1956 got off to a great start in Los Angeles, thanks to the RKO Hillstreet Theater. Maybe even better than the weeklong monster rally in Boston the previous month.
Category Archives: Lon Chaney Jr.
Making Movies.
Lon Chaney Jr. checks out the angle on the Universal backlot while making one of the later Mummy movies.
Johnny Weissmuller and Tamba working on one of the Jungle Jim pictures. Maybe Sam Katzman was trying to cut the budget by letting Tamba serve as DP.
Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson in Old Tucson for Rio Bravo (1959).
Elvis and the Vistavision camera on the set of his second film, Loving You (1957).
Filed under 1957, 1959, Angie Dickinson, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Howard Hawks, Johnny Weissmuller, Lon Chaney Jr., Sam Katzman
The Alligator People (1959).
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Produced by Jack Leewood
Screenplay by Orville H. Hampton
Story by Orville H. Hampton & Charles O’Neal
Director Of Photography: Karl Struss, ASC
Supervising Film Editor: Harry Gerstad
Makeup: Ben Nye & Dick Smith
Music by Irving Gertz
Cast: Beverly Garland (Joyce Webster/Jane Marvin), Bruce Bennett (Dr. Eric Lorimer), Lon Chaney Jr. (Manon), George Macready (Dr. Mark Sinclair), Frieda Inescort (Mrs. Lavinia Hawthorne), Richard Crane (Paul Webster), Douglas Kennedy (Dr. Wayne MacGregor), Dudley Dickerson (Porter), Hal K. Dawson (Conductor), Ruby Goodwin (Louann the Maid), Vince Townsend Jr. (Toby)
As a kid, I’d see stills from The Alligator People (1959) in Famous Monsters or one of my sci-fi and horror film books, and it looked like the Perfect Movie. If only I could see it!
Guess I haven’t developed a whole lot since those Monster Kid days, because now that I’ve seen it (first on the late show and finally on Blu-Ray), I’m still of a mind that The Alligator People comes real close to being the Perfect Movie — in my Hollywood, at least.
So wide, so cheap, so beautiful.
On a train on their wedding night, Beverly Garland’s husband (Richard Crane) gets a telegram and splits. Beverly’s search for her man takes her to a plantation in Louisiana, where it turns out Crane has been the subject of George Macready’s medical experiments using reptile hormones to regenerate limbs. Crane had been mangled in a plane crash, and while the gator juice injections were working, something started going wrong — hence the cryptic telegram and the quick exit. Macready found that radiation treatments were looking promising, but would that cure Crane or further his reptilian transformation?
The Alligator People, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
It’s in black and white CinemaScope, a glorious aesthetic that can elevate almost any junk to classic status (the key to my love of Lippert’s Regal and API movies).
It mines the tried and true people-turning-into-animals vein, a theme that had been proving itself since Island Of Lost Souls (1932) — and that Lippert had already used successfully with The Fly (1958).
It makes great use of its Southern Gothic plantation setting. As a kid in South Georgia (Thomasville), plantation houses, Spanish moss, even alligators were familiar to me. This made the movie kinda plausible!
It’s got Beverly Garland in it. For me and a lot of other male Monster Kids, she was an early crush. Later, I’d appreciate what a terrific actress she was.
Along with Ms. Garland, there’s a solid cast of real 50s pros — Bruce Bennett, George Macready, Douglas Kennedy. You need guys like that to add credence to all the pseudo-scientific dialogue.
A hook-armed Lon Chaney, Jr. is on hand to add some classic horror credibility to the proceedings, and he’s gleefully over the top.
The alligator people makeup effects are just good enough — and bad enough. That mix is crucial.
But the thing that really makes The Alligator People is that key ingredient found in so many B Movies of the 50s (regardless of the genre) — the combined craft of the people who made them. Sure, it’s hokum, but it’s really well-made hokum.
The talent behind the camera is certainly impressive. This was director Roy Del Ruth’s next-to-last film. Oscar-winner Karl Struss’s cinematography is gorgeous. He was one of the DPs on Gone With The Wind (1939), and he shot a number of the Regal and API pictures. Ben Nye and Dick Smith handled the makeup; Nye had worked on The Fly. The editing is tight, and the art direction looks bigger than the picture’s $300,000 budget would have you expect. (That was really splurging for API.)
What’s more, everyone knew to play it straight (even though Beverly Garland always said the hardest thing about making this movie was keeping a straight face). Horror and science fiction films have to create their own logic, sweep up the audience and keep them so involved they don’t have a chance to realize how ridiculous it all is. The Alligator People does this very well.
The Alligator People was released in July of 1959, paired with another “Terror-Topping, Supershock Thrill Sensation,” Edward Bernds’ Return Of The Fly. I can’t imagine a cooler night at the movies.
With movies like this, the major studios tried to compete with what Roger Corman, AIP and Allied Artists were offering to the lucrative teenager audience. 20th Century-Fox was smart to put Lippert and his gang in charge of films like this, with Fox’s major-studio facilities (and ‘Scope lenses) adding production values the independents could only dream of. (The cheaper ones were shot on independent lots around Hollywood.)
In that way, The Alligator People is the best of both worlds — and, yep, a pretty Perfect Movie.
Filed under 1959, 20th Century-Fox, Beverly Garland, Edward Bernds, Lippert/Regal/API, Lon Chaney Jr.
Boston, December 1955.
Wouldn’t you love to hop into your time machine for this week of wonderful-ness? (Sorry, Bob, no Son Of Frankenstein.)
A Night At The Movies, June 1955.
