Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.
- Dr. E.J. Reynolds
- (as Richard Cutting)
- Mrs.Simpson
- (uncredited)
- Hank Jackson
- (uncredited)
- Newscaster
- (uncredited)
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Police Dispatcher
- (uncredited)
- Second Nurse
- (uncredited)
- Highway Patrolman
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe meteor crash is footage of the spaceship crash from It Came from Outer Space (1953) which Universal produced four years earlier.
- GoofsThe town is ordered to evacuate, however when the monoliths reach the bottom of the canyon and someone on a rooftop sees them, you can see there are still many people walking around the town with no indication of evacuation.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Narrator: From time immemorial the Earth has been bombarded by objects from outer space, bits and pieces of the universe piercing our atmosphere in an invasion that never ends. Meteors, the shooting stars on which so many earthly wishes have been born - of the thousands that plummet toward us, the greater part are destroyed in a fiery flash as they strike the layers of air that encircle us. Only a small percentage survives. Most of these fall into the water which covers two-thirds of our world, but from time to time, from the beginning of time, a very few meteors have struck the crust of the Earth and formed craters - craters of all sizes, sought after and poured over by scientists of all nations for the priceless knowledge buried within them. In every moment of every day they come from planets belonging to stars whose dying light is too far away to be seen. From infinity they come. Meteors!
[a meteor crashes against the Earth]
Narrator: Another strange calling card from the limitless reaches of space. Its substance unknown, its secrets unexplored, the meteor lies dormant in the night - waiting!
- ConnectionsEdited from Born to Be Wild (1938)
The film has good but obvious special effects. The crystals rising and expanding are done simply by pushing them up through holes in the table top miniature sets. Grant Williams, fresh from THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, gives a good performance despite the fact his role is the standard scientist type found in most films of this nature from this period.
Film historian Bill Warren correctly described THE MONOLITH MONSTERS as Universals last "adult" science fiction of the 1950's. After THE MONOLITH MONSTERS every horror/science fiction film PRODUCED by that studio were lackluster quickies (THE LEECH WOMEN; THE THING THAT WOULDN'T DIE etc.) thrown out to support much better imported (Hammer films like HORROR OF DRACULA) or independent acquisitions (THE 4D MAN.) I would also like to note this was 1957's second "deadly mineral" film, the other being Columbia studio's THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED. I would also like to mention I found the scene where Grant Williams tries to get a weather forecast from weatherman William Schalert pretty funny.
- youroldpaljim
- Aug 11, 2001
- How long is The Monolith Monsters?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 17 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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![Lola Albright and Grant Williams in The Monolith Monsters (1957)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTFlYTkyNjItMTRlYS00ZTRkLTliODItNzkzMTRlYjM2NGE2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,4,90,133_.jpg)