Starring: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Múzquiz Directed By: Edward Ludwig Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 21, 2003 Running Time: 88 minutes Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 1957
Description: They're big. They're bad. They scuttle along in caverns miles beneath the Earth - until an earthquake opens paths to the surface. Now these monsters of genus Arachnida are invading our world with deadly force. With top special effects co-designed by King Kong's Willis O'Brien, The Black Scorpion is horror with a sting more lethal than the king-sized ants that overran Los Angeles's sewers in the classic Them! Can humankind survive these invincible juggernauts? That fate rests on the shoulders of Hank Scott (1950s monster movie stalwart Richard Denning) as the creatures rip a train from its tracks, snatch a helicopter from the sky and, in the film's most gripping sequence, battle each other in their subterranean lair. Watch out!
DVD Features: Featurette:Stop-Motion Masters with Ray Harryhausen; Never-before-seen test footage of the Las Vegas monster and beetlemen; Harryhausen-animated dinosaur sequence from Irwin Allen's 1956 The Animal World Theatrical Trailer:Giant monsters trailer gallery featuring this film, The Beat from 20,000 Fathoms, Clash of the Titans and The Valley of the Gwangi
Amazon.com: Fans of '50s science fiction should be pleased by this "big bug" chiller, which offers a fine showcase for the talents of special effects master Willis O'Brien (King Kong). The Black Scorpion follows closely in the multiple footsteps of Them!, produced three years earlier by the same company (Warner Bros.)--again, giant insects threaten mankind, though here a volcano is responsible for unleashing them, and the metropolis in peril is Mexico City. Though direction, acting, and scripting aren't on par with Them!, O'Brien's title creatures (which sport implausible yet creepy faces) are memorably monstrous, especially during hero Richard Denning's visit to their nightmarish underground lair. Warner Bros.' DVD features a surprising amount of extras for an older title. "Stop Motion Masters" is a short tribute to O'Brien by his famed student Ray Harryhausen; also included is O'Brien's dinosaur-laden opening for Irwin Allen's The Animal World documentary, and legendary test footage for two unfilmed monster projects by O'Brien's assistant, Peter Petersen. --Paul Gaita
BETTER THAN DVD COVER!!! The dvd cover illustration shows the bad mock-closeup (minus drool) used several times too often in this 1957 b&w giant monster classic. It gives the unwary viewer the false idea that one is in for an unintentional laugh-fest. Quite the opposite! This is an extremely well made stop-motion Willis(KING KONG)O'Brien animation masterpiece! The giant scorpions (and there are many!) move quickly and attack violently, stinging human victims as well as themselves. And the acting, photography and location shooting are all top-notch making this a must see and one of the top three of it's kind along with BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and THEM! So don't be swayed by the cover into thinking this is just some lame grade Z cheepie. It's really ONE OF THE BEST!!!
Mildly Entertaining, Best Recalled For O'Brien's Stop Motion Animination "Big Bug" movies were all the rage in the late 1950s and early 1960s--and the stop-motion animation for THE BLACK SCORPION was created by Willis O'Brien, who created the legendary KING KONG. Alas, there is a very big difference between KING KONG, which had a budget as big as its namesake, and THE BLACK SCORPIO, which looks like it was filmed for five dollars and twenty-eight cents! But while THE BLACK SCORPION is hardly the best of the best of its genre, it is still amusing enough to appeal to fans of 1950s horror in general and O'Brien in particular.
The story is essentially a riff on the 1954 creature-feature THEM!, which sported giant killer mutant ants unleased by atomic radiation; in this instance we have giant killer prehistoric scorpions unleashed by a series of earthquakes and volcanic erruptions in Mexico. The earthquakes and such attract the attention of geologist Hank Scott (Richard Denning), who is soon distracted by the charms of local ranch owner Teresa Alverez (Mara Corday)--but before the two can become seriously involved they find her ranch over-run by creepy crawlies that drool in close up and have a really nasty sting.