Hartford, Connecticut. By the way, Devil Take Us (1955) is an Oscar-nominated documentary short shot by the great Floyd Crosby.
A Universal Halloween?
I’ve been thinking about a classic Universal monster movie for Halloween night, but there are a lot of them — and they’re all so great? (They’re represented by this wonderful ad for the Aurora monster model. Click on it and it gets, well, monstrous!)
What are your thoughts? Mummy? Frankenstein? Dracula? The Wolf Man? The Creature? Or a one-off like The Invisible Ray (1936)? Or, maybe a different direction, like something from AIP or Hammer?
Blu-Ray News #299: Universal Horror Collection, Volume 6.
I’m really excited about this one, as Shout Factory’s Universal Horror Blu-Ray series moves into the 50s. This is announced for release on August 25.
The Black Castle (1952)
Directed by Nathan H. Juran
Starring Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Hoyt, Michael Pate
You could say this was the last of the true Universal-type horror movies, with all the trapping and a few of the actors we associate with such things. It was Nathan Juran’s first time as director. He was on the film as art director, but was moved into the director’s chair when Joseph Pevney walked.
Cult Of The Cobra (1955)
Directed by Francis D. Lyon
Starring Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Kathleen Hughes, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, William Reynolds, David Janssen
This story of a cult of snake worshippers, a deadly curse and the beautiful, deadly snake goddess (Faith Domergue) making their way to New York went out as the second feature behind Revenge Of The Creature (1955).
The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958)
Directed by Will Cowan
Starring William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Jeffrey Stone, Carolyn Kearney
Running just 69 minutes, shot by the great Russell Metty and with terrific poster art from Reynold Brown (up top), this played with Hamer’s Horror Of Dracula (1958) in the States. It’s about a telepathic head that’s discovered in a box at a dude ranch.
The Shadow Of The Cat (1961)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring André Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Fred Jackson
A cat witnesses a murder, then helps both solve it and bring the culprits to their just rewards. Shot in black & white by Hammer’s ace cameraman Arthur Grant.
Scream Factory has come up with some real gold in this one, and it’s good to see these more obscure Universal horror pictures get a chance to shine. They’ll be seen in their original widescreen aspect ratio, with the exception of The Black Castle, which predates the shift to widescreen. Highly recommended.
Blu-Ray News #284: Inner Sanctum Mysteries: The Complete Film Series.
Until the DVD set came out years ago, I’d only seen one of the Inner Sanctum pictures. Boy, had I been missing out.
These cheap little mysteries are terrific, the kind of spooky hokum Universal specialized in back in the 40s. Now the series, all six of ’em, are getting a Blu-Ray upgrade from Mill Creek.
Calling Dr. Death (1943)
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
Starring Lon Chaney, Patricia Morison, J. Carrol Naish, David Bruce
Weird Woman (1944)
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
Starring Lon Chaney, Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Morgan
Dead Man’s Eyes (1944)
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
Starring Lon Chaney, Acquanetta (“as Tonya, sister of Satan!”), Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez
The Frozen Ghost (1945)
Directed by Harold Young
Starring Lon Chaney, Elena Verdugo, Evelyn Ankers, Tala Birell, Martin Kosleck
Strange Confession (1945, re-released as The Missing Head)
Directed by John Hoffman
Starring Lon Chaney, Brenda Joyce, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges
Pillow Of Death (1945)
Directed by Wallace Fox
Starring Lon Chaney, Brenda Joyce, J. Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan, Clara Blandick
What’s striking about these movies, to me, is that though they were seen as cheap little pictures with Universal’s lower-level talent, there’s a real craft to them that shines through. Can’t wait to see them in high-definition.
Blu-Ray News #250: Abbott & Costello – The Complete Universal Pictures Collection (1940-1955).
The Abbott & Costello movies offer up some of the great joys to be had in this world. Their “Who’s On First?” routine (found in The Naughty Nineties) is timeless — and runs constantly in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. Me, I simply cannot be down if Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) is on.
Shout Factory has announced The Complete Universal Pictures Collection, that puts their 28 Universal pictures (they say they saved the studio from bankruptcy) on 15 Blu-ray Discs, packed with hours of extras and a collectible book. It’s coming in November. What a great big box of Wonderful this will be!
Blu-Ray News #247: Universal Horror Volumes 2 & 3.
Scream Factory has two more collections of Universal horror pictures on Blu-Ray on the way.
Actually, I think Volume 2 is already out. Just take a look at how many feature Lionel Atwill or were directed by George Waggner — true signs of quality.
Universal Horror Collection: Volume 2
Murders In The Zoo (1933)
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
Starring Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott
The Mad Ghoul (1943)
Directed by James Hogan
Starring Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers, David Bruce, George Zucco, Robert Armstrong, Milburn Stone
The Mad Doctor Of Market Street (1942)
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Starring Lionel Atwill, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton
The Strange Case Of Doctor Rx (1942)
Directed by William Nigh
Starring Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Ray “Crash” Corrigan, Samuel S. Hinds
Universal Horror Volume 3
Tower Of London (1939)
Directed by Rowland V. Lee
Starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barabara O’Neil, Vincent Price
Man Made Monster (1941)
Directed by George Waggner
Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Lionel Atwill, Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson
The Black Cat (1941)
Directed by Albert S. Rogell
Starring Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Alan Ladd
Horror Island (1941)
Directed by George Waggner
Starring Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Leo Carrillo, Eddie Parker, Fuzzy Knight
The first volume, which focused on Karloff and Lugosi, is terrific. It features one of the great horror films of the 30s, Edgar G. Ulmer’s The Black Cat (1934), looking splendid!
The Hannibal 8 