance that engenders sympathy for his plight despite an excess of self pity and the typically overdone excuse of radiation poisoning. Colonel Glenn Manning (Langan) readies himself for the nation's first plutonium bomb test but leaves his position of safety to try to rescue the pilot of a downed civilian plane, the flesh seared from his body by the force of the blast (a startling visage so well done it is repeated at least twice more). As 95% of his body suffered third degree burns doctors give his fiancée Carol (Cathy Downs, "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues," "The She-Creature," "Missile to the Moon") little hope that he'll survive, yet just hours after treatment his skin has completely regenerated itself, beginning a process of growth where Dr. Paul Linstrom (William Hudson, "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman") estimates the rate to be 10 feet per day. Manning emerges from his coma in a state of shock, despair and amusement in equal measure before we learn that his heart is not growing at the same pace as the rest of his body, essentially doomed to die in a few days unless something can be done to halt the progression. There's entirely too much talk until the final reel, when the Colossal Man finally goes on the rampage through Las Vegas, while one patrolman haplessly observes: "are you gonna stand by and let him destroy property?" A giant needle makes a painful looking injection that hopefully should stunt his growth, but in his fury he impales one unfortunate medico with a devastating strike and purloins his tiny fiancée for a final date with destiny at Boulder Dam. Gordon continued making giant size creature features for another 20 years, but never again reached the heights that this picture did. There's a lot of fun to be had if one can stay patient through the slow spots, which sadly isn't the case with its perfunctory sequel.

Burt I. Gordon's "The Amazing Colossal Man" was the first sci-fi film I saw as a kid that actually scared me. But it wasn't the effect of a bald Col. Glenn Manning running around Las Vegas that I found frightening; it was the actual atomic bomb test-blast footage I found so horrific. At the age of six, seeing houses blown like matchsticks into blazing debris was enough to cause nightmares. The same footage (recently restored by Peter Kuran for the "explosive" documentary "Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie") can still sends shivers down the spine of any self-respecting anti-nuker.

"The Amazing Colossal Man" still ranks as one of the better b-grade drive-in movies. It is unintentionally funny, full of impossible science and very entertaining. The cast does their best with the material (from a script by George Worthing Yates) but I suspect no one took the project very seriously, least of all Mr. Gordon. It is also highlighted by another thunderous Albert Glasser score.

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.

An army officer is caught outside during atom bomb test for some reason this causes him to grow. He becomes a giant that eats a lot and is in pain due to heart problems. The scientist explains that the heart is made of one cell. Now that is what I call really bad biology was the director on serious illegal drugs. This isn't the films only bad biology moment there is the scene where they shrink an elephant with the use of an injection. The plot of this movie is so weak and the ending is horrible. Bad attempt at a suspenseful drama with some bad I mean bad biology. Watch the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of this movie. Believe me folks I wouldn't watch this movie on its own. Heart made of one cell hehehehehe.

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?

"What sin can a man commit in a single lifetime to bring this upon himself?"

Just as Lon Chaney's Wolfman was cursed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Col. Glenn Manning is burned over 95% of his body while trying to save the pilot of a small plane that crashes into the test area where a plutonium bomb is to be detonated. He survives the blast, only to grow at the rate of ten feet a day. Eventually, he suffers a mental breakdown and wreaks as much havoc as the budget of this movie will allow. Still, it's one of the best cheapie flicks to come out of an era of giant spiders, black scorpions, and a certain mutated dinosaur from Tokyo.

THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN certainly has a bargain-basement feel to it-even the score by Albert Glasser fits well here. As far as the performances, Glen Langen is the only one who really stands out-and not just because of his size, either. Like Chaney's Wolfman, he evokes sympathy because of the affliction that causes him to lose his humanity and become a freak of nature, an outcast, and a menace to society.

A cheapie flick, but a classic one just the same.

Rating: **** out of *****

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.

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. (**)

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.

