DVD Movie Guide @ dvdmg.com Awards & Recommendations at Amazon.com.
.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main
WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Nathan Juran
Cast:
Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers
Writing Credits:
Mark Hanna

Synopsis:
When an abused socialite grows to giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt, she goes after her cheating husband with revenge on her mind.

MPAA:
Rated NR.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA Monaural
Subtitles:
English
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 66 min.
Price: $21.99
Release Date: 12/6/2022

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Film Historian Tom Weaver and Actor Yvette Vickers
• Trailer


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Panasonic DMP-BDT220P Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman [Blu-Ray] (1958)

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.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B-/ Bonus C+

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Warner Archives usually does excellent work, and this became another winner from them.

For the most part, sharpness was fine. Occasional examples of softness occurred, but those stemmed from the source. The majority of the flick displayed more than adequate definition.

I saw no signs of jagged edges or shimmering, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source concerns also failed to materialize, so this became a clean presentation, and grain felt natural.

Blacks were deep and firm, and shadows looked clear and smooth – well, outside of some day-for-night shots, as they demonstrated the usual darkness. Nonetheless, the transfer held up well.

Given its age, I also felt reasonably pleased with the DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Attack. The mix didn’t excel, but it was more than acceptable given its age.

Speech consistently seemed intelligible. The lines could become a bit edgy at times, but they remained largely well-reproduced.

Music tended to be a little thin but seemed acceptably vivid and bright. Effects were fairly clean, with only a little distortion in some louder moments.

Don’t expect much range from the track, but matters seemed acceptably broad for a low-budget affair from 1958. While I didn’t find anything here to applaud, the mix lacked overt issues and essentially satisfied.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get an audio commentary from film historian Tom Weaver and actor Yvette Vickers. Recorded in 2007, both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at Vickers’ career and aspects of the Attack production.

I usually enjoy Weaver’s commentaries and looked forward to this one, but he acts much less as film historian here and much more as interviewer. While he chimes in with movie notes at times, he devotes most of his energy to questions for Vickers.

And that works fine in terms of a view of her life in films, as she reveals plenty of interesting notes and stories. However, this means we fail to get a great take on Attack itself.

Do I like this commentary? Yes, as even with a surprising number of dead spots for a very short movie, it maintains attention.

Do I wish Weaver had interviewed Vickers separately and done a standard historical commentary on his own? Also yes, as I really would like to know more about Attack. This leaves us with a perfectly enjoyable but not wholly satisfying chat.

Beyond its legendary poster art, does Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman offer anything memorable? No, as despite a promising premise, it spends far too much time on soap opera nonsense and barely engages in the expected monster mayhem. The Blu-ray comes with very good picture as well as adequate sound and an audio commentary. Just look at the poster and make up your own movie in your head, as that will entertain you more than this will.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2 Stars Number of Votes: 3
05:
14:
0 3:
02:
21:
View Averages for all rated titles.

.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main