The Loch Ness Monster (film)

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Movie
German title The Loch Ness Monster
Original title The Giant Behemoth (alternative titles Behemoth, the Sea Monster and The Behemoth )
Country of production UK , United States
original language English
Publishing year 1959
length 80 minutes
Age rating FSK Unknown
Rod
Director Eugène Lourié ,
Douglas Hickox
script Robert Abel ,
Alan J. Adler ,
Eugene Lourie,
Daniel James
production Artistes Alliance, Ltd.
music Edwin Astley
camera Desmond Davis ,
Ken Hodges
cut Lee Doig
occupation

The Loch Ness Monster ( The Giant Behemoth ) is a British - American science fiction film from 1959. The special effects were created by Willis O'Brien . With the exception of individual scenes, the production is a remake of Eugène Lourié's film Panik in New York . It was first published in Germany on March 3, 1961.

action

The American marine biologist Steve Karnes gives a lecture to a scientific society in London on the dangers of radioactive radiation from atom bomb tests . He was himself a participant in Operation Crossroads . Since then, 143 atomic bomb tests have been carried out. According to his investigations, the atomic radiation triggered a biological chain reaction in which the radiation from plankton via fish and birds would also be transferred to larger animals.

In the small fishing village of Looe in Cornwall , the fisherman Tom lands with his daughter Jean and unloads his catch. While Jean prepares the food at home, Tom takes care of the catch. Suddenly Tom is hit by a strange radiation and collapses. When he fails to eat, Jean looks for him in vain in the local pub . Together with the fisherman John, Jean sets out to find her father. You find him dying on the beach, defaced by a kind of blistering. With the last of his strength he can announce that a burning fire has come from the sea and shouts " Behemoth " as he dies ! After Tom's funeral, Jean and John return to the beach. You will find thousands of dead fish. When John touches a kind of jellyfish , he also develops severe burn blisters.

Steven Karnes is preparing to fly back to the US in London when he sees a television report about the Cornwall incident. He immediately seeks out Professor Bickford, who works for the British Atomic Energy Agency and in whom he has confidence. Both immediately travel by rail via Plymouth to Looe and speak to the local fishermen, including John. Fishing has become impossible, and none of the fishermen venture out to sea. One of the fishermen saw a large, glowing creature in the water. At the local doctor who examined Tom's body, Karnes and Bickford learn that the fisherman has died of severe burns. Then John shows Steven Karnes his wound. Karnes notes that the wound has the same characteristics as injuries in the Pacific that occurred during Operation Crossroads. Thereupon Karnes and Bickford examine the beach where Tom died with a Geiger counter , which does not count. Jean informs the two that their dying father last mentioned the name Behemoth.

Back in London, Karnes examines various fish samples from various coastal locations. A fish from Plymouth shows a radioactive reaction. A conference of officials and scientists is then called to decide to stop fishing generally. Karnes goes to Plymouth and goes out to sea with the fishing cutter "Molly T". Suddenly the Geiger counter starts reading. In the fog Karnes recognizes a snake-like neck with a dinosaur's head , but it immediately disappears under the water. Tracking the phenomenon fails because the object is faster than the cutter. Karnes is called back to Plymouth via radio, as the missing ferry "Valkyrie" has been found.

The wreck of the "Valkyrie" lies on the beach. There are no survivors. Bickford and Karnes discover that tremendous forces have raged on the ship, tearing thick steel plates with ease. You return to London and alert the Admiralty . This immediately informs NATO ; the French and Danish navies set warships and planes in motion.

In a farmhouse, a dog strikes angry. The armed farmer and his son follow the dog, which suddenly disappears. The farmer shoots an object that is not visible to the viewer, radiation occurs that kills both of them and only leaves behind shadows.

London Police provide Bickford with an aerial photo taken near the farm. On it is a patrol car and next to it is a huge imprint of a kind of paw that is bigger than the police vehicle. Bickford and Karnes are looking for Dr. Sampson, who works in a natural history museum. Sampson holds the paw for the imprint of a paleosaurus , which however became extinct long ago. The two scientists then try to persuade the Admiralty to block the Thames . This is rejected as it would inappropriately affect shipping. Dr. Sampson sets off in a helicopter in search of the paleosaur. The helicopter is caught by an unknown radiation and disappears. The Navy starts a manhunt for the helicopter, which has disappeared from the radar screens , but finds nothing.

A paddle steamer on the Woolwich Ferry is about to cross in the port of London when the being Karnes spotted emerges from the Thames and capsizes the ferry with ease. The bodies floating in the water have the same burn blisters as Tom. The police want to avoid panic among the population and announce through the press that there is no cause for alarm. Army and police are advancing. The Admiralty wants to destroy the monster with aerial bombs , but Bickford vehemently rejects this, as the apparently radioactively contaminated creature would be blown into innumerable pieces, which pose a tremendous danger to the population. He therefore proposes the use of a torpedo to be prepared with radium. This could also kill the monster without damaging the carcass .

“Behemoth” emerges from the Thames at Tower Bridge and goes ashore. Panic breaks out. The use of machine guns turns out to be useless; the soldiers are turned to dust by "Behemoths" rays like the farmer and his son. The dinosaur destroys high voltage lines and oil tanks, causing huge fires. A car with two men is thrown into the Thames by him. Bickford loads a torpedo with radium. The torpedo is transported to the X 2 mini submarine , which is manned by a commander and Karnes. With the Geiger counter on board, the dinosaur is tracked down underwater and killed with the torpedo. As Karnes and Bickford drive through London in a car, they hear on the car radio that dead fish have been found on the American east coast from Maine to Florida .

criticism

The trick shots are still below Honda's level.

SCIENCE FICTION TIMES, quoted from Lexicon of Science Fiction Films , p. 526.


Oh yes, this film has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the Loch Ness Monster .

Lexicon of Science Fiction Films , p. 526.


The film is not badly made, except for the inadequate effects budget, but is simply progresses from one expected event to another. The low-key black-and-white photography is good throughout, and both Gene Evans and André Morell are intelligent performers.

Bill Warren , "Keep watching the skies!" , P. 331.

Lore

A German DVD edition appeared in 2010 from i-catcher Media in the series "Galerie des Grauens" as No. 7, an English DVD 2011 from Warner.

See also

literature

  • Ronald M. Hahn / Volker Jansen: Lexicon of Science Fiction Films. 720 films from 1902 to 1983 , Munich (Heyne) 1983. ISBN 3-453-01901-6
  • Bill Warren : "Keep Watching the Skies!" American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties , Jefferson, NC / London (Mc Farland & Company, Inc., Publishers) 2010, pp. 328–333. ISBN 978-0-7864-4230-0

Web links