Most of the older Scifi classic films like this usually don't turn out to go above the rest, but this movie was certainly one of those lot. I was surprised how well the effects worked in this film. The drone sound created by the vibrations of the Mantis's wings were bone chilling and realistic. The roaring was a bit unusual, but that's okay, because we are supposed to believe it's a monster mantis! I enjoyed the scene with the Greenland Eskimos in that first of all, they used real Eskimo actors, and second, it was believable (though sped up for some reason). I really liked this film, it's not among my favorites should I say, but I thin it's certainly one of the better giant monster films of its time, right among "The Land Unknown" and "The Giant Behemoth".

Summer 1978 or 77, and I'm with a friend at his parent's old Victorian home in a quiet part of town. It's late, and soon midnight rolls around. And that means Creature Features with Bob Wilkins.A giant insect rampages across the US and finds its way into what my friend then described as the BART tunnel. Only the film takes place in 1957, so it couldn't be that, or if it was, then apparently no one had laid down any tracks. Go figure.Usual 1950's monster fare. The acting is okay and solid, but nothing to write home about. It's a B-movie that was given an A-quality gloss like a lot of other scifi and monster films out of the 1950s.I'm not sure I'd recommend it or not ... I fell asleep when the final scene came ... it was close to 2AM, so take that for what it's worth.

By the time the sci-fi shocker "The Deadly Mantis" premiered in May 1957, American audiences had already been regaled by a steady stream of giant-monster movies on the big screen, starting with 1953's classic "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms." In 1954, "Them!," with its monstrously large ants, kicked off a subgenre of sorts, the giant-insect movie, and "Tarantula" would follow in 1955. After "The Deadly Mantis," "The Beginning of the End" (giant grasshoppers), "Monster From Green Hell" (giant wasps), "Earth vs. the Spider" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches" soon appeared to stun and amaze moviegoers. Unlike most of those other films, however, "TDM" featured a giant monster that was not the result of radioactive bombardment or an H-bomb blast, but that was just naturally humongous; a prehistoric entity released via natural phenomenon.In the film, the viewer witnesses a volcanic eruption that takes place near Antarctica, while our narrator intones the ominous words of Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." And, implausibly enough, this blowup near the South Pole soon triggers an earthquake near the North Pole, almost 7,900 miles away (!), which releases.... Anyway, cut to the intrepid men working at the polar DEW line, where odd events soon begin to transpire. Colonel Joe Parkman (Craig Stevens) investigates the demolition of a weather station, the downing of a C-47, and some very odd tracks in the snow. Before long, noted paleontologist Nedrick (!) Jackson (William Hopper, who many viewers will recall from his roles in "The Bad Seed" and "20 Million Miles to Earth") and museum reporter Marge Blaine (Alix Talton; a great screamer, as it turns out) join the colonel near the North Pole to join in the investigation, and Jackson isn't long in getting to the bottom of things, declaring "In all the kingdom of the living, there is no more deadly or voracious creature...than the praying mantis!"Of all the giant-monster films mentioned above, "The Deadly Mantis" is most reminiscent of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms," the granddaddy of them all and, in my humble opinion, the greatest dinosaur movie ever made. Like the 1953 film, it too opens in documentarylike fashion and with a dry, scientific narration. The monster in both films is first observed as a radar blip near the North Pole, and both pictures feature discussions regarding the thawed-out mammoth remains that had recently been discovered in Siberia. In both films, our prehistoric creature attacks a fishing trawler off the Canadian coast and is ultimately destroyed near a NYC landmark (Manhattan Beach in the former; in the depths of the "Manhattan Tunnel" in the latter). But whereas "Beast" had boasted the truly awesome stop-motion FX of the late Ray Harryhausen, "Mantis" had to make do with FX of a lesser-calibre, more traditional kind. Still, the creature looks impressive enough on the ground, if a tad silly while in flight. The film contains at least four memorable sequences: our first glimpse of the creature, from below, as it towers over a bunch of fleeing Greenlanders, who swarm away in kayaks out to sea; the creature's attack on the DEW station, repulsed by both rifle fire and flamethrower; the mantis' ascent of the Washington Monument; and finally, that Manhattan Tunnel windup, as Parkman and his men toss "3RG chemical mines" at the mantis in an already densely foggy environment. (This denouement might bring to mind the storm drain finale in "Them!") For once, the use of stock footage is well integrated; the footage used is crisp and clean and actually looks as though it had been shot for the film in question. Surprisingly, the first 1/3 of "The Deadly Mantis," before we even get a glimpse of our monster, might be the film's best section (an "Arctic tour de force," according to the "Maltin Classic Movie Guide"), slowly building suspense in an intelligent manner against its snowbound backdrop. The picture has been surprisingly well directed by Nathan Juran, although perhaps it is unfair of me to use the word "surprisingly"; Juran, after all, would go on to helm such cult favorites as "20 Million Miles to Earth" (released just one month later), "The Brain From Planet Arous," "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" AND "First Men in the Moon" (those last two WOULD benefit from Harryhausen's participation). "TDM" also features a love triangle of sorts--seemingly obligatory in many of these '50s sci-fi films--that is a tad surprising, as pretty Marge does NOT wind up with the guy you might be expecting. In all, a satisfying, nicely realized and intelligent monster movie, and perfect fare for viewing with your 8-year-old nephew, of course.Further good news regarding "The Deadly Mantis" is that it comes to us today as part of Universal Studios' Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, and is presented via a pristine-looking print. On the same DVD disc can be found the film "The Land Unknown," another B&W sci-fi outing from 1957 that also (strangely enough) clocks in at precisely 78 minutes and showcases prehistoric monsters in a polar setting. A perfect double feature, both films come highly recommended by this viewer, an admitted sucker for 1950s sci-fi. And speaking of that decade, back in the 1950s and '60s, I am old enough to recall, a NYC urban legend had it that there was a $1,000 fine for killing any praying mantis. Well, I'm sorry to report, baby boomers, that this popular myth just had no basis in reality, beneficial as these harmless, little insects might be. "Beneficial," "harmless" and "little"...three words, surely, that would NOT describe our "deadly mantis"....