The high light of the film finds Scott and company lowered into a deep crevass, the better to show the scorpions in their natural habitat. It is indeed a mighty rip off from THEM!--but it works well on its own, and it is all the more interesting due to the O'Brien factor. A similar scene was cut from KING KONG, and rumor has it that O'Brien recycled both the spider and the worm from that lost scene for use here. There is also a memorable scene in which a train is attacked by multiple scorpions and a memorable finish for the last surviving scorpion, so it is easy to forgive the lackluster rest.
The DVD is quite interesting, for it includes several bonuses of interest to stop-motion fans. No, THE BLACK SCORPION is never going to rivial any of the really good "big bug" films, but stop-motion fans and those who love 1950s "B" horror will find much to enjoy. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Fun 50s Giant Monster Movie Madness In the wake of Warner Brother's 1954 "giant" box office sensation THEM! came a torrent of other atomically-mutated-monster movies, including the 1957 film THE BLACK SCORPION (also a Warner Bros. picture). The giant scorpions and other monsters in the movie were animated by the father of stop-motion movie animation Willis O'Brien of KING KONG fame and Pete Peterson. While THE BLACK SCORPION may not be as well known or as good as THEM! or TARANTULA, it's still a very good 50s sci-fi monster flick. The descent into the scorpion's underground lair (a similar scene to that of THEM!) is worth the modest price of admission alone, with creepy, black scorpions running all over the place, a giant spider and a giant, clawed, centipede-like worm. The film literally ran out of money before the picture wrapped and a few of the scorpion scenes are simply matte shots of a scorpion shadow. Fortunately, this very cheap "special effect" by no means ruins the picture. Along with the good B&W film transfer comes some excellent DVD extras including a short "Stop-Motion Masters with Ray Harryhausen" documentary and never-before-seen test footage of "The Las Vegas Monster" and "Beetlemen" animated by Pete Peterson, a contemporary with Ray Harryhausen. If you're a fan of classic 50s sci-fi don't let this one get away.
great memory I saw this movie for the first time at drive-in movie when I was 4 with my younger brother and older sister. This was in the era of "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" and other flicks where much of the story was generated by the audience's imagination. It hasn't lost it's appeal in nearly 50 years. Even at an early age I was well aquainted with scorpions, so this movie was like a personal experience. Even better was the fact that the scorpion had a snarling face with "sharp teeth???" complete with a little nose was even better. The part where the two scientists went down wearing canary suits and packing a light machine gun was classic 1950 attitude. With our technology and firepower we can overcome ANYTHING. So, why didn't they pack a bazooka. I suppose such firepower either wasn't in the Mexican Army arsnel or the movie budget. I still giggle at the centipede in the pit, that didn't crawl but pushed itself up to full height before pushing off again. About the dumbest part was when the vaquero fell off the side of the pit and the leading lady wanted to know to know IF they found him and his horse alive , after he fell like 1,000 feet into this pit. Ahh, the 1950s were VERY innocent even in regard to the laws of gravity, but few people, as Bugs Bunny would say, studied law back then. Especially exciting was the black scorpion chasing the populace through Mexico City. AND they were able to keep a head of it. I'd really like to know what moron they got to drive the truck loaded with cattle to the bull fighting arena or why that Mexican general reached for a harpoon he knew was charged with 2,000 volts of electricity. This one is great for Halloween or just for cold, rainy nights. The special effects might seem hokey to today's teenagers, but that's their problem. I had nightmares for a week thanks to this flick! Ha!
a forgotten wonder With special effects sequences created in Willis O'Briens garage, you shouldn't expect too much of this movie. But I love it! Giant scorpions on the loose, mysterious caverns and some of the weirdest monsters ever put on film! Richard Denning puts in another good performance, as the other players do, with the exception of the inevitable annoying kid. Most of the extras are worthwhile as well.
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