R.I.P. Bert I. Gordon (1922-2023)

[The Baron]

Story

Ah, Bert I., Bert I. Bert I...What to say about Bert I. Gordon?  

Was he the greatest director ever? Were his movies occasionally cheesy?  Let's put it this way: eight of his movies - (King Dinosaur (1955), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Earth Vs. The Spider (1958), War of the Colossal Beast (1958), The Magic Sword (1962), Tormented (1960), Beginning of the End (1957), and Village of the Giants (1965) ) - found their way to the screen of the Mystery Science Theater, But for all that, I doubt that there's a MSTie alive who would disagree if I said that by and large, his movies were watchable and often even quite enjoyable.  If they weren't filet mignon,  his films frequently could be said to be reliably tasty cheeseburgers.

So, even if he wasn't John Ford, to me Bert I. was a legend of American cinema, who brought me hours of entertainment.

Ave atque vale, Bert I., you amazing, colossal man.

[Luke Blanchard]

The Food of the Gods and Empire of the Ants from the mid-70s were his as well.

The Amazing Colossal Man was likely a major influence on the origin of the Hulk.

[The Baron]

There were some similarities there, weren't there?

Luke Blanchard said:

The Amazing Colossal Man was likely a major influence on the origin of the Hulk.

[doc photo]

I've seen War of the Colossal Beast and Earth vs The Spider more times than I can count and yet I can stop and watch them anytime they are shown. War doesn't have much of a plot but it does have one of the best monsters among "50's B-movie science fiction.