This Was My First - The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) Discussion

[–] Studman_Productions 18 years ago

Thanks for sharing the memory!

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] kga58 18 years ago

I'm glad to see there are some posters for this movie! I first saw it as a double feature with THE VAMPIRE at a local drive in in the early 70s and really enjoyed it. Both features were tinted green. I have the dvd and love to pop it in on Saturday nights, make some popcorn, and settle in. Of course I'm a big fan of its companion piece on the dvd---IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.

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[–] Studman_Productions 18 years ago

Nice reply, thanks!

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[–] hankpac 14 years ago

Well, this is on Turner Classic right now, and it is one of the few I have not seen before. Those poor sailors.
I love B grade Sci Fi. I first started watching them at the base theater at Edwards Air Force Base, in the late 50s during the X-15 era. Great fun.

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[–] Studman_Productions 18 years ago

Nice reply, thanks!

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[–] jammerjax 17 years ago

It's good to see people like us that enjoy these kinds of old sci-fi flims that we grew up on.And now I'm going to purchase the dvd myself,I always wanted this film but forgot the title of the film until I search the web for 1950 horror film and kept going though some titles and this sound like the movie I remember,and went to this website IMBD and seen the poster and I said that's it.I loved this movie as a child I was 11 years old when I seen it on tv in the 1970's and it freak me out just a little so I just had to find the video and it's on dvd now,and now I could see it again.

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[–] Studman_Productions 17 years ago

yeah i love old school flicks.

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[–] suzycreamcheese1 17 years ago

Me too!

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[–] demode-2 17 years ago

This thread has lived a long life in it's own right. But I'll add a comment in joining the others that saw this film at it's release. I went with my 6 year old sister at the time. I was 9. This film scared every kid in the theater. All of the films of that time that were made to scare kids and were usually successful. The theater was the only scary place in town back then. The streets were safe. Now the movies are bland garbage and the streets have real monsters on the loose.
Anyway the only accurate item in the whole film was when the man said "It's going to be 120 degrees today". The Salton Sea is a hot, miserable place today filled with meth freaks and desert weirdos. The Navy never carried on operations there. And there's no seaweed in the Salton Sea either. But as a scary science fiction film it all works just fine.

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[–] kga58 17 years ago

OMG, demode-2, you are so right. I'm a bit too young to have seen the movie in the theatre in its first release, but when I was a kid things were pretty much the same way. The monsters were in the theatre on the screen or on late night tv and not out on the streets. We had it so much better than kids today, God help them.

"You just wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to dispose of a dead elephant."

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[–] vawlkee_2000 14 years ago

I beg to differ with you about a naval facility not being at the Salton Sea! It was maintained by NAF El Centro from 1946 until the late 70's.
And the exact same ops went on there as portrayed in the film. No seaweed because of the salinity level, obviously.
BTW, ever been to the Salton Sea? There are a lot of flakes there indeed but some good people too - I know.

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[–] arthurdamage1 16 years ago

Mine too.

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[–] smokehill retrievers 16 years ago

I remember this one particularly well. I was eleven, and my two friends and I walked home from the theater after watching this -- about four miles of mostly rural area, past a river and a huge swamp alongside the road. We walked very quickly .... just waiting for something to rear up next to us and suck us dry.

Once we got past all that and there was just a half mile of neighborhood to get past -- no rivers -- we were pretty sure the giant bloodsucking things probably couldn't reach us.

Growing up there and facing that long walk home after horror movies probably gave them a stronger effect on us kids than most others.

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[–] david-puckett-1 16 years ago

This is a very good 50's sci-fi film. Like most of you, I saw it when i was very young. I just got finished watching it on Turner Classic Movies today. I would rather pay to see this than to see any of the SAW movies for free.

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[–] nigeltext 16 years ago

Loved it on TCM today. My thirteen year old whinged and whinged...but I "made" him watch it with me until the bitter end. LOVE films like this!

"What's wrong with a little good, clean violence?"

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[–] pathfinder616 16 years ago

i agree! i love these 'monster' movies. i'm glad i was able to watch it on TCM today and record it on Tivo. the funny thing is that there was a similar monster on 'Fringe' last night which used the sewer system for its prey. i think i've been watching too much TV. is that possible? i think The Twonky has taken over my TV!

"only one food for the rest of my life? That's easy, cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it."

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[–] radiodaze 15 years ago

This little jewel of a film (the description "on the "A" list of "B" movies" is perfect") was a staple of the local NBC affilliate in Tampa back in the 1960s and always scared the crap out of me and my brother. I just watched it again
on TCM and it holds up very well. My 21 year old son is a huge fan as well.

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[–] Carycomic 15 years ago

I saw this on TCM, last night, for what must've been the first time in twenty years or so. And, I still jumped in my seat when that grouchy old lock-keeper got hit from behind! Good-naturedly laughing at myself, as I did so.

Btw: for those who might think it impossible for a shelled sea snail to reach the surface from over a hundred feet down? When they become too heavy to swim as adults, real-life Janthina janthina can secret entire rafts of slime bubbles in order to drift on the ocean's surface (feeding on jellyfish medusae, for the most part)!

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[–] strugglesthebear 14 years ago

Saw this for the first time when I was visiting my aunt in El Centro, which gave it an extra kick!

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[–] arsenal-7 10 years ago

When I was a kid, channel 11 would have a daily afternoon movie and I made sure to watch this one whenever it was on each year...

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[–] shango7200 8 years ago

I love this movie and used to watch it on Channel 5 WNEW in NYC.

1970s were great to b a KID!!!!!!

"In every dimension , there's another YOU!"

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[–] 8 years ago

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