| Reptilicus | |
|---|---|
 Danish theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Danish version: Poul Bang English version: Sidney W. Pink |
| Written by | Ib Melchior Sidney W. Pink |
| Starring | Carl Ottosen Ann Smyrner Mimi Heinrich Dirch Passer |
| Cinematography | Aage Wiltrup |
| Edited by | Sven Methling Edith Nisted Nielsen |
| Music by | Sven Gyldmark |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures (USA) Saga Studios (Denmark) |
Release dates |
1962 (United States) |
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Countries | Denmark United States |
| Languages | Danish English |
| Budget | $233,000[a] |
| Box office | $800,000[3] |
Reptilicus is a 1961 Danish-American monster film about a prehistoric reptile. The film was produced by Cinemagic[4] and Saga Studio and separate versions were released in Denmark and in the United States, with American International Pictures handling distribution for the latter.
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Filming took place in several locations in Denmark, including Copenhagen, Sjælland, and Jylland.[5] Several versions were filmed. The original was filmed using the native Danish language and the second was filmed using the English language. Each version of the film featured the same actors, with the exception of Bodil Miller, who was replaced by actress Marla Behrens since the Danish actress could not speak English. However, the English version of the film was heavily edited, including altering footage to show Reptilicus vomiting acid saliva, and the actors' voices dubbed over by American International Pictures for its release in the United States.[6]
Danish miner Svend Viltorft digs up a section of a giant reptile's tail from the frozen grounds in Lapland, where he and other miners are drilling. The section is flown to the Denmark's Aquarium in Copenhagen, where it is preserved in a cold room for scientific study. But due to mishandling, the room is left open and the section begins to thaw, only for scientists to find that it is starting to regenerate.
Professor Otto Martens, who is in charge of the aquarium, dubs the reptilian species "Reptilicus" (upon a reporter's suggestion) and compares its regeneration abilities to that of other animals like starfish.
Once fully regenerated from the tail section, Reptilicus goes on an unstoppable rampage from the Danish countryside to the panic-stricken streets of Copenhagen (including one of its famous landmarks, Langebro Bridge). The monster is finally rendered unconscious by a sedative developed by ingenious scientists and shot into its mouth from a bazooka fired by General Grayson.
However, the film is left open-ended. A final shot shows one of Reptilicus' legs, which had been blown off earlier by the Danish Navy's depth charges, sitting on the sea floor, raising the possibility that it could regenerate into a new Reptilicus.
The original Danish-language version was directed by Danish director Poul Bang and released in Denmark on February 25, 1961.
In July 1960 the American version started production.[7] This version was filmed in English with a nearly identical cast and was directed by the film's American producer-director Sidney W. Pink. Initially, this version was deemed virtually unreleasable by American International Pictures and had to be extensively reworked by the film's Danish-American screenwriter, Ib Melchior, before being finally released in America in 1962. Pink was angry at the changes and wound up in a legal dispute with AIP.[2] After Pink and others viewed the English-language version, however, the lawsuit was dropped.[8]
Pink returned to Hollywood praising Danish miniatures, saying that "Danish miniature work has surpassed that of Japan, up to generally acknowledged to be the finest in the world. Facilities in Denmark, by Hollywood standards, are notably lacking; but fine craftsmen who put everything together by hand are not concerned with the time it takes, (and) are excellent". Pink also said "the Scandinavian countries have never truly been exploited by Hollywood filmmakers, so the settings have remained unusually fresh ground for motion pictures. Reptilicus at Saga Studios in Copenhagen made "at a cost of $380,000 (equivalent to $3,758,965 in 2022), about a third of what it probably would have cost if made in the U. S."[9]
As Denmark's only giant monster film, this film has a cult following in its home country.[10] Sidney Pink attempted to produce a remake of the film in 2001, due to the box office success of Godzilla in 1998, before his death in 2002.[citation needed]
The American version of Reptilicus was released on DVD on April 1, 2003, by MGM Home Entertainment under the Midnite Movies banner.[11] The Danish version was released on DVD from Sandrew Metronome in 2002. In June 2015, the film was released in the Blu-ray format by Scream Factory as a double feature with the 1977 film Tentacles.[12]
Reptilicus received mostly negative reviews from American critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 25% based on eight reviews, with a weighted average rating of 3.9/10.[13]
Film critic Glenn Erickson described the monster as "a wiggly marionette that moved like something from Kukla, Fran and Ollie," that the film's "dubbing was terrible and the optical effects so distractingly bad that I couldn't help but roll my eyes," that the film includes "a jaw-droppingly dreadful musical number, in which bumbling aquarium janitor Mikkelsen / Petersen (Dirch Passer) romps in a park with a bunch of barely-interested kids, singing a horrible song about a loveable monster," and that the film "comes in dead last in the list of movies where giant monsters attack cities."[14] Describing the film as a "hilarious sci-fi mess," critic Hans Wollstein further noted in AllMovie that it "contains filmdom's perhaps least convincing monster and some of the worst performances imaginable," that "Ottosen's wooden performance is second only to that of Bodil Miller, a former Universal starlet who appears here for no apparent reason," and "a low point of the film is pop star Birthe Wilke's rendition of a ditty, 'Tivoli Nights', to a visibly dazed audience."[15] Writing in DVD Talk, Kurt Dahlke reported that "Reptilicus seems aimed squarely at the monster kids in the audience," that no viewers "will concern themselves with the plot," and that "Special Effects are not this movie's strong point, but they are its selling point," with a monster that "often slithers about slowly, like an arthritic hand-puppet."[16]
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film a BOMB, his lowest rating for a film. In his review on the film Maltin wrote that the film was "only good for laughs as [the] script hits every conceivable monster-movie cliché, right to the final shot".[17] TV Guide gave the film one out of a possible four stars, calling it "a fair-to-poor monster film".[18] Matt Brunson from Creative Loafing gave the film a negative review: "Awkward dubbing of foreign actors, special effects that look like they cost a buck fifty, laughably earnest dialogue, wince-inducing comic relief from a dim-witted character — if ever a movie was made that deserved to be showcased on the cult series Mystery Science Theater 3000 it's this one".[19]
A novelization of the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release (Reptilicus by Dean Owen (real name: Dudley Dean McGaughey) (Monarch Books 1961)).[6]
In 1961, Charlton Comics produced a comic book based on the film. Reptilicus lasted two issues.[20] After the copyright had lapsed, Charlton modified the creature's look and renamed it Reptisaurus. The series was renamed Reptisaurus the Terrible and would continue from issue #3 before being cancelled with issue #8 in 1962.[21] This was followed by a one-shot called Reptisaurus Special Edition in 1963.[22] Reptisaurus also made a cameo in the 12th issue of another Charlton giant monster comic, Gorgo.
In 2012, Scary Monsters Magazine reprinted the Reptisaurus the Terrible series as a black and white collection called Scarysaurus the Scary.[23]
In 2020, PS Artbooks published the two issues of Reptilicus as a bonus in the first two volumes of their Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle trade paperback series.
