Episode 66: Damon Noyes vs. ‘The Giant Claw’

The Monster Island Film Vault

Hello, kaiju lovers! Today’s episode is AS BIG AS A BATTLESHIP! Damon Noyes visits the Island (after yet another harrowing experience) for “Ameri-kaiju” to discuss 1957’s The Giant Claw. This infamous movie stars the ugliest antimatter-powered space bird you’ve ever seen! “Crazy Bernice,” as she’s known on the Island, looks more like Beaky Buzzard than Rodan, despite her movie being similar to the latter’s. Nate and Damon spend a surprising amount of time on this wacky movie, poking fun at the Claw marionette, theorizing over the bird’s origins, discussing borderline creepy 1950s flirting, and the movie’s unofficial sequel novels! You might be wondering, “What could Marchand possibly research as a Toku Topic for The Giant Claw?” Antimatter. What else?

After the broadcast, Nate and Damon break in to commentate on Crazy Bernice escaping from the Beta Site and attacking H.E.A.T.—but thankfully, Zilla is around!

Check out the movies Damon was in! Maxie, directed by Jarrett Bryant, is on the streaming site Vimeo. One can get $1.00 off the price by using the code: LaneCounty. “Off the Road,” a 13-minute short from Hewlett Artistry, can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ZdJHBY2a4fg.

The “La Carcagne Promo” was written by Damon Noyes. The epilogue, “Crazy Bernice,” was written by Nathan Marchand.

Guest stars:

• Damon Noyes as Kevin Gomora

Additional music:

• “Mechagodzilla vs. Anguirs” by Masaru Sato
• “Pacific Rim” by Niall Stenson
• “Chant My Name!” by Masaaki Endo

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org, including those by InspectorJ, and created by J.P. Gant.

Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Eric Anderson of Nerd Chapel, and Ted Williams! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault)

Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop)

This episode is approved by Cameron Winter and the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:

• “La Carcagne” Promo: 0:00-1:05
• Intro: 1:05-17:58
• Entertaining Info Dump: 17:58-25:23
• Toku Talk: 25:23-1:34:31
• Promos: 1:34:31-1:35:51
• Toku Topic: 1:35:51-2:12:09
• Housekeeping & Outro: 2:12:09-2:31:52
• Epilogue: 2:31:52-end

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Bibliography/Further Reading:

• “Antimatter.” Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter)
• Barnette, R. Michael and Helen Quinn. “What is antimatter?” Scientific American. 24 Jan. 2002 (originally posted 18 Oct. 1999). (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-antimatter-2002-01-24/)
• Bissette, Stephen. “The Giant Claw: An Introduction.” Cold War Creatures blu-ray bookley, Arrow Video.
• Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman – The Giant Claw Special Features (Arrow Video):
  • Commentary by Emma Westwood and Cerise Howard
  • “Family Endangered!” by Mike White
  • “Introduction by Kim Newman”
• Cooper, Jackson. “Turkey in the Sky!: The Appealing Legacy of The Giant Claw.” Cold War Creatures blu-ray bookley, Arrow Video.
• Kwon, Diana. “Ten things you might not know about antimatter.” Symmetry: Dimensions of Particle Physics, 28 April 2015. (https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/april-2015/ten-things-you-might-not-know-about-antimatter)
• Mann, Adam. “What is antimatter?” Live Science, 13, Dec. 2021. (https://www.livescience.com/32387-what-is-antimatter.html)
• New Scientist articles on antimatter. (https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/antimatter-mysteries/)
• Schoell, William. Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 2008.
• Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition. McFarland. 2016.
• Wiki articles on The Giant Claw:
  • IMDB (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050432/)
  • Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter)