my review of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)

my thoughts on the 1958 cult classic. reading what so many have said I think the real point of the film has been missed. the old TV Guide description of it went "the attack such as it is doesn't come until the closing minutes of this timid soap opera". maybe so but here is what I see. okay, nancy is speeding in the desert erratically when she runs into the ghostly white ufo sphere on the middle of the road. out comes the alien ufo giant who scares her and she reverses and takes off. later in town she tells of her encounter and is dismissed by the sheriff who can see she is boozed up. later on back at the palatial archer mansion she tells a hopefully sympathetic Harry. he then scoops her up and carries her upstars to their bedroom and undresses her revealing why she got the part. after putting her to bed he drops her priceless star of india diamond in his shirt pocket to show off to floozy honey parker later. later on an awakened nancy now garbed in a fancy shirt and tight-fitting striped slacks comes waltzing downstairs. she then listens to a TV newscaster who's description of her encounter does not improve her disposition. she then asserts to Harry that she and he are going to go driving in the desert to look for her white ufo sphere. she and Harry drive and find her sphere parked on the ground. she gets out and starts pounding on the sphere irately. out comes the bald ufo giant who starts scratching her throat. Harry starts plugging away at him with a gun to no effect. he then gets in the car and speeds off leaving nancy to her fate. back at the palatial residence Harry has it out with butler Jess...and wins. off to town with his suitcase to see floozy Honey Parker. later the sheriff tells him and honey not to leave town. then honey suggests harry start acting like a man and give nancy a lethal injection. he goes in quietly and sees the ugly nurse snoozing in a chair. he gets the med and a syringe and goes upstairs...but the ugly nurse has awakened and goes upstairs too.the lights go on in the entrance to the bedroom and all are shocked to see nancy has grown into a beautiful hunk of giantess. Dr. Cushing then delivers his best line "astounding growth!". poor harry returns to town having failed in his task and now has to deal with a sour 50 foot beotch. earlier somehow nancy is deposited unconscious on her poolhouse by the bald ufo giant...but how and why? somehow I just can't see her opening up to the bald ufo giant about her bad marriage especially after his taking her star of india diamond necklace. then she awakens when cushing and his colleague hear her amplified voice. they rush upstairs to soothe her. sure. then cushing delivers his most stupid remarks. "Nancy, calm yourself" followed by "Harry's asleep in his room. He'll be right here" lol. then she breeks her chains and the ugly nurse has her best lines. "She's Loose!" that shoulda been the film's title. then she says "she'll tear the roof off" which she does. as nancy pushes off the wreckage of the roof she delivers her most powerful lines "I know where my husband is. He's with that woman! I'll find him!!!" she then starts her walk to town which won't take her very long. along the way she scares a craggy old uranium prospecter and then she amuses herself by grasping and shaking a high tension electrical tower. she then gets to town and scares a couple smooching in their car. onward. the panicky citizens back away from the female colossus and give her some space. she demonstrates her gigantic feminine strength by ripping off and chucking away Tony's bar and grill sign. she bends to peer into honey parkers bedroom hoping to spot her errant hubby. she then walks over to another location where the activity is. next everyone sees her hand in the entrance. here is one of the film's greatest weaknesses. that phony balloon hand. seriously couldn't they have inflated it a little more?

then we have some needless stuff with nancy dropping roof debri on harry and honey. then her big grab which is rendered pathetic by the stupid phony looking balloon hand.and who gave her that dumb prop? there are no legs just cloth supposed to be harry's pants. the rest is even more lame. pov shots looking up, poor lighting that does not let us see nancy's triumphant face. then more ghost effects finally the transformer explosion. dr.cushing sums it all up with "she finally got Harry all to herself"....



now here is what the movie means: by means of alien radiation Nancy becomes endowed with an unbelievable beauty and strength enhancing her basic assertive womanhood in a perverse manner. as a giantess she fears nothing. this perverseness of gigantism is what I hear reflected in Ronald Stein's music.