THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS

The dull, workaday life at the small American Navy weather station based on Gow Island in the South Pacific is interrupted by the pending arrival of a C-47 transport for refueling. Aboard the aircraft are a team of scientists, an Air Force flight crew, and a cargo of specimens from their completed expedition to the Antarctic. On final approach, something moving in the cargo area unbalances the aircraft. The crewman sent to investigate returns, screaming, and he jumps to his death. At the naval base, the transport's radio transmits sounds of screaming and shots fired, and the descending plane suddenly weaves, veers, and crash lands on the island's single airstrip, destroying the control tower and the island's only two-way radio. The damaged aircraft also blocks the runway, preventing its further use.

Lieutenant Charles Brown is in command of Gow's weather station. He, Navy nurse Nora Hall, and biologist Arthur Beecham reach the wreck only to find that the scientists and most of the crew are now mysteriously missing. The only one aboard is the C-47's pilot, who is traumatized and in a state of shock, unable to speak. The cargo consists primarily of a few penguins, plus several prehistoric trees taken from the frozen tundra.

Unloading the cargo, Dr. Beecham recommends planting the trees to ensure their survival in the island's tropical conditions. That night, a tropical storm ravages the island. Somewhat later, Gow Island's bird population becomes disturbed by something unknown. The weather station's scientists try to figure out a connection between this event and a corrosive residue that begins turning up at various island locations.

It slowly becomes clear that the planted prehistoric trees have grown into acid-secreting, carnivorous monsters that move about Gow Island at night, at will. They reproduce fast and eventually cut off the island with their growing numbers and nocturnal assaults for food. Brown has to hold together his dwindling Navy personnel and the coterie of scientists and civilians while figuring out a way to stop this prehistoric menace. The Navy personnel's only available weapons prove largely ineffective against the tree monsters. When civilian meteorologist, Spaulding uses Molotov cocktails, fire proves to be the one thing that will destroy them.

The weather station is able to eventually restore radio contact with the mainland to ask for help. In response, the military command sends in multiple aircraft strikes from their nearest base. Fighter jets drop both napalm and fire air-to-ground missiles at the slow-moving night monsters, setting them ablaze. As a result, the threat to Gow Island's surviving personnel is quickly eliminated, and Brown and Nora are free to pursue a romance which developed in the course of fighting the menace.

The Navy uses fire and military airstrikes to destroy the carnivorous tree monsters, saving the survivors and restoring order on Gow Island.

The ending reinforces the film's blend of science fiction and military action, with human ingenuity and brute force overcoming an unnatural threat. By burning the monsters and calling in backup, the survivors reclaim their island, while the budding romance is allowed to flourish after the danger passes. The resolution is classic for its era, wrapping up the creature feature with decisive action and a return to normalcy.