The Monolith Monsters (1957)

The Monolith Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by Howard Christie and directed by John Sherwood, starring Grant Williams and Lola Albright. The film is based on a story by Jack Arnold and Robert M. Fresco, with a screenplay by Fresco and Norman Jolley.

The Monolith Monsters tells the story of a large meteorite that crashes in the desert and explodes into hundreds of black fragments with strange properties. When those fragments are exposed to water, they grow very large and tall. They also petrify various inhabitants of a nearby small Southern California desert town. The story that unfolds becomes one of human survival against an encroaching unnatural disaster, that if not stopped, could become a national ecological nightmare that could pose a possible threat to all of humanity.

Synopsis

In the desert outside of San Angelo, California, a huge meteorite crashes and explodes, scattering hundreds of black fragments over a wide area. The next day, Federal geologist Ben Gilbert (Phil Harvey) brings one of the fragments to his office, where he and local newspaper publisher Martin Cochrane (Les Tremayne) examine it. That night, a strong wind blows over a full water container onto the black rock, starting a chemical reaction.

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