Attack Of The 50ft Women (1958) (blu-ray film review)
I was surprised how short this film, ‘Attack Of The 50ft Women’, was, running at 65 minutes. During the orbit and crash of a meteorite, Harry Archer (actor William Hudson) and his lover, Honey Parker (actress Yvette Vickers), are planning his socialite wife’s murder in a nightclub. She, Mrs Nancy Archer (actress Allison Hayes), in turn, has encountered a 30 ft tall creature in the desert and been found by the police in hysterics. Charlie (actor Frank Chase), a dumb cop deputy, obeys Archer’s bribe and goes home rather than bringing him to his wife in the nightclub. The cops believe Nancy partially, mostly because of the news reports that a satellite crashed there and she’s a wealthy taxpayer, but find nothing. It seems Archer and his mistress are an open secret to all but his wife.
Archer sees the satellite as a way to convince people Nancy is crazy and out in the desert, a means to fake her ‘suicide’, and drives her around out there. The only thing is, they meet a giant sphere and its giant inhabitant, who grabs Nancy. Archer flees in the car to their home, grabs his clothes and has a fight with the retainer, Jess Stout (actor Ken Terrell); as you do, he wins and flees. Stout calls the police, and Archer gets his girlfriend. Charlie stops them both before they go and takes them to the police station, as his boss, Sheriff Dubbitt (actor George Douglas), wants to see them.
Nancy is found on top of the pool house back at the house. Dr Isaac Cushing (actor Roy Gordon) says Nancy has evidence of radiation poisoning. Honey gives Archer a convenient alibi, and they leave. However, Honey tells Archer that the nurse (actress Eileen Stevens) left to administer the antidote, which should only be given in small doses, and a large dose would be fatal. Archer goes back to kill his wife only to find his wife has grown into a giant, although we only see her hand. Doctor Henrich Von Loeb (actor Otto Waldis) is brought in to see if they can cure the unconscious Nancy, although you do have to wonder at the boxes of chains in the hallway.
The Sheriff and Jess Stout find giant footprints leading to the outhouse and follow them. Odd that the footprints lead to the house but do not go away. They do find the satellite and look around inside, and in one of the vessels, they see Nancy’s diamond necklace. The giant isn’t too happy as they flee, shooting and trashing their car before taking off in his satellite.
Back at the house, Nancy, who is chained, wakes up. Although the doctor gives her morphine, she still manages to wake up fully and breaks free, determined to go after her husband and Honey. Charlie finds Dubbitt and Jess walking back to town and gives them a ride.
Do you really want me to go spoilering from this point on? It’s a big surprise.
Oddly, for a cheapish film, the camera work is actually effective. It’s wonderful that no one sees the giant alien for much of the film, only its footprint, and it doesn’t seem to turn around to go back to the satellite. Well, not until later when they follow in a car. As they only follow one footprint, you do have to wonder if he hopped. Credibility is stretched a lot. If you can believe in a 50 -foot- tall woman, then you can probably believe she’s dressed in neat rags. I’m uncertain if she’s truly 50 feet tall; her height is likely closer to 30 feet, given that she’s barely taller than a two-story building.
The original point of watching this film was to see what inspired Reynold Brown to paint his cinema poster. Although Nancy was not positioned over a freeway, she did hold a car in her hand.
The audio commentary is with actress Yvette Vickers and film historian Tom Weaver. Vickers was called ‘first take’ because in the B-movies, one take was mostly all they had. Allied Artists didn’t like the special effects, but to bring the cast back was impractical. The giant character and Tony the barman, who is less frequently seen, are both portrayed by the same actor, Mike Ross. Women in Hollywood believed that Vickers was perceived as a husband stealer due to this film. It’s called “the movie no one will ever see” because no one thought anyone would want to see it. Weaver also points out that Nancy’s bedroom must have been enormous to contain her giant size. They also recognise the height problem I had. I’m not sure I would agree with them that it’s a ‘fun movie’ when you consider how many died, but I can see its attraction even today.
There’s also a nearly two-minute trailer, which, as usual, practically explains the entire story.
After reading my previous comments, let’s conduct a more thorough examination. We have a giant who causes Nancy to grow for whatever reason and yet has no effect on anyone else. When you consider the fact that Sheriff and Stout entered the satellite, you would have thought that there was something there to cause it. There’s also no reason why the alien giant would need Nancy’s necklace or how he got it off her neck. I’m probably over-analysing a B-movie, so just watch and enjoy.
GF Willmetts
July 2025
(pub: Warner Bros, 1958 released 2024. 1 blu-ray disk 65 minute film and audio commentary. Price: varies. ASIN: B0CL7RS27V)
cast: Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers, etc
check out website: www.warnerbros.com/movies/attack-50-ft-woman
