''Teenage Monster'' is a 1958 independently made

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 uni ...

- horror

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film. It was produced and directed by Jacques R. Marquette, and stars

Anne Gwynne Anne Gwynne (born Marguerite Gwynne Trice; December 10, 1918 – March 31, 2003) was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popula ...

and

Stuart Wade Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Norther ...

. The film had a first screening on December 25, 1957, in Los Angeles. It went into general theatrical release in January 1958, in a double feature with '' The Brain from Planet Arous''; the pairing combined science fiction and

film elements, both of which were very popular in the late 1950s.

Plot

In a 19th-century town in the Southwestern United States, young Charlie Cannon sees a meteorite crash in the desert. While exploring the crash site, he is exposed to mysterious rays emanating from the meteorite that cause him to begin aging rapidly. His mother, a gold prospector named Ruth, hides him and the town believes him dead. However, in a short time span, Charlie ages ten years, while also becoming a hairy, aggressive, and completely psychopathic man-beast. He sometimes escapes his confinement, and terrorizes the community. After his mother strikes gold, she purchases a house in town in the hopes that living in a real home will soothe her son's inner beast. However, he scares more people and kidnaps a young woman, Kathy. Ruth pays Kathy to keep her silence, but Kathy begins to blackmail Ruth and to manipulate Charlie to kill for her. In the final show-down, Charlie understands Kathy's lies and hurls her off a cliff before being shot and killed himself.

Cast

The cast includes: *

as Ruth Cannon * Stuart Wade as Sheriff Bob *

Gloria Castillo Gloria Castillo (March 3, 1933 – October 24, 1978) was an American stage and motion picture actress of the 1950s and a businesswoman. Early years Castillo was born in Belen, New Mexico. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Castillo, and ...

as Kathy North * Charles Courtney as Marv Howell * Gilbert Perkins as adult Charlie Cannon / The Monster * Stephen Parker as young Charlie Cannon *

Norman Leavitt Norman Turner Leavitt (December 1, 1913 – December 11, 2005) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Leavitt was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began his stage career in 1935, appearing as a wedding guest in the Broadway ...

as Deputy Ed * Jim McCullough as Jim Cannon * Gaybe Morradian / Gabe Mooradian as Fred Fox * Frank Davis as Man on the street * Arthur Berkeley as Man with

burro The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

Production and reception

Jacques R. Marquette made the feature because his company needed a cheap film to run as a double bill with ''The Brain from Planet Arous'' (1957). Jacques Marquette also helped develop the film's plot and handled some of the

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

. Jack Pierce handled the make-up effects. ''Teenage Monster'' was released by Marquette Productions Limited. The film's working title was ''Monster on the Hill'', but it was theatrically released as ''Teenage Monster'' in an attempt to cash in on the success of horror films from other distributors that used the word "teenage" in their titles. When the film was released to television, the title was changed to ''Meteor Monster''. The film – as ''Teenage Monster'' – was refused a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

rating certificate in 1959. In 1995, the film was finally released in the UK fully uncut and with a PG certificate rating. Writing in ''DVD Savant'', film critic

Glenn Erickson Glenn Erickson is an American film editor and film critic. A graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, he started in the film industry in 1975 as an editor of low-budget films and later worked in minor technical crew capacitie ...

reported that the "film is so primitive that none of the ugly subtext seems to matter," that "Marquette's action direction is terrible," and that " possible characters defeat the actors."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0051063 1957 films 1957 horror films 1950s Western (genre) horror films 1950s science fiction horror films American Western (genre) horror films American black-and-white films American science fiction horror films Articles containing video clips 1950s English-language films Films set in the 19th century Films set in the Southwestern United States Films about rapid human age change 1950s American films