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An early morning test explosion of the first atomic plutonium bomb is planned at a military site in Desert Rock, Nevada. When the chain reaction for the charge fails its cycle and does not detonate as expected, Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) receives orders to keep his men in the protective trench, as an explosion is still imminent, but its timing is now unknown. Moments later, an unidentified small civilian aircraft crash-lands near the bomb site, and Glenn leaps from the trench and runs into the detonation area to rescue the pilot. Once in the detonation area, the bomb goes off, and Glenn is caught in an atomic blast that burns him and immediately disintegrates his clothes and hair.
Surviving the blastâbut suffering from third-degree burns over almost his entire bodyâManning is treated by specialist Dr. Paul Linstrom (William Hudson) and military scientist Dr. Eric Coulter (Larry Thor) at the base hospital. Glenn's fiancÃ©e Carol Forrest (Cathy Downs), who was supposed to have been married to him that very night in Las Vegas), anxiously awaits a prognosis...but Linstrom refrains from telling her that the consensus is that Glenn will not survive.
The next morning, however, Linstrom and Coulter are stunned to discover that Glenn's burns have completely healed, without so much as scarring. They are concerned over the incredible recuperation and begin analyzing the details of Glenn's unusual case. That same evening, Forrest is upset when Glenn's security officer informs her that she is prohibited from seeing Glenn again, and she later learns that he has been moved out of the hospital to another facility, an army rehabilitation and research center in Summit, Nevada. Forrest drives out and is admitted entry, and after overhearing Linstrom and Coulter discussing Glenn's case, Carol lets herself into Glenn's room. She faints in horror when she sees him lying on a large pad on the floorâmutated into a giant about 16 feet tall.
Later, Linstrom tells Carol that it is believed that Glenn's exposure to the plutonium blast has caused his old cells to stop dying and his new cells to multiply at an accelerated rate, resulting in his growing proportionately 8 feet in height a day. Linstrom admits that he and Coulter do not know if they can stop Glenn's growth, and that if they don't, he will continue to grow until he dies, but assures her that they will not stop their research.
The following day, Glenn awakens after unsettling dreams of his past with Carol, his time in the Korean War, and the night he was injured in the plutonium blast. Upon realizing his massive size, Glenn is at first frightened, then deeply disturbed. Carol sees him the next morning to comfort him, but he, now over 22 feet tall, is distant and morose. While the public knows that Glenn survived the explosion, the military has kept the truth of his condition from the media.
As Glenn's body continues to increase in size, Linstrom orders him moved to a tent large enough to provide shelter and recommends that Carol spend time with him; however, despite Carol's encouragement, Glenn is angry and bitter. Linstrom eventually reveals that Glenn's heart is growing at only half the rate of his body and soon will be unable to support his enormous size...and he will die in a matter of days. That night, Carol and Glenn argue over his continuing despair and pessimism.
The following morning as Coulter reports to Linstrom that he may have found a solution to the phenomenal growth, Glenn has disappeared. Although two motorists come across him on Highway 93, the military, headed by Col. Hallock (James Seay), conducts a 10-mile-wide search for the now over 50-foot-tall Glenn, but with no results. When Carol asks Linstrom if she can help in their search for Glenn, he cautions her that Glenn's condition may be affecting his mind. Later, Coulter declares that he has created a special syringe filled with a serum for Glenn's bone marrow that will stop his growth. Hallock then briefs the military squads on their expanding search, which will also be conducted by air.
Meanwhile, the local news relays that a "giant man" has been spotted approaching Las Vegas. As the military heads toward Las Vegas, Glennânow over 60 feet tall and psychologically confusedâis drawn to the Las Vegas strip. His appearance panics the local populace, as he breaks out a window in the Riviera Hotel while seeing a woman bathing inside and wreaks havoc on the Royal Nevada, the Silver Slipper, and the Tropicana. At the Sands hotel, he picks up a convertible and hurls it at the crowd, just before smashing the Sands' 56-foot neon sign. When the police become alarmed by Glenn's behavior, they disobey military orders and begin firing at him, thus enraging Glenn, who then moves toward Fremont Street and completely destroys the Pioneer Club's Vegas Vic sign and heads toward Boulder Dam as military helicopters track his movements.
Linstrom, Carol and Coulter, who are also traveling by helicopter, attempt to intercept Hallock's troops. After landing at the dam, Coulter and Linstrom immediately take the enormous syringe and plunge it into Glenn's ankle. Glenn is startled, then outraged, and, removing the syringe, mercilessly spears Coulter with it. Glenn then picks up Carol and starts across the dam. Using a bullhorn to amplify his message, Linstrom pleads with Glenn to spare Carol, and although he is utterly disoriented, Glenn complies. When Glenn reaches the middle of the dam, Hallock orders his men to fire on himâand Glenn tumbles into the Colorado River to his apparent death.
What element was Glenn exposed to that might have caused his growth to eight feet?
Plutonium