Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (November 28, 2022)
Only in the 1950s could we get a movie called Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman presented for anything other than camp value. The 1958 sci-fi flick indeed pursues the tale of the character implied by its title.
Wealthy, hard-drinking and mentally unstable Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes) finds herself stuck in a marriage to philandering husband Harry (William Hudson). After she catches him canoodling with his “girlfriend” Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers), Nancy drives off into the desert to gather her wits.
Along the way, Nancy encounters an alien entity, one whose radiation causes her to grow to a stupendous height. Now gigantic and powerful, Nancy uses her size to get back at those who wronged her.
When I last visited the oeuvre of director Nathan Juran, I watched 1957’s The Brain from Planet Arous. Another story that only could exist non-ironically in the 1950s, it provided a snoozer.
Along with Attack in 1958, Juran produced another effort: 7th Voyage of Sinbad, an adventure-fantasy best-remembered for the stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. The movie itself otherwise stunk.
Given that Arous and Voyage gave me virtually no entertainment, did I go into Attack with much optimism? Nope, but miracles can happen, so maybe Juran would give us a winner in the midst of these clunkers.
Or maybe not. While I find Attack more watchable than its siblings, by no stretch of the imagination could one call it an actual good movie.
64 years after its release, I suspect much of Attack’s continued fame comes from its genuinely legendary poster. Reproduced – albeit with some cropping – on the Blu-ray cover you’ll see on this page, this art promises action and excitement that the film never delivers.
Boy, I can’t imagine how disappointed kids who went to see Attack must have felt when they realized this slow flick wouldn’t provide the thrills the promotion implied. Actually, I can fathom that letdown, as the poster for 1976’s King Kong remake offered similar false pretenses.
Both paintings make the lead look considerably larger than they actually are. They also both depict excitement and mayhem that never occurs in the final film.
I can forgive Attack’s false advertising more readily simply due to its miniscule budget. Whereas Kong offered an expensive “A”-list picture, Attack brought bargain basement drive-in fare.
Due to that lack of funds, Juran and company need to feature visual effects judiciously – which means hardly ever in practice. After a few not-very-good shots of the alien craft early, the movie essentially avoids this sort of material until its third act.
And I get it. Footage like this costs money, and when a flick gets made on the cheap, they can’t afford to give us much.
Nonetheless, when we encounter a movie called Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, we expect a) attacks and b) a 50 ft. woman. Both remain in short supply during this chatty flick.
Attack basically devotes its first two acts to exposition, as the characters debate Nancy’s sanity. These sequences feel tedious for one good reason: we know Nancy saw what she claims she saw.
If Attack simply failed to show her initial encounter with the alien, the movie could fare much better. The film sets up the notion of her mental instability, so we would wonder whether she ever witnessed what she maintained or if she imagined it, perhaps due to too much booze.
Since we view the alien as well, all suspense goes out the window. The tale’s potential tension turns to tedium, as we grow increasingly impatient to get past the soap opera nonsense and finally see a) a 50-foot woman who b) attacks – something, anything.
Alas, that skimpy budget means the movie doesn’t allow Nancy to grow huge until the third act. Even then, outside of a large fake hand, we don’t see Big Nancy until the film’s final 10 minutes.
This becomes the definition of too little, too late. By the time the 50-foot woman actually goes on the warpath, we just don’t really care any more.
To make matters worse, the poor superimposition of Hayes on the frame makes Big Nancy oddly translucent. This ensures we never view her as a real character, even with the use of Hayes vs. some miniatures.
At its core, Attack could create a decent mix of sci-fi and horror. Unfortunately, its mix of lackluster filmmakers and low budget ensures it never clicks.
Footnote: I could never figure out what the film’s precise title should be. Poster art and the trailer said 50 Ft. but the opening credits went with 50 Foot. I opted for the version on the Blu-ray’s case, but I guess either works.
