Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman has perhaps the most iconic 1950's science fiction title of them all. In fact, the film is arguably more famous for its title than for its content. By this point in cinema history, the world had been treated to giant animals, giant insects, and giant monsters, so who wouldn't want to see a giant babe -- especially one straddling a highway with car in hand on the poster (a scene that never actually occurs in the film)? On paper, this is pure gold. Unfortunately, the end product is little more than your typical mediocre 1950's science fiction flick with a handful of memorable scenes. For some viewers, however, this is the perfect mix for fun.

The movie is set up with global sightings of a light shooting across the sky. Later, while Nancy Archer is driving home from a party at which she has left her cheating husband, Harry, she comes upon the object: a giant ball (hanging from clearly visible strings). Her car just so happens to break down at that moment (and miraculously works again we she returns to get it later), and as she exits the car, screaming, we see a giant hand reach out at her. However, Nancy's past is speckled with alcoholism and psychiatric problems, so no one quite believes her story. She eventually convinces her husband to take her back to the location so she can show him the "satellite," and when they arrive, out comes a giant bald man smiling creepily and reaching out to her. Harry drives off, leaving her for dead, but she shows up at home later that night. Next thing you know, she's ten times her size, blonde, and destroying the town in search of her husband. In a short-lived climax with zero falling action, the film offers a few fun moments of King-Kong-esque destruction.

Theoretically speaking, this is a simple feminist film: town does woman wrong, woman grows giant and wreaks havoc on them. In reality, though, it is just the opposite. When we watch Harry running around with his girlfriend, it usually comes across as funny, especially when they so casually talk about killing his wife so they can run off with her money. And the fifty-foot woman herself, when we finally do get to see her, complete with a mini skirt and a very small top (neither of which she had before the mutation), is really the classic cinematic example of the male gaze. Why do people like this movie so much, after all? It's not because it has a good story. It doesn't. It's because people want to see a fifty-foot woman!

Further weakening the film's half-attempted feminism is the fact that Nancy practically begs Harry to come back to her. Even though she knows he is entirely unfaithful, she tells him she can't make it without him. At another point, when Harry convinces her that she did not, in fact, see a satellite or a giant, she begins sobbing and apologizing. Some would say that this is to make her change more meaningful: weak lady becomes strong woman. This would be true if her change was one of willpower. As it is, though, chance alone is responsible for her empowerment. She is not an enabled feminist; she is a monstrous desperate wife who still just wants her Harry back.

The nail in this movie's feministic coffin, is Honey Parker, Harry's girlfriend. She is the only human-sized female that ever wields any power, and that is only because she's a scheming wife-stealer. In fact, she might not even love Harry. We know that at least part of her reason for running off with him is money. The only action she is responsible for is helping spur Harry to get rid of his wife one way or another, and she does it only by giving him sweet looks.