The Giant Claw

People always blast this movie and in some ways that is justified; I mean the monster does look like Sesame Street's "big Bird" on acid, but let's face it, the fact that it is laughable is not the fault of director Fred F. Sears (who had also done the very effective EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS and THE WEREWOLF). Nor can we blame it on the cast who do their jobs very well. Sam Katzman was an old hand at saving money even if he had to sacrifice quality so he had the special effects done in Mexico after the principal photography was done. Maybe someone south-of-the-border thought the giant bird-beast really was scary. I guess we will never know for sure. You have to love the dialogue. Robert Shayne's line "It's just a bird, a big bird. Enough firepower to wipe out a regiment can't even slow it down! Sure, it's just a bird." or Jeff Morrow's: "I don't care if that bird came from outer space or Upper Saddle River, NJ." and you can't forget the classic: "You keep your shirt on and I'll get my pants on." They just don't write gems like that anymore. Oh, has anyone else noticed that there is a character in this film named "Dr. Karol Noymann"? The same name was used for John Carradine's character in the 1959 film INVISIBLE INVADERS. Coincidence?