''The Giant Gila Monster'' is a 1959

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Ray Kellogg Edgar Ray Kellogg (November 15, 1905 – July 5, 1976) was an American special effects artist and film director from Iowa. Career During World War II, Kellogg was a US Navy Lieutenant with the O.S.S. Field Photographing Branch where he beca ...

and produced by

Ken Curtis Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earlie ...

. This low-budget

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

starred Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the French contestant for the 1957

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

, as well as comedic actor

Shug Fisher Shug Fisher (born George Clinton Fisher Jr.; September 26, 1907 – March 16, 1984) was an American character actor, singer, songwriter, musician, and comedian. During his 50-year entertainment career, he performed in many Western films, oft ...

and

KLIF The Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency ( no, Klima- og forurensningsdirektoratet, Klif), named Norwegian Pollution Control Authority ( no, Statens forurensningstilsyn), SFT) until 2010, was a Norwegian government agency from 1974 to 2013 when ...

disc jockey Ken Knox. The effects included a live

Mexican beaded lizard The Mexican beaded lizard (''Heloderma horridum'') is a species of lizard in the family Helodermatidae The Helodermatidae or beaded lizards are a small family of lizards endemic to North America today, but formerly more widespread in the ancien ...

(not an actual

Gila monster The Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum'', ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, typically slow-moving reptile, up to long, and it is the only v ...

) filmed on a scaled-down model landscape.

Plot

The movie opens with a young couple, Pat (Grady Vaughn) and Liz (Yolanda Salas), parked in a bleak, rural locale overlooking a ravine. A giant Gila monster attacks the car, sending it into the ravine and killing the couple. Later, several friends of the couple assist the local sheriff ( Fred Graham) in his search for the missing teens. Chase Winstead (Sullivan), a young mechanic and hot rod racer, locates the crashed car in the ravine and finds evidence of the giant lizard. However, it is only when the hungry reptile attacks a train that the authorities realize they are dealing with a giant venomous lizard. By this time, emboldened by its attacks and hungry for prey, the creature attacks the town. It heads for the local dance hall, where the town's teenagers are gathered for a

sock hop A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop or just a hop, was an informal sponsored dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music. History Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American Ju ...

. However, Chase packs his prized hot rod with

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...

and rigs it to speed straight into the Gila monster, killing it in a fiery explosion and heroically saving the town.

Cast

* Don Sullivan as Chase Winstead * Lisa Simone as Lisa * Fred Graham as Sheriff Jeff *

as Old Man Harris * Bob Thompson as Mr. Wheeler * Janice Stone as Missy Winstead * Ken Knox as Horatio Alger "Steamroller" Smith * Gay McLendon as Mrs. Winstead * Don Flournoy as Gordy * Cecil Hunt as Mr. Compton * Stormy Meadows as Agatha Humphries * Howard Ware as Ed Humphries * Pat Reeves as Rick * Jan McLendon as Jennie * Jerry Cortwright as Bob * Beverly Thurman as Gay * Clarke Browne as Chuck * Grady Vaughn as Pat Wheeler * Desmond Doogh as hitchhiker * Ann Sonka as Whila * Yolanda Salas as Liz Humphries * Patricia Simmons as Sherry (uncredited) * Angus G. Wynne III as dumb teen (uncredited)

Production

Filmed near

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, the film was budgeted at $175,000 and was produced by Dallas drive-in theater chain owner

Gordon McLendon Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s ...

who wanted co-features for his main attractions. McLendon shot the film back to back with ''

The Killer Shrews ''The Killer Shrews'' is a 1959 American independent science fiction film directed by Ray Kellogg, and produced by Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon. The story follows a group of researchers who are trapped in their remote island compound overnight ...

''. Both films were feted as the first

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

shot in and produced in Dallas, and the first movies to premiere as

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

s. Unlike most double features released in the South, these films received national and even foreign distribution. In exchange for doing the special effects, Kellogg was allowed to direct the film. Curtis allowed Sullivan to pick the songs with the teenage market in mind. Knox, who played Horatio Alger "Steamroller" Smith, was an actual disc jockey working at radio stations in Texas owned by McLendon. The "Gila monster" in the movie is actually a Mexican beaded lizard.

Reception

On his website ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'' Dave Sindelar gave the film a positive review, writing, "Whatever flaws there are with the story, I find myself drawn to the regional feel of the movie, and especially to the likable characters that inhabit this environment...It's rare for a movie to have this many likable characters, and I think the reason I watch the movie again and again is because I just like to spend time with them". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, calling it "a rear-projected monster just doesn't put audiences in a deep state of fear, especially when it's a lizard. It does, however, induce occasional uncontrolled laughter". Alan Jones from ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' awarded the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "unintentionally amusing rather than scary".

References in popular culture

The film was featured on a

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

episode of ''

Cinema Insomnia ''Cinema Insomnia'' is a nationally syndicated American television series presented by horror host Mr. Lobo. Format Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known horror or science fiction classic (such as ''Creatu ...

'' and

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. A giant Gila monster briefly appears in the '' Godzilla: The Series'' episode "Freak Show".

Remake

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

remake, ''Gila!'', directed by

Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski (born August 14, 1950) is an American screenwriter, film director, director, and film producer, producer. Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s, and has directed over 150 feature films. His ...

, was released in 2012.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giant Gila Monster, The 1959 films American black-and-white films American monster movies American science fiction horror films Films about lizards Films scored by Jack Marshall Giant monster films 1959 horror films 1950s science fiction horror films 1950s monster movies 1959 directorial debut films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films