The Black Scorpion

Director: Edward Ludwig
Screenplay: Robert Blees and David Duncan
Minutes: 88
Year: 1957
Score: 5.26
Release: Warner Archives

Okay, straight out of the gate there are two, very, important things to consider. One, I am a sucker for stop-motion monster movies. Two, this movie is not very good, but…

From WBShop.com:

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’ 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 track, snatch a helicopter from the sky and, in the film’s most gripping sequence, battle each other in their subterranean lair. Watch out!

There are scores of better example of stop-motion movies that you can find, notably any of the three Indicator Films box sets of Ray Harryhausen films, or many of the other Willis O’Brien films out there, like the godfather King Kong, or the Last World. But. The scorpion versus a train fight is a master stroke. The story is good enough to be engaging, the issue is some editing issues where they try and overlay the scorpion footage with the crowd scenes. There are also some good shots with the scorpions interacting with human models, the effects are strong but flounder under the editing issues.

The value in this set is that the effect are done by Willis O’Brien and any time you have an example from one of the masters it deserves your attention. Also, this film, unlike many Warner Archive releases, has interesting and worthy special supplements.

Special Features:

Stop Motion Masters
The Animal World
Las Vegas Monster and Beetleman Test Footage
Trailer

Director: 7 – Cinematography: 3 – Edit: 4 – Parity: 1 – Main performance: 7 – Else performance: 4 – Score: 5 – Sound: 6 – Story: 6 – Script: 5 – Effects: 7 – Design: 7 – Costumes: 5 – Keeps interest: 7 – Lasting: 5