Glen Manning performs an act of courage and what does he get. Exposure to Plutonium makes him a freak of nature, a man fifty feet tall, but the radiation affects his brain. Of course, this brings in the scientists who want to do things to him, as well as those who wish to destroy him as he goes on a rampage. These may be the worst special effects ever. At times we can see through the giant to the mountains and trees behind. This is also a love story and a story of hopelessness. He is made a freak, like the guy in "The Incredible Shrinking Man." The love of his life is willing to do what she can out of compassion and recognition of his cruel fate. The final scene is pretty good. There are some very touching scenes as well.

this movie is a dud because the acting is somewhat terrible and he keeps growing and growing and you get the picture untill he is tall like king kong and starts destroying las vegas and one of the most funny things of the movie he is in great pain due to he has a one cell heart from growing from normal size to being a giant which is utterly unbelievable. so stay away from this film unless have it own tape if you are a mst 3000 fan like me but I cant say for sure if its watchable on its own. just another B-film of the 50's

This isn't exactly the Royal Shakespeare Company here and with a title like THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, you know you're not about to watch something that's due for a re-make on Masterpiece Theater. So, as long as you realize it is first and foremost a schlocky sci-fi horror film from the 50s and have your expectations set relatively low, you'll probably have a good time watching it. On a campy and kitschy level, it's good stuff. I particularly like how his clothes seem to grow with him (thus allowing it to STILL be a family flick) and the scene near the end of the film when they give this crazed giant an injection--his reaction is priceless!! All-in-all, I'd recommend this as a good film to watch with friends. Watch it, laugh and enjoy.

Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size.

Jim Nicholson of American International Pictures had the rights to Homer Eon Flint's 1928 novel, "The Nth Man" about a man who was 10 miles high. Nicholson thought it could be adapted to cash in on the success of "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (released six months earlier in 1957) and originally announced Roger Corman as director. Charles B. Griffith was hired to adapt the novel and he turned it into a comedy. Then Corman dropped out and Bert Gordon was hired. Gordon worked on the script with Griffith but the collaboration only lasted a day before Griffith quit. Instead, Griffith's regular writing partner, Mark Hanna stepped in.

Before Gordon became involved, the film was conceived with Dick Miller in mind for the lead. Unfortunately, this never happened, though it would have been a great casting coup. It was Gordon's first movie for AIP. Interestingly, although he has come to be known as "Mr. BIG", this was not even his own idea!

Paul Corupe calls the film "a surprisingly nuanced creature feature dealing with the emotional aspect of body horror." He sees it as an "atomic-age update" to "The Wolf Man" in that sense, which seems a stretch. But the point is correct -- although now seen as campy or cheap, it was actually rather clever in its own way. They even bothered to address the issue of how his clothes grow.

This movie has everything all wrong. Awful SFX, ridiculous dialog, a story that doesn't hold up-to-date, etc. Rhino Home Video once sold the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" version of this film, which roasts this film perfectly (and is the only version of the film you should watch, otherwise, avoid this movie like the plague!), but is no longer available due to rights issues. Shame on those rights holders who thought they could actually make some money off this crap and made Rhino pull it.

If you ask me, I think the effects in this movie are far more convincing than the special effects in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman! All thought in some of the effects scenes the giant did looked a little transparent but not badly! Glenn Manning growing kinda reminded me about the Harryhausen hit, "20 Million Miles to Earth" Which the Ymir grows at an alarming rate from earth's air. After seeing The Amazing Colossal Man and it's sequel War of the Colossal Beast, I'm always wondering what would happen if Glenn Manning had come face to face with Gaira from "War of the Gargantuas"? Would it be a fair fight? They appear to be both the same size! I just can't decide who would probably win! I think The Amazing Colossal Man is a must have for all old sci-fi fans. I just enjoy it for what it is.

"The Amazing Colossal Man" takes an issue of serious social, political, and scientific import in the 50s - atmospheric testing of atomic bombs, which people worried about even then - and turns it into a joke. In doing so, it ceases to be merely a reflection of 50s paranoia or even a breeding ground for camp humor. It becomes a political instrument in itself, saying that nuclear test fallout was not to be taken seriously. In doing so, it is much more sinister and damaging than just a innocuous, drive-in B movie.