SFE: Monolith Monsters, The

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} }) </script> </div> </form> </fieldset> <article class="entryArticle content STeditorial"> <header class="entryHeader icon-film"> <h1 class="entryTitle">Monolith Monsters, The </h1> </header><p class='tagLine'>Entry updated 12 December 2022. Tagged: Film.</p><div class="browsingBtns"> <span> <input class="button PNI previous" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/next.php?id=p&entry=monolith_monsters_the'" value="Prev" /> </span> <span> <input class="button PNI next" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/next.php?&entry=monolith_monsters_the'" value="Next" /> </span> <span> <input class="button PNI incoming" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/incoming.php?entry=monolith_monsters_the'" value="About This Entry" title="What links to the entry; contributor initials explained; how to cite; other information" /> </span> </div> <p>Film (<i>1957</i>). Universal. Directed by John Sherwood. Written by Robert M Fresco (1930-2014) and Norman <a href="/entry/jolley_norman">Jolley</a>, based on a story by Jack <a href="/entry/arnold_jack">Arnold</a> and Fresco. Cast includes Lola Albright, Les Tremayne and Grant Williams. 77 minutes. Black and white.</p> <p>In this rather good little film, crystals from a meteorite that has fallen near a small desert town grow and multiply rapidly when wet. They also cause death by absorbing all the silicon from any living thing that touches them, paradoxically turning the victims to stone. There is a rainstorm: the outstandingly surreal sequences of the crystals rearing up and crashing down, in their inexorable march towards the seemingly doomed town, are memorable. Then it is discovered that ordinary salt will stop them. Sherwood's debt to Jack <a href="/entry/arnold_jack">Arnold</a> is obvious, especially in the moody desert landscapes. The idea of the marching crystals may well have been borrowed from <i>The Crystal Horde</i> (Winter 1930 <a href="/entry/amazing_stories_quarterly">Amazing Stories Quarterly</a> as "White Lily"; <b>1952</b>) by John <a href="/entry/taine_john">Taine</a>. [JB/PN]</p> <p><b>links</b></p> <ul class="x"> <li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050720/">Internet Movie Database</a></li> </ul> <p><b>previous versions of this entry</b></p> <ul><li><a href='https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/monolith_monsters_the' target='_blank'>Internet Archive</a></li></ul><br /><br /></article></div> <div class="sideBarsWrapper"> <div class="sideBarsColsWrapper clearfix"> <div class="column sideBar12 clearfix"> <div class="columnForm"><aside id="blogFeed" class="widget"> <div class="content STeditorial clearfix"> <h2>Recently visited entries<span style="background:url(/images/thingSFE2.png) !important"></span></h2><ul style='width: 50%; float: left;'> </ul> <p align=center style="float:right; padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;">ISSN 3049-7612<br /> <a href="/facts.php?id=logo"> <img src="/images/VitMan.gif" width=150 height=150 title="Click for larger version of this SFE logo"></a><br /> <b><a href="/donate.php"><img src="/images/Paypal-Donate.gif" WIDTH="92" HEIGHT="26" BORDER="0" /></a><br /><a href="/">Home/Welcome page</a></b></p><div style="margin-bottom:10px;"></div></div> </aside><aside id="blogFeed" class="widget"> <div class="content STeditorial clearfix"> <h2><i>SFE</i> Special Features<span></span></h2><p style="margin-top: 10px;"><input type="button" value="What’s New" style="width: 150px !important;" class="button primary" onclick="window.location.href='/whatsnew.php'">  Latest entries; 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SFE: Monolith Monsters, The