User reviews

This was better than it should have been. It should have been a stupid, horrible Class B movie - killer rocks threatening a town? - but it was quite interesting. It wasn't frightening but it succeeded in keeping my interest, which was no mean feat considering the outrageous storyline.

I guess "pretty good" would be the best description of everything here: the acting, the characters, the special-effects and the story. One thing for sure: this certainly has a different premise. In a nutshell, rocks from a big meteorite that had crashed who-knows-when, suddenly begin growing when water hits them. As long as moisture touches them, they grow, multiple and crush everybody and everything around them. First a scientist loses his life, then a family loses the mother and day, the house, and almost their little girl. The girl is saved as they experiment and find out how to cure her. More experiments occur by the hour as the citizens in this small California desert town try to figure out what and why this is happening. An emergency erupts when a storm arrives and all the rain begins to cause those rocks (monoliths) to rise to huge proportions, fall, break up and then rise again and destroy everything in its path. It's course, of course, is the town and the race is on to stop them before the town is destroyed.

For a 'B' film, it's well-acted with Grant Williams, star of "The Incredible Shrinking Man," in the lead and Lola Albright of Peter Gunn TV fame as his girlfriend. It's always good to see the gorgeous Albright in her younger days: a classic beauty. The supporting actors in here were fine, too. Nobody sounded wooden. The monoliths - the special-effects - were well-done, too, for its day. They were interesting (not scary) and the sound-effects that went with them were effective.

In all, not something you'd watch over and over, but certainly worth one look and it is a worthy additon to the recently-released Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection pack. The DVD transfer is very good, too.

I always try to catch this movie when I can. When you run out of lizards and spiders and ants and octopus tentacles, is there another horror that you can unleash on the world. Yes, it's black rock crystals from outer space. At least I think they are black since the movie is in black and white. They grow fast, rise to an enormous height, and then fall over, crushing everything in their path. This sounds so stupid, yet the movie isn't all that bad. There is the obligatory scientist, the police officer, the young woman, and the small town in the path. What can they do? Can they outwit these rocks? As is usually the case, there is something that these things are vulnerable to. Now, can we deliver the goods and stop them. I have so much affection for these B science fiction movies that I just can't help myself. One thing about this one is that it has never been copied. Maybe it's time for Peter Jackson to do the new Monolith Monsters.

I saw Monolith Monsters decades ago on television and to me it was one of the most frightening science fiction films I ever saw. The reason was literally the enemy is not life as we know it. I'm not sure you can even classify these growths from a meteor as life.

Some kind of silica meteor crashes into earth and the application of water makes them grow. And when you touch them while growing the minute amount of silica leaves your body and you start to turn to stone as surely if you viewed Medusa face to face.

This is the problem that scientists Grant Williams, Lola Albright, and Trevor Bardette face. How do you stop them because you can't kill them in a traditional sense. It's not like facing Godzilla or some space aliens who are alive and have life's weaknesses. Think about Gene Roddeberry and the prime directive from Star Trek. Would Star Fleet view the Monliths as life? I doubt it, but it's interesting food for thought.

I think if you see The Monolith Monsters you'll agree with me. Or at least think about what I've written.

Famed director Jack Arnold penned the original story on which this stand-out sci-fi film was based, directed with style and competence by John Sherwood from a screenplay by Norman Jolley and Robert M. Fresco.

The concept is quite original. The fragments of a meteorite which falls near a desert town begin to grow into hugh black crystals when they come in contract with water. When people pick up the smaller fragments, the fragments draw the water out of their bodies and turn them to stone. A sudden thunderstorm accelerates the growth of the skyscraper-size crystals, and they threaten to overrun the Earth. Great special effects created under the supervision of Clifford Stine.

Grant Williams (star of `The Incredible Shrinking Man') plays a geologist who struggles to solve the mystery of the strange growing crystals. Lola Albright is his gorgeous fiancé'. Les Tremayne (the general from `War of the Worlds' and the opening narrator of `Forbidden Planet') is good as the local newspaper man. Watch for a funny scene with William Schallert as a meteorologist.

In San Angelo, California, the geologist Ben Gilbert (Phil Harvey) finds a piece of meteorite in the desert and brings it to his office. However the black rock has a chemical reaction with the rain water and on the next morning, Ben´s co-worker Dave Miller (Grant Williams) finds him petrified in the office. Meanwhile Dave ´s girlfriend, the teacher Cathy Barrett (Lola Albright), brings her class to the desert and the girl Ginny (Linda Scheley) takes a piece of meteorite home. When Cathy sees Ben´s rock, she recognizes and she goes to Ginny´s house with Dave and a police officer. They find the farmhouse destroyed, Ginny´s parents dead and the girl in shock with one hand turning into stone. Dave seeks out his former professor Arthur Flanders (Trevor Bardette) to help him to solve the mystery while Ginny is taken to a Medical Research Institute in Los Angeles to the famous Dr. Steve Hendricks (Harry Jackson) to try to find the cure. Will they succeed?

