It was the late 70s, and I was 11 or 12, when I first saw The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster (both 1959). It was on some faraway UHF station that we could pick up because we lived in the sticks and had a great big antenna. The station ran ’em back to back on a Friday or Saturday night. Already a movie nut, I knew Ken Curtis from The Searchers (1956) and James Best from The Andy Griffith Show and a few Westerns. And I knew the name Ray Kellogg from the poster for The Green Berets (1968) hanging in my bedroom.
Gordon and B.R. McLendon were big-time Texas radio men who decided to get into the movie business — to go with their drive-in theater business. Taking a cue from Roger Corman and AIP, they made a cheap monster movie double feature. They could promote their films on their radio stations and run them at their drive-ins. This closed loop helped them rake in the money.
However, their business acumen didn’t include keeping up with the copyrights, and they fell into the public domain. Because of this, The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster have turned up on every home video format that’s come down the pike — usually looking terrible.
That is, until Film Masters came along. Working with new 4K scans of original 35mm film elements, they’ve assembled an outstanding package.
The Killer Shrews
Directed by Ray Kellogg
Produced by Ken Curtis & Gordon McLendon
Written by Jay Simms
Cinematography: Wilfred M. Cline
Film Editor: Aaron Stell
Music by Harry Bluestone & Emil Cadkin
Cast: James Best, Ingrid Goude, Ken Curtis, Gordon McLendon, Baruch Lumet, “Judge” Henry Dupree, Alfred DeSoto
The Killer Shrews uses a classic cheap-movie setup — a small cast trapped in a remote place with something bad waiting to get them. Here, it’s a team of scientists trapped in their research facility on a tiny island — with scads of horrible, mutated shrews eating through the walls to tear the cast to shreds.
Not a bad premise, and some of the shrew scenes work pretty well. When they’re done using puppets, things are aces, and suspense builds pretty well. But when we get long shots of dogs wearing masks and wha6 looks like the rugs in your grandmother’s bathroom, whatever tension that’s been built is quickly gone.
But there are folks out there among us who love made-in-a-week horror movies, who prefer them to $200 million blockbusters. I’m one of those people, and I have a real soft spot for The Killer Shrews.
The Giant Gila Monster
Directed by Ray Kellogg
Screenplay by Jay Simms
Story by Ray Kellogg
Produced by Ken Curtis, B.R. McLendon & Gordon McLendon
Cinematography: Wilfred M. Cline
Film Editor: Aaron Stell
Music by Jack Marshall
Cast: Don Sullivan, Lisa Simone, Fred Graham, Shug Fisher, Bob Thompson
The Giant Gila Monster takes the teenager movie and the monster movie, staples of 50s drive-in cinema, and nails them together — with the kind of results you’d expect from a week’s shooting outside Dallas. And, of course, with the prerequisite teenagers who appear to be pushing 30.
Some young hot-rodders tag team with the local sheriff to take on a giant gila monster after it kills a couple of their friends and eventually threatens their town. The monster is of the put-a-real-lizard-on-a-miniature-set variety, and it looks like somebody’s pet lizard (a Mexican bearded lizard) got loose on an HO train layout. And there’s some Rock N Roll in the teen hangout and a bit of “comic relief” from Shug Fisher.
Special effects man Ray Kellogg makes his directorial debut with these two pictures, both shot by Wilfred Cline. So, even though they’re clearly cheap, both look better than you’d expect. This is more obvious than ever with the Blu-Ray set from Film Masters, as these things haven’t looked this good in ages.
Since most of us know these films from TV, we’re treated to the 1.85 theatrical aspect ratio, along with the 1.33 look we’re probably more familiar with. (Each film is on its own disc.) Whatever shape you want it to be, it looks exquisite, some might say better than they deserve. There are commentaries, radio spots, a trailer for Gila Monster and a cool Ballyhoo documentary on Ray Kellogg. From shooting footage of the Nuremberg Trials to special effects at 20th Century Fox to co-directing The Green Berets with John Wayne, Kellogg had a helluva career in the movies — and it’s nice to see him get the spotlight for a bit. And there are some terrific essays in the booklet.
So many of us have soft spot for pictures like this, and it’s wonderful to see them all spiffed up and packed with extras. Thanks to Film Masters, a company certainly worth keeping an eye on, this set comes highly, highly recommended.
The Hannibal 8 