Jack Kosslyn | Through the Shattered Lens

Remember Glenn Manning, the unfortunate “hero” of The Amazing Colossal Man?

The previous film may have ended with Glenn plunging to his apparent death from the Hoover Dam but, believe it or not, he survived! Unfortunately, he didn’t survive well. Now, he’s even bigger and he’s even angrier. Plus, he’s massively disfigured. The once articulate, if cranky, Amazing Colossal Man is gone. Now, he’s a Colossal Beast!

That’s the story behind the 1958 film, War of the Colossal Beast! In this sequel, Glenn is back and the army once again has to find a way to control him. Needless to say, it all leads to a final confrontation near Los Angeles’s Griffin Observatory, which means that War of the Colossal Beast is not only a sequel to Amazing Colossal Man but it’s also a bit of companion piece to Rebel Without A Cause!

(Speaking of companion pieces, am I the only one who associated the end of Colossal Man with those commercials that MSNBC used to show of Rachel Maddow going on and on about how only a nation could build the Hoover Dam? Never say “Lean forward” while you’re standing on top of a dam.)

Anyway, War of the Colossal Beast has a totally different cast from Colossal Man and a somewhat different feel. That said, the Colossal Beast makeup — that eye socket freaks me out! — is memorable and, like the previous film, it’s fun in a 1950s B-movie sort of way.

For today’s horror on the lens, we present the 1957 film, The Amazing Colossal Man!

Directed by Bert I. Gordon, The Amazing Colossal Man tells the story of what happens when Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glen Langan) is exposed to an atomic blast, the force of which not only burns off his clothes but leaves him bald as well! At first, everyone is convinced that there’s no way Glenn Manning will survive but, to everyone’s surprise, he does survive.

And he starts to get bigger!

That’s right — radiation does the craziest things!

Soon, Glenn’s a giant and he’s not very happy about it. As the government tries to keep both the accident and the mutation a secret, Glenn grows more and more bitter and angry. And it certainly doesn’t help matters when the scientists decide they want to inject him with a giant syringe.

Seriously, you’ve got to see this syringe!

Anyway, The Amazing Colossal Man is one of those fun sci-fi films that elitist critics love to criticize. But you know what? If you’re watching a movie like this because you want to nitpick every little detail, you’re missing the point. The Amazing Colossal Man is a 1950s B-movie and, when taken on those terms, it’s a lot of fun.

Add to that, Glen Langan really throws himself into the title role!

Enjoy The Amazing Colossal Man!