With a film like this you know what to expect - a large bag of pop corn and your brain being left in neutral gear . Science doesn't have to be brought up in a film called THE DEADLY MANTIS but there's still the need for a suspension of disbelief in the storytelling . I don't believe in life on other planets because there's no evidence that there is . That doesn't stop me from being compelled by a television drama from someone like Nigel Kneale because his almost superhuman storytelling technique of spinning an idea out is so intelligent and well done it's impossible not to be caught up in one of his plots . An unexploded bomb being found in London and revealed to be a Martian spaceship is pure fantasy but done so well and with a dramatic realism it's like watching a fly on the wall documentary take place . THE DEADLY MANTIS is an anti-thesis to this From the opening scene the film shoots itself in the foot . A voice over informs us that Northern Canada and the Artic Circle is protected by a ring of radar stations . The Cold War was in full swing and the film has an almost rabidly reactionary edge watching it today , almost as if it's screaming for these damn communists to start something . It also screws up the internal continuity and logic to the movie where the eponymous monster attacks bases and planes and yet it doesn't show up on radar until the story requires it The narrative structure itself is a problem . A base is attacked and a plane brought down but no one except the audience know what's going on . This means the audience are one step ahead of the characters in the movie and are left to twiddle their thumbs until the characters join up the dots . When someone says " Gentlemen we're going nowhere fast " you can't help but nod your head in agreement The classic giant bug film THEM may have also suffered from the same slight problem but that was such an atmospheric film containing moody scenes like the policemen finding the wrecked diner that there was more than enough to hold the audience's attention . Here it isn't and it's not until 33 minutes in to the movie we get to see the giant mantis . As I said continuity is often ignored . For example while attacking a plane earlier in the movie the mantis managed to knock of a chunk of itself but later when it's attacked by rockets and shells it's impervious to them . Let me see a giant mantis can injure itself attacking a plane but something travelling faster than the speed of sound with a warhead of something explosive won't damage it in the slightest ? I know suspension of disbelief is needed but couldn't the screenwriters have thought things through a little more ? Next thing you know they'll be writing a screenplay where a country can protect itself from a zombie attack by building a very high wall There is a market for this type of giant bug sci-fi / horror B movie and I sometimes have affection for these type of films . However to be effective there still needs to be a modicum of intelligence . There's very little in THE DEADLY MANTIS which has a very lazy narrative technique and starting a film by referencing the butterfly effect and Newton's third law doesn't make a dumb film any smarter . There's also a rather militaristic aspect to it but if the American military can't find a giant insect with all their technology how could ever defeat a pre-emptive strike by the Soviets ?