Gorgo (1961)

Starring Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter, Christopher Rhodes, Joseph O'Conor
Directed by Eugene Lourie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Two men from a salvage vessel are successful in capturing a prehistoric creature off the coast of Ireland and sell him to a London circus, but the creature's mother is soon on her way after them.

One of the best kaiju productions made outside of Japan, the picture obviously owes a debt to the Toho productions that came before, but looks great, especially in HD, with well done special effects and fine cinematography.  Freddie Young's photography captures dramatic closeups of both the monsters and the fleeing London crowds, giving energy to the destructive sequences which are well-framed and edited as well.  Angelo Lavagnino's score is wonderful, with beautiful Irish melodies for the island where Gorgo is discovered and the young boy who stows away to follow the creature, as well as more foreboding themes for the military's battle with the creature.  As one can expect in any of these films, a fair amount of stock footage is used, but once they get to London, we're seeing some impressive miniatures as Gorgo's mother menaces London Bridge and Big Ben.  Travers and Sylvester aren't the most dynamic leads, but acquit themselves well enough, and the whole package is well directed by Lourie, improving on the set pieces utilized in his earlier monster films.

The Colossus Of New York (1958)

Starring John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Otto Kruger, Robert Hutton, Ross Martin
Directed by Eugene Lourie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a brilliant young scientist dies in an accident, his father preserves the brain to save his genius for the world, and works with his other son to install it into a fearsome robot body.

After several years at Universal, producing some of their biggest science fiction hits of the 1950s, William Alland took on duties at Paramount, and produced this distinctive and memorable sci-fi drama, well-directed by Eugene Lourie.  Although the film borrows more than a few themes from Frankenstein, and its focus on the absence of the young Dr. Spensser's soul after his re-creation recalls The Devil And Daniel Webster, the collection of elements in this framework is striking, especially given the form of the grotesque lumbering automaton the brain is placed into.  Kruger, for years a sinister presence in a great many films, gives the standout performance here, playing not a villain, but a determined surgeon who believes his son can continue on inventing miracles for the world, while never coming to grips with what he's done to him.  The rest of the cast service the plot well enough, and it's good to see young Charles Herbert add another 50's genre picture to his filmography.  This all leads up to a fantastic climax highlighted by John P. Fulton's striking visual effects that I won't soon forget.  One of the most unusual parts of the picture is its score by Nathan Van Cleave, using a sole piano without orchestral accompaniment.  It's a bold choice, and I'm not sure  if I agree with it, but it does ironically reflect the character of a man who's lost the sensations and relationships he once had, represented by the musical instruments left out of the film.

The Giant Behemoth (1959)

Starring Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison, Jack MacGowran
Directed by Douglas Hickox & Eugene Lourie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The discovery of countless dead fish and a gruesome murder near a British port is investigated by atomic scientists, who discover a giant radioactive sea monster is to blame.

This British piece of sci-fi, very similar in form to Lourie's earlier picture, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, which showcased the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen, is probably of most interest for effects work by Harryhausen's mentor, Willis O'Brien.  However, the creature in this film doesn't actually show up in animated form until about an hour into the picture, with earlier shots of the monster apparently accomplished via a puppet that is not animated.  Nevertheless, it's a more than effective film, with stalwart leads in Evans and Morell, inventive sound effects, and plenty of satisfying monster action.

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Starring Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods
Directed by Eugene Lourie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist tries to convince the military that an atomic blast in the Arctic has freed a still-living dinosaur, which begins to make its way towards New York City.

This is one of my favorite films and a terrific monster movie, with appealing characters, good direction, a fine music score, and the skilled animation effects of the great Ray Harryhausen.  Though Harryhausen's work is the showpiece, director Lourie does a nice job of pacing the scenes between the dinosaur's appearances, aided by the characterizations of his actors, with Christian a good determined hero, Raymond supportive as the lady who believes in him, and Kellaway, perfectly cast as a kindly professor.  David Buttolph's score is just about perfect, adding ominous notes where appropriate, and providing a dirge-like theme for "The Beast."