Tonight on MeTV- it looks like we’re heading into another Stone Age- with the arrival of a meteor whose unearthly fragments have the power to turn flesh into stone- and mutate themselves into towers of destructive terror leaving nothing but rubble ( not Barney) as they become the "Monolith Monsters"!
This 1957 science fiction classic begins just as several other movies, like “The Blob”, have- with a wayward meteor making a crash-landing, this time in the arid desert. On impact, it smashes itself into literally thousands of pieces. Ben, a local geologist, happens to stop on the desert road right near the point of impact to add water to his radiator. He spots an unusual fragment of stone that, being a geologist, he cannot identify. His scientific curiosity prompts him to take the mystery rock back to his office for further investigation.
He gets back to his office with the fragment, where neither he nor local newspaper publisher Martin can identify it. Later, Ben goes to sleep in the office-only to be awakened during the night by a major rainstorm! He notices something odd happening to that unidentified rock sample he left out in his office- and goes to get a closer look- which turns out to be a VERY bad idea. The next day, Dave, the head of the federal geology office, makes a routine visit to Ben’s place – only to be met by a horrible sight.
The office has been completely trashed, with hundreds of strange rocks strewn all over! Even worse- he is shocked to find his geologist pal Ben appears to have turned- to stone! This unbelievable discovery leaves him at a loss to figure out what has happened- or how a human could possibly be transformed into the equivalent of a statue!
Meanwhile, Dave’s girlfriend, Cathy, the local school teacher- has her class out on a field trip to the desert- where one of the kids picks up a black chunk of meteorite ( uh-oh!), and takes it home as a souvenir. At the same time, an autopsy is being performed on Ben- though not much of an autopsy is possible on a stone corpse! The autopsy does not reveal anything- resulting in the body being sent to a specialist. Dave returns to the shambles of the office along with newspaper man Martin- who notices that the many pieces of rock scattered around the destroyed office look just like the single piece Ben found in the desert that he had examined with him!
The office tragedy proves to be only the beginning-as Cathy recalls that her student found a similar fragment- leading to a frantic trip to the girl’s home-only to make another horrible discovery. Soon the locals are facing more destruction, more odd stones- and more victims of strange petrification-leading to the shocking fact that any people who have had physical contact with the stones are actually slowly TURNING to stone! It falls to Dave and his girlfriend Cathy to enlist his old college professor in solving the riddle of what is happening- and find a way to stop it! Time is running out, as they have mere hours to find a cure for the victims who are transforming to stone. Not only that- but the meteor rocks begin to multiply, expanding and becoming towering stone pillars that grow, and then collapse, with their massive weight crushing anything in the vicinity. Inexplicably, the shards of the collapse monoliths start growing again, forming more towers that are slowly moving toward the populated areas. Will they continue to advance, wiping out towns -and their inhabitants- with pulverizing force?!
Most 1950s science fiction films seem to use atomic radiation as the source of a deadly menace- but this movie goes down a slightly different path, having the unique idea of inanimate objects becoming the monstrous threat- with a totally different cause. We’ll fill you in on the cast, which includes some recognizable actors-including Grant Williams, the lovely Lola Albright (Peter Gunn’s songstress girlfriend), Les Tremayne, and more- and rock your world with some fun celebrity interviews, including stunning voice actress Tara Strong ( who has voiced hundreds of characters, including a “Powerpuff Girl”, DC superheroes and villains, Ms. Minutes in “Loki”,etc.) E.G. Daily (from “Streets of Fire”, Dottie from “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” and also a voice actress)- and noted Sven artist Christopher Jones , who has come up with some great artwork for my anniversary. Add in a vintage visit with Vicki Lawrence as Mama- and more!
"Monolith Monsters" will crash onto your TV set tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check your local listings (or at www.metv.com) for specific time and channel where you live. MeTV invites you to join the many folks on Twitter/X who live-Tweet during our show- putting us among the highest trending topics during that time most weeks- using the hashtag #svengoolie. Chicago area viewers get a second go-round with Vincent Price’s “The Tingler” at 11 am this morning on our main local station, CW26.
Those viewers in the Chicago area will have the chance to see a recent feature of ours, “Destroy All Monsters” on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre, as part of their Godzilla film festival- and can meet me before the show, after which I will introduce the movie. You’ll find more information under the “appearances” tab on this website. Also, make sure you keep checking the MeTV Mall for the latest Sven merchandise- with more to come soon to celebrate my 45 year anniversary!
Check in with us tonight on MeTV- when we prove the old saying is true-people who live in trashed houses should not grow stones!
