The Deadly Mantis

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Michael C "The Deadly Manits" is a well-made and entertaining movie. The special effects of the title creature are actually very well done and surprisingly stand up well even by today's standards. The movie also has the benefit of a good cast. The late Craig Stevens, the late William Hopper and the late Alex Talton are all quite good in their respective roles. One moment that stood out for me was the shot of a newspaper headline saying a Congressman believes the mantis is a hoax. Who knew how prophetic that would be nearly seven decades after the movie's release. That does not mean however that the movie does not have its problems. One such problem for me was the formulaic storyline of Alix Talton and Craig Stevens' characters falling in love by the end of the movie. While that does not have an overwhelmingly negative effect on the movie, it is something we have seen many times before and not essential to the movie itself. Also, while watching "The Deadly Mantis" I could not help but be reminded of the 1954 classic "Them!". I saw way too much of that movie in "The Deadly Mantis". The basic storyline of "The Deadly Mantis" is for the most part recycled right out of "Them!". Despite this major flaw, I think "The Deadly Mantis" is a good film and is worth seeing. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/28/25 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Straightforward giant beast attack flick per the Universal Studios 1950’s blueprint, Movie is mostly boring, Half the movie consists of stock footage of air bases in the snow, planes, millitary manuevers. All the characters are lame. That said, the monster design is nice, And the fx crew did a great job bringing it to the screen, Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/13/25 Full Review Ted B 3.5 stars; one of the better creature features from the 1950s. The special effects were actually pretty good for that time period, along the lines of "Them." No need for actual insects crawling over miniature sets. The acting was pretty typical for this genre. Featuring no out-of-work actors... Craig Stevens (Peter Gunn) and William Hopper (Perry Mason). Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/13/25 Full Review Dallas H Boy, these military drones disguised as oversized flying insects look very life-like! The Deadly Mantis is another shlocky B-movie from the '50s featuring gimmicky special effects for the Saturday matinee crowds and the drive-in theater audiences. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/13/25 Full Review Audience Member A great movie! I love the music, The Mantis!, the actors, Nathan Juran has made a great movie! 1957 had a lot of monster movies. I kind of recommend to watch this with the Mysterians 1957 but the Mysterians isn’t that great. I love This movie! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/22/24 Full Review georgan g The mantis in this movie was 200-feet long and looked pretty good for 1957. If you are a creature feature lover, this one is for you. William Hopper plays the scientist. He later was "Paul" (a detective) in the TV series Perry Mason. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Deadly Mantis

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