| The Giant Gila Monster | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ray Kellogg |
| Screenplay by | Jay Simms |
| Story by | Ray Kellogg |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Narrated by | Gordon McLendon |
| Cinematography | Wilfred M. Cline |
| Edited by | Aaron Stell |
| Music by | Jack Marshall |
| Distributed by | McLendon-Radio Pictures Distributing Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $138,000[1] |
The Giant Gila Monster is an American 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis. This low-budget B-movie starred Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the French contestant for the 1957 Miss Universe, as well as comedic actor Shug Fisher and KLIF disc jockey Ken Knox. The effects included a live Mexican beaded lizard (not an actual Gila monster) filmed on a scaled-down model landscape.
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. However, Chase packs his prized hot rod with nitroglycerin and rigs it to speed straight into the Gila monster, killing it in a fiery explosion and heroically saving the town.
Filmed near Dallas, Texas, the film was budgeted at $175,000 and was produced by Dallas drive-in theater chain owner Gordon McLendon[2] who wanted co-features for his main attractions. McLendon shot the film back to back with The Killer Shrews. Both films were feted as the first feature films shot in and produced in Dallas, and the first movies to premiere as double features. Unlike most double features released in the South, these films received national and even foreign distribution.[3]
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.[4] As noted above, the "Gila monster" in the movie is actually a Mexican beaded lizard.
The film's world premiere took place in Dallas on June 25, 1959.[5]
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".[6] TV Guide 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".[7] Alan Jones from Radio Times awarded the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "unintentionally amusing rather than scary".[8]
The film was featured on a season 5 episode of Cinema Insomnia[9] and season 4 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[10]
A made-for-TV remake, Gila!, directed by Jim Wynorski, was released in 2012.[11]
