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Fantasy Cult Classic

A colossal, antimatter-powered bird terrorizes skies, cities, and scientific credibility.

THE GIANT CLAW

Flying beast out of prehistoric skies!

1957 · 1h 15m · NR · Fantasy / Horror / Science Fiction / Thriller · IMDB TMDB

Global panic ensues when it is revealed that a mysterious UFO is actually a giant turkey-like bird that flies at supersonic speed and has no regard for life or architecture.

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What is The Giant Claw about?

The Giant Claw is a 1957 United States fantasy, horror, science fiction, and thriller film directed by Fred F. Sears about a gigantic, antimatter-powered bird from outer space that attacks cities and incites global panic.

Synopsis

Mitch MacAfee (Morrow), a civil aeronautical engineer, while engaged in a radar test flight near the North Pole, spots an unidentified flying object. Three jet fighter aircraft are scrambled to pursue and identify the object but one aircraft goes missing. Officials are initially angry at MacAfee over the loss of a pilot and jet over what they believe to be a hoax.

When MacAfee and mathematician Sally Caldwell (Corday) fly back to New York, their aircraft also comes under attack by a UFO. With their pilot dead, they crash-land in the Adirondacks, where Pierre Broussard (Lou Merrill), a French-Canadian farmer, comes to their rescue, and reports seeing a monster he calls La Carcagne. MacAfee's report is met with bewilderment and skepticism, but the military authorities are forced to take his story seriously after several more aircraft disappear. They discover that a gigantic bird "as big as a battleship", purported to come from an antimatter galaxy, is responsible for all the incidents. MacAfee, Caldwell, Dr. Karol Noymann (Edgar Barrier), Gen. Considine (Morris Ankrum), and Gen. Van Buskirk (Robert Shayne) work feverishly to develop a way to defeat the seemingly invincible creature.

The climactic showdown takes place in Manhattan, when the gigantic bird attacks both the Empire State Building and United Nations building. It is defeated by a special type of exotic atom, muonic atoms, deployed from the tail gun position of a B-25 bomber aircraft, which successfully collapses the creature's antimatter shield and allows missiles to hit and kill the monster. The giant bird plummets into the Atlantic Ocean outside New York, and the last sight of it is a claw sinking beneath the ocean.
Details & Specs
Director
Fred F. Sears
Writers
Paul Gangelin, Samuel Newman
Release
1957
Runtime
1h 15m
Country
United States of America
Language
English
Also Known As
O Ataque Vem do Polo, La garra gigante, Il mostro dei cieli, Szpon, Гигантский коготь, Kanatli Canavar

Why Cult

Anti-Matter Kaiju

The film’s monster is a gigantic bird powered by antimatter, a rare twist in the giant creature subgenre.

B-Movie Creature Effects

Famed for its low-budget special effects, the titular bird is a hand-crafted, puppet-driven spectacle in true grindhouse tradition.

Supersonic City Terror

From the Arctic to New York, watch a feathered menace outfly jets and wreak havoc on architecture and sanity alike.

Unintentional Humor

The straight-faced performances and wild monster design have cemented this film's cult status for fans of psychotronic oddities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Giant Claw about? +

The Giant Claw follows civil aeronautical engineer Mitch MacAfee as he discovers a giant, antimatter-powered bird from outer space that terrorizes cities and ignites mass panic.

When was The Giant Claw released? +

The Giant Claw was released in 1957.

Who directed The Giant Claw? +

The Giant Claw was directed by Fred F. Sears.

How long is The Giant Claw? +

The Giant Claw has a runtime of 75 minutes.

What genre is The Giant Claw? +

The Giant Claw is a fantasy, horror, science fiction, and thriller film.

Collection Spotlight

Terror From Beyond!

Why settle for a clean getaway when you can watch the whole thing explode? High-speed pursuits, blown escapes, and metal-crunching wreckage.

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