The Gila monster is one of the big stars of "The Day of the B Movie."
Some stars never fade away, especially if they are big enough to derail a train or flip over a truck. Such is the case with the enormous star of "The Giant Gila Monster," a 1959 thriller that kept sci-fi audiences on the edge of their seats in its' heyday, eventually becoming a cult classic.
The big boy is back as one of the featured players in "The Day of the B Movie," R. J. Thomas' documentary salute to (and spoof of) the beloved cheapies of yesteryear.
"In the 1959 movie, they didn't build a giant lizard or anything like that," Mr. Thomas said. "They used a real Gila monster and filmed him walking around a set full of miniatures, which gave the whole thing an oddball look. But for what it was, it worked."
Hosted by Mr. Thomas (sometimes as a B movie character himself,) "The Day of the B Movie" features clips of some of the funniest, corniest, most colorful, and most bizarre B movies ever made.
The Gila monster is not the only menacing creature in the playful documentary. A ruthless sea monster stalks innocent swimmers. A castaway is bitten by a giant spider, turning him into the scariest-looking creature since the Wolfman. A nuclear explosion in the desert turns a brilliant scientist into a crazed beast. An alien who sports a helmet and is without a face puzzles prominent scientists, while a bewildered good ol' boy, after seeing a giant leech in the lake, tells his buddies, "I wouldn't touch that critter for all the money ever made. If you'd seen it, you wouldn't neither!"
"The human star of 'The Giant Gila Monster' was a young man played by an actor named Don Sullivan," Mr. Thomas said. "He was your typical clean-cut 1950s hero. He did everything right. He was too perfect. He gets the girl, takes care of his family, and is the most popular guy in town. He's so smart, that when the giant lizard threatens the town, he's the one who figures out what to do, not the sheriff. He figures out how to kill the giant lizard and does so for the happy ending."
"The Day of the B Movie" is on DVD at BooksAndSuchMart.com.
A thirty-second promo for the film is available for viewing on YouTube.com.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
