Russian-born French director Eugene Lourie only directed four feature-length movies in his career. He only seems to be memorable because three of those four pictures involved seemingly indestructible sea monsters running amok in the midst of a big city of shrieking civilians. His first one, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" was and still is, in a small way, a classic. His last one, "Gorgo" has gone on to become a cult favorite and understandably so. However, the one in-between, titled "The Giant Behemoth" (a.k.a. "Behemoth the Sea Monster," the title that actually makes grammatical sense) is less than special. It only reminded me just how much better the other two movies are.
Its premise is promising and simple enough. Atomic tests awaken and mutate a serpentine monster which eventually, in the film's climax (the only energized moment in the picture) begins a lengthy assault on London. However, the filmmakers throw the final product together rather sloppily. From the zest-deprived screenplay, to the almost universally lifeless performances, to the quirky and uncharacteristically stilted visual effects helmed by Willis H. O'Brien of all people makes the fact that it was a rushed, passionless product stick out like a sore thumb.
The core fault lies in the screenplay written by director Lourie and Daniel James. The movie spends a fair amount of time building up the tension before the monster's eventual appearance: a typical method in monster pictures. Their fault? They took too long. Way too long. The movie's down to its third act before the behemoth attacks London and the two acts preceding it are as monotonous as the wooden, care-free expressions upon supporting actor Andre Morell's face. The movie also starts several subplots that are developed to a point and them simply cut off. For example: characters affected by the monster's appearance near a fishing village. A good length of time is spent attempting to develop this subplot, and a couple of characters involved in it, and then the screenplay just drops it. No conclusion, no pay-off, no transition. It just abandons the story dead right there.
And so with a screenplay as passion-free as the one here, the saviors would really have to be the actors, at least until the monster arrives. Unfortunately, leading man Gene Evans (an unlikely casting choice for a heroic lead) is the only one who seems to have given a hoot about acting here. He's the only one who presents any simulated emotion, any care about the context of the picture. Mr. Morell, as I mentioned before, is shockingly lifeless and dull, as if he had read all his lines off cue cards the entire time or had been filmed while going through rehearsals. The multiple personalities imitating military personnel are just as dim and energy-free. And a ship captain transporting Mr. Evans in search of the creature gives one of the most wooden, couldn't-care-less performances I've seen in a while.
Now I know, good acting is not usually attached to monster movies. But usually we see campy, attempted acting. Or overacting. Here, there is no real attempt to act except by Mr. Evans a few stand-outs.
Even though Mr. O'Brien (the worker of the magic if pictures like "King Kong") commanded the special effects crew, even the work of the department here seems stilted. The behemoth is portrayed via two methods. One is an awkward, stiff, entirely unconvincing head and neck puppet with next to no movement or flexibility. The second is stop-motion animation and even this, which Mr. O'Brien was one of the mastering pioneers at, seems unnaturally stilted with stiffer, more quirky movements especially in the neck area. But the scenes with this effect are the most entertaining and as I said, the fifteen-minute rampage of the creature in London is virtually the only moment in "The Giant Behemoth" that contains any genuine energy or spark of creative passion. A scene of the behemoth tearing down some electrical towers, reminiscent of "Gojira," is particularly enjoyable.
But sadly, the picture really just has the feeling of an assignment given to somebody hopelessly unhappy in their field as opposed to a work done by people who love their jobs. Eugene Lourie directed two very entertaining monster movies. "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "Gorgo." I would recommend monster fans check those out instead and pass on this one. With a lack of energy and no real enthusiasm "The Giant Behemoth" is a plodding bore.
Its premise is promising and simple enough. Atomic tests awaken and mutate a serpentine monster which eventually, in the film's climax (the only energized moment in the picture) begins a lengthy assault on London. However, the filmmakers throw the final product together rather sloppily. From the zest-deprived screenplay, to the almost universally lifeless performances, to the quirky and uncharacteristically stilted visual effects helmed by Willis H. O'Brien of all people makes the fact that it was a rushed, passionless product stick out like a sore thumb.
The core fault lies in the screenplay written by director Lourie and Daniel James. The movie spends a fair amount of time building up the tension before the monster's eventual appearance: a typical method in monster pictures. Their fault? They took too long. Way too long. The movie's down to its third act before the behemoth attacks London and the two acts preceding it are as monotonous as the wooden, care-free expressions upon supporting actor Andre Morell's face. The movie also starts several subplots that are developed to a point and them simply cut off. For example: characters affected by the monster's appearance near a fishing village. A good length of time is spent attempting to develop this subplot, and a couple of characters involved in it, and then the screenplay just drops it. No conclusion, no pay-off, no transition. It just abandons the story dead right there.
And so with a screenplay as passion-free as the one here, the saviors would really have to be the actors, at least until the monster arrives. Unfortunately, leading man Gene Evans (an unlikely casting choice for a heroic lead) is the only one who seems to have given a hoot about acting here. He's the only one who presents any simulated emotion, any care about the context of the picture. Mr. Morell, as I mentioned before, is shockingly lifeless and dull, as if he had read all his lines off cue cards the entire time or had been filmed while going through rehearsals. The multiple personalities imitating military personnel are just as dim and energy-free. And a ship captain transporting Mr. Evans in search of the creature gives one of the most wooden, couldn't-care-less performances I've seen in a while.
Now I know, good acting is not usually attached to monster movies. But usually we see campy, attempted acting. Or overacting. Here, there is no real attempt to act except by Mr. Evans a few stand-outs.
Even though Mr. O'Brien (the worker of the magic if pictures like "King Kong") commanded the special effects crew, even the work of the department here seems stilted. The behemoth is portrayed via two methods. One is an awkward, stiff, entirely unconvincing head and neck puppet with next to no movement or flexibility. The second is stop-motion animation and even this, which Mr. O'Brien was one of the mastering pioneers at, seems unnaturally stilted with stiffer, more quirky movements especially in the neck area. But the scenes with this effect are the most entertaining and as I said, the fifteen-minute rampage of the creature in London is virtually the only moment in "The Giant Behemoth" that contains any genuine energy or spark of creative passion. A scene of the behemoth tearing down some electrical towers, reminiscent of "Gojira," is particularly enjoyable.
But sadly, the picture really just has the feeling of an assignment given to somebody hopelessly unhappy in their field as opposed to a work done by people who love their jobs. Eugene Lourie directed two very entertaining monster movies. "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "Gorgo." I would recommend monster fans check those out instead and pass on this one. With a lack of energy and no real enthusiasm "The Giant Behemoth" is a plodding bore.