Traditions Can Be Continued....But In Extraordinary Ways!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Thanksgiving is a season for tradition, darlings, with turkey being the most crucial.  On television, the holiday always meant annual broadcasts of the Laurel and Hardy "March Of The Wooden Soldiers," and, of course, "Miracle On 34th Street."

                             But, as times change, and generations age, so too, do traditions. There is nothing wrong with the two aforementioned classics, but I would like to suggest adding a new one to the repertoire, and that is 1957's "The Giant Claw."

                               Oh, my God!  As one of my colleagues said, this should have been called "Night Of The Turkey."  This giant bird, from some dimension no one knows about, is obviously a puppet on a string, but looks like a turkey rejected from every farm in New Jersey!!!!!  When it squawks, it sounds like a turkey being castrated.

                                  You have to see it, to believe it, girls!  And to think this used to scare me as a child! There is this subplot where they visit this French Canadian bar tender named Pierre (what else?), and, when he goes outside to do something, he sees, in a lightning storm, The Giant Claw in the sky.

                                   But he does not realize what it is. He thinks it is something called "La Cacanya."  Now, I don't know how the filmmakers came up with this, but this is why I would never watch this film after seeing it the first time. The film would have it that this is a monster of French Canadian folklore.  It supposedly has the face of a wolf, the body of a woman, and wings as big as..well, The Giant Claw, itself.  According to the legend, seeing the bird is a warning that the seer is going to die...very soon!  Pierre believes this, and, ultimately, he does.

                                    Part of me still gets frightened by this idea. I cannot believe the screenwriters for this film were so urbane and clever.  Especially when you see how cheaply the puppet is designed.

                                     

                                 The above image has always been one of my favorite moments. Smart aleck teenagers, driving hot rod on the road, have been warned by newscasters and others about the menace. One of the boys starts screaming out, "Hey, who's afraid of the big bad bird?"  "Yeah, we've got salt to put on its tail!"  Well, hons those kids get their tails salted, because the monster comes right up behind them, and devours them alive!!!!!!!!  Look at that cheap rear projection! But you have to admit, it has the face of a turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   I think "The Giant Claw" would make a perfect Thanksgiving film, and every turkey would agree with me!

                                   A turkey's revenge, come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!