"The Monolith Monsters" is a horror film from Universal with the original story of rock monsters from outer space. The screenplay is well-developed and highly entertaining but the rushed conclusion disappoints. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rastros do Espaço" ("Tracks from the Space")

A meteorite crashes into the desert, fragments of which absorb silica when wet, attaining colossal proportions before crashing down on whatever lies in their 'downhill' path. I'm no geologist but I suspect that the petrology underpinning the plot is a bit sketchy, but nevertheless, the film is an original, well-made (for the budget) 'nature-run-wild' adventure. The 'monsters' are unique in that they are simply a natural phenomenon, and refreshingly, are played that way (there is none of the anthropomorphising the undercut the similar premise in "The Magnetic Monster" (1953)). The desert locale (typical of a Jack Arnold story) is well used, and the script and acting are fine (for the genre), although most of the 'comic relief' falls a bit flat (an exception being the scene with the weather forecaster, which is amusing). The special effects and miniature work is quite good as the towering crystals fall on the buildings and even the bargain-basement 'chemistry' scenes are reasonably effective. The sub-plot about people getting turned to stone is a bit far-fetched (even within context) but provides an opportunity to see a vintage 'iron-lung' at work. Definitely one of the better science-fiction 'B' movies to come out of the 1950's, and perhaps the most imaginative.

The Monolith Monsters makes a pleasant change from all those giant animal and alien invasion movies. This time, we have giant crystals threatening the world, which multiply when in contact with water and make people turn to stone. Jack Arnold, who made the very enjoyable Tarantula (1955), was responsible for this eerie movie.

This movie stars Grant Williams (The Incredible Shrinking Man), Lola Albright as his love interest and Les Tremayne (The War Of the Worlds). Williams plays a good part and is normal size in this!

The special effects are very good and the desert settings make the movie rather eerie.

This movie is a must see for all 1950's sci-fi fans. Great stuff and interesting.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

This sci-fi effort from the 1950s is a real winner just because it feels so fresh and original in comparison to many genre efforts. There's no rampaging lifeform here, just a chemistry puzzle that the good guys have to solve allowing them to prevent disaster. It's brisk and to the point, creative in terms of SFX, and generally looks very nice indeed. A treat!

Ok you Sci-Fi B Movie Fans! This is an "A" of the "B" movies! It has it all..dialogue with "talk-over" at times that reminds me of "The Thing" and the interplay between characters is terrific. The special effects for this movie are very good, considering the time frame...the plot pretty good, and the actors fair as well.

The Plot is pretty typical of the Sci-Fi Movies of the time..there is a town in the middle of the desert, a child who ends up traumatized by her first encounter with the "entity". The female lead is a fairly independent woman on her own making her living as a teacher..the male lead is a geologist who is in love with the teacher...and they find themselves instant "guardians" of the girl after losing her parents. Then, it's the race to find a way to beat the monoliths before it destroys their town. The only thing missing from this one is the usual Nuclear Radiation theory that was so prevalent in the Sci-Fi movies of this time. It's just a plain old fashioned meteorite that causes the trouble in this one!

Enjoy this great Sci-Fi "B" movie....!!

I saw this film many years ago expecting from its name a living or something kinda living with a human shape, but was I surprised. Big black rocks growing and moving, no not moving with feet but just by falling down and starting the process of growing and falling. Huge skyscraper rocks reaching for the skies and toppling over. If a human touches it, the human begins to turn into a "rock." Water causes the rocks to grow and Grant Williams alias Dave Miller trying to save his small little town cannot stop a rain storm from causing the rocks to grow faster and heaven forbid, toward a dam, filled with water. Is there a way to stop something you can't touch or even get close too? Fire and bombs cannot stop rocks, so just what can? A rather unusual film but an enjoyable one.

The Monolith Monsters (1957) is one of the few classic sci-fi movies that has stayed vividly in my memory since I first saw it in the early 1960s on TV. I must admit though that time has somewhat altered my view of the film. As a kid, I was absolutely awestruck by what I saw on the screen. As an adult, I feel a bit disappointed at seeing a film at times hampered by stilted characters, ordinary dialogue and enormous plot holes.

What I do still find impressive about the Monolith Monsters is the film's interesting premise in which we have giant crystalline rocks that multiply when in contact with water, which cause people to turn to stone and which can potentially threaten the entire world.

What is also impressive about the film is its brisk and efficient pace which manages to sustain the audience's interest throughout.

Of particular note were the special effects created under the supervision of Clifford Stine. Despite the film's modest budget, the effects were impressive for the time.

A wonderfully silly plot and the monsters were very well done for 1957. There are some plot holes of course but it's so much fun that it doesn't matter. A very good 1950's Sci-Fi film not to be missed by lovers of 1950s "B movies".

A rather original Universal potboiler that return us to the California desert with elements of 'The Kraken Wakes' and 'The Crystal World' depicting alien life forms that resemble enormous chemical gardens.

The tone is set from the outset by the stentorian opening narration by Paul Frees, there's an amusing cameo from William Schallert, anyone familiar with 'Dr Strangelove' will be amused by the chief of police's response to proposal that a dam be blown up by declaring "You can't do that it's privately owned!" and the film is to be commended for creating such an original non-anthropomorphic alien.

A fellow from the department of interior, who is completely oblivious to the big meteor crashing nearby, drives his groovy woody wagon into the desert and collects what looks like a piece of black obsidian. Adding water to the rock causes it to smoke and grow like a 4th of July Snake. What happens next will shock and terrify you. Will the rocks bring reporters and fortune hunters? Will the children find something interesting for their science fair? Will the young woman find love in the desert? These questions and more will be answered as you watch this critically acclaimed film.

I have seen a lot of old sci-fi movies and this is definitely one of the better ones. The fact that they didn't require too many special effects really helped but the story, acting and fake science were above average. The end left a lot of loose ends to tie up but that's typical in movies like this.