I finally caught up with one of the 50s sci-fi films I’ve somehow missed for years. Sadly, it turns out to not have been worth the wait. COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK is a pretty dull affair with little to recommend it outside of some interesting design (the metal Colossus) and a neat ray projection effect (how Colossus offs his victims). It’s fairly slow, pretty obvious and only really interesting as a curiosity. I did like the slight ‘mad scientist ‘vibe it develops early on but that thrill dissipates quickly and is replaced with tediousness as the tale glides along. Nothing special- nothing terrible either.
Except……
One aspect that is quite bizarre is the piano based score by Van Cleave. Sounding most of the time like a silent film score that got slightly out of sync with the picture, the music distracts from any attempted drama onscreen. And it is outright laughable in the scenes of the Colossus walking around in the woods because the film is sped up a bit to make the creature look menacing. It ends up just looking silly.
But as a fan of these kinds of movies I’m glad I saw it. One more off the list. What’s next?
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