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The Giant Claw (1957)

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Credits for The Giant Claw


The Giant Claw
American poster for The Giant Claw
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Humanity's Crisis! Claws of the Giant Monster Bird (DVD 2011)

Directed by Fred F. Sears
Producer(s) Sam Katzman
Written by Paul Gangelin, Samuel Newman
Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Distributor Columbia Pictures
Rating Approved
Running time 75 minutes
Aspect ratio 1.85:1
Rate this film!
3.57
(28 votes)

The Giant Claw is a 1957 American giant monster film distributed by Columbia Pictures and directed by Fred F. Sears.

Plot

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A seemingly invincible giant alien bird called La Carcagne spreads destruction across the Earth's skies. Two romantically-involved scientists team up with the U.S. Air Force to stop her.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Fred F. Sears
  • Written by   Samuel Newman, Paul Gangelin
  • Produced by   Sam Katzman
  • Music by   Mischa Bakaleinikoff
  • Cinematography by   Benjamin H. Kline
  • Edited by   Saul A. Goodkind, Tony DiMarco
  • Production design by   Paul Palmentola, Sidney Clifford
  • Assistant directing by   Leonard Katzman
  • Special effects by   Ralph Hammeras, George J. Teague, Lawrence W. Butler

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Jeff Morrow   as   Mitch MacAfee
  • Mara Corday   as   Sally Caldwell
  • Morris Ankrum   as   Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
  • Louis Merrill   as   Pierre Broussard
  • Edgar Barrier   as   Dr. Karol Noymann
  • Robert Shayne   as   Gen. Van Buskirk
  • Frank Griffin   as   Pete - Pilot
  • Clark Howat   as   Maj. Bergen
  • Morgan Jones   as   Lieutenant, Radar Officer

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Development

The Giant Claw was inspired by recent scientific theses relating to anti-matter, and possibly the Samuel Hopkins Adams short story Grandfather and a Winter's Tale which centers around the La Carcagne of legend.[1]

Production

The Giant Claw was filmed under the title Mark of The Claw, referencing the claw print La Carcagne leaves at Pierre's farm.[2] Stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, who had previous worked with producer Sam Katzman on It Came from Beneath the Sea and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, turned down the project.[3] Katzman turned to effects technicians in Mexico, who produced a pair of risible La Carcagne models. The actors were not shown the monster's design during filming; a mortified Jeff Morrow crept out of a neighborhood screening of the film after the audience erupted in laughter.

Theatrical releases

  • United States - June 1957

Alternate titles

  • The Mark of the Claw (Working title)
  • Humanity's Crisis! Claws of the Giant Monster Bird (Japan, DVD; 人類危機一髪！巨大怪鳥の爪)

Video releases

Sony DVD (2007) [Icons of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman]

Mill Creek DVD (2014) [Sci-Fi Creature Classics]

i-catcher Media Blu-ray (2017)

  • Region: B/2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English, German (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0)
  • Subtitles: German
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Ingo Strecker and Thomas Kerpen, audio commentary by Dr. Rolf Giesen, Uwe Sommerlad, and Ivo Scheloske, introduction by Dr. Rolf Giesen (5 minutes), American opening credits (1 minute), Spanish opening credits (1 minute), American trailer (2 minutes), Super 8 digest version (9 minutes), photo slideshow (3 minutes)

Videos

American The Giant Claw trailer
Ken Films Super 8 digest version of
The Giant Claw

Films
Godzilla films
Godzilla (1954) • Godzilla Raids Again • King Kong vs. Godzilla • Mothra vs. Godzilla • Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster • Invasion of Astro-Monster • Ebirah, Horror of the Deep • Son of Godzilla • Destroy All Monsters • All Monsters Attack • Godzilla vs. Hedorah • Godzilla vs. Gigan • Godzilla vs. Megalon • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla • Terror of Mechagodzilla • The Return of Godzilla • Godzilla vs. Biollante • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah • Godzilla vs. Mothra • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II • Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla • Godzilla vs. Destoroyah • GODZILLA (1998) • Godzilla 2000: Millennium • Godzilla vs. Megaguirus • Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack • Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla • Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. • Godzilla: Final Wars • Godzilla (2014) • Shin Godzilla • GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters • GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle • GODZILLA: The Planet Eater • Dream Challenge: Godzilla Appears in Sukagawa • Godzilla: King of the Monsters • Godzilla vs. Kong
Gamera films
King Kong films
Other Toho films
Invisible Man • Half Human • Rodan • The Mysterians • Varan • The H-Man • Battle in Outer Space • The Three Treasures • The Secret of the Telegian • The Human Vapor • Mothra • The Last War • Gorath • Matango • Atragon • Dogora • Frankenstein vs. Baragon • The War of the Gargantuas • Latitude Zero • The Vampire Doll • Space Amoeba • Lake of Dracula • Daigoro vs. Goliath • Submersion of Japan • ESPY • Evil of Dracula • Prophecies of Nostradamus • House • The War in Space • Magnitude 7.9 • Bye-Bye Jupiter • Princess from the Moon • Gunhed • Mikadoroid • Reiko, the Psyche Resurrected • Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon • Rebirth of Mothra • Rebirth of Mothra II • Rebirth of Mothra III • Rosetta the Masked Angel: Rosetta vs. Freia • Go! Godman • Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie • Sinking of Japan • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 1 • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 2 • Shin Ultraman
Other Daiei films
Other Japanese films
Miscellaneous
Documentaries

Comments

Showing 6 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

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Godzilla Master

10 days ago
Score 0
In the movie people just keep calling it FRICKING BATTLESHIP. Thais why.
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Godzilla Master

14 days ago
Score 0
The movie should be called The Giant Battleship bird.
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VaderRaptor

14 days ago
Score 0
Why?
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ShodaiMeesmothLarva

6 months ago
Score 0
This is basically US' own version of Rodan that makes the Original still a good one.
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Godzilla is cool

12 months ago
Score 0
agreed
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Max Stryker

19 months ago
Score 3

A bird as big as a battleship;

a movie as dumb as a rock!
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Movie

  1. ↑ The Giant Claw (1957) - Articles - TCM.com
  2. ↑ The Giant Claw (1957) - Notes - TCM.com
  3. ↑ Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, Volume 1: A-K. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 332, 334. 2010. ISBN: 978-0-8995-0170-3.
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