A scientist experiments with a new radioactive isotope, causing it to double in size every 12 hours, occurrences that will, ultimately, destroy the Earth if the element is not destroyed.

CRITIQUE

I once asked actor John Agar his opinion as to who saved the world more times during the 1950s, he or Richard Carlson. 

I was referring, of course, to the fact that both he and Carlson had starred in many science-fiction thrillers during that decade.

“Definitely Richard Carlson,” was the answer.

Certainly Carson played leads in two of the most revered sci-fi classics of that golden era, It Came From Outer Space (1953) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).  Sadly, The Magnetic Monster (1953) is not in the same league with those two films.

Even if one ignores the fact that the sixty-year-old science presented in the Curt Siodmak-directed movie is woefully dated, one can’t disregard that the story’s potentially intriguing premise has an inherent problem: the film’s “monster” is totally inanimate.

Yes, it kills people (off-screen) with huge implosions, but it doesn’t jump out at you like most good movie monsters, so the threat, though frightening, is more intellectual than direct.

In other words, this is a very “talky” picture.

I can’t be sure, but my guess is that the actors didn’t work much more than a week on this production.  Indeed, I don’t recall ever seeing a dramatic film that utilized as much stock footage as this one.  The entire climatic sequence, in which the scientists travel to Nova Scotia in order to destroy the atomic monster by way of a huge generator, is made up of footage lifted from a 1934 German movie, Gold.

It’s a hoot to watch Richard Carlson change clothes twice during that sequence, so that his outfits will match those of the actors in the earlier movie.

Carlson is likable, delivering the usual stoic performance he employed for his “concerned scientist” roles, and the rest of the cast is competent in what little they are asked to do.

The Magnetic Monster is not a terrible picture.  Actually, as a curio, it’s rather amusing.

THE VIDEO

As part of MGM’s “Limited Edition Collection,” this is a “burned,” as opposed to a “pressed” DVD, and is manufactured from the best elements available.

The Full Frame picture has some signs of age, but no significant problems.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Mono Sound is crisp and clear.

THE EXTRAS

The only material here is the film’s Theatrical Trailer.

FINAL THOUGHT

The Magnetic Monster may have an interesting story premise, but that foundation, as well as the film’s age and low budget production values, make it more of a curio than a viable entertainment.