French filmmaker Eugène Lourié directed only four films in his career. Three of them were giant monster movies, the most famous being The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms with creature effects by Ray Harryhausen. The odd man out of his career is the Frankenstein-esque The Colossus of New York.
Dr. Jeremy Spensser (Ross Martin) is a brilliant scientist on his way to receive the Noble Peace prize when he is killed in a freak automobile accident. His father, Dr. William Spensser (Otto Kruger) a brain surgeon keeps his sons brain alive and puts it in a giant robot body so that he can continue to do his award winning humanitarian work. But as in all mad scientist/monster movies, things end up going horribly wrong.
The film easily could have delved into cheesy monster movie, and at points does, but it also manages to tell an interesting story focusing on the relationship between the robot and his son. These scenes are certainly reminiscent of the little girl and Frankenstein’s monster. There is a wonderful level of creepiness as the two talk to one another. At the same time you know that the robot is really the kid’s dad and you can hear the longing for a normal life in the robot’s distorted voice. And, without giving too much away, the ending of the film even manages to reach certainly level of sadness one would never expect.
The Colossus of New York is on the verge of being a candidate for mocking by MST3K with it’s silly dialog, unbelievable character motivations, bad stock footage usage and silly low budget special effects. However, some decent acting, beautiful cinematography and haunting piano score by Van Cleave turn the film into something interesting and genuinely entertaining, if you’re into ’50s Sci-Fi B-Movies that is.
The most annoying thing about this film is the static heavy sound they use for the robot’s voice. It makes it hard to understand what he’s saying half the time. But if you’re willing to look past this and some of its other flaws, you might be surprised how entertaining this film can be.
This film is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen format and Mono Sound. Aside from the bad stock footage, this is a fantastic looking film that has been wonderfully preserved. The sound, like most B movie’s from the 50’s is flat, but the score sounds great.
Sadly there are no special features on this disc. Even an original trailer would have been nice or a vintage interview with Eugène Lourié. Something. Anything!
The Colossus of New York is by no means for everyone. Only if you have a love and appreciate for B Movie of cinema’s past will you be taken in by the parts of this film that work and be willing to overlook the parts that don’t. At the very least, I say it’s worth renting if you’re the least bit curious about it.
Olive Films presents The Colossus of New York. Directed by: Eugène Lourié. Written by: Thelma Schnee. Story by: Willis Coldbeck. Starring: Otto Kruger, Ross Martin and Mala Powers. Running time: 70 min. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: 8-16-2011. Originally released in 1958. Available at Amazon.com.
