Night of the Blood Beast (1958)

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Gene Corman (story)
Martin Varno (writer)

Release Date:

August 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

No girl was safe as long as this head-hunting thing roamed the land!

Plot:

An astronaut is killed on re-entry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly-gestating aliens.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Creature Feature | Pregnant Man | Monster | X Rayed Skeleton

Cast

John Baer	...	Steve Dunlap
Angela Greene	...	Dr. Julie Benson
Ed Nelson	...	Dave Randall
Georgianna Carter	...	Donna Bixby
Michael Emmet	...	Maj. John Corcoran
Tyler McVey	...	Dr. Alex Wyman
Ross Sturlin	...	The Creature

Directed by
Bernard L. Kowalski

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gene Corman		story
Martin Varno		writer

Produced by
Gene Corman	....	producer
Roger Corman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Alexander Laszlo

Cinematography by
John M. Nickolaus Jr.

Film Editing by
Jodie Copelan

Art Direction by
Daniel Haller

Makeup Department
Harry Thomas	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Bohrer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bob White	....	assistant director (as Robert White)

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	property master

Sound Department
Herman Lewis	....	sound

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)
• Balboa Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Sinister Cinema (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

The alien costume would later be featured again in the film Teenage Cave Man (1958). Ross Sturlin portrayed the monster in both films.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Steve runs into the cave after the creature, the sound indicates that he is really running on a wood floor.

Quotes:

Dr. Alex Wyman:A wounded animal that large isn't good!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Robot Monster (#4.3)" (2010)

Funny Low-Budget Sci-Fi Produced by Roger Corman

The astronaut Steve Dunlap (John Baer) dies after crashing his rocket on Earth. His body is recovered by the base rescue team and examined by Dr. Alex Wyman (Tyler McVey) and Dr. Julie Benson (Angela Greene), who is Steve's fiancée. Out of the blue, Steve resurrects and Dr. Benson discovers that his body is impregnated with Alien embryos; further, the team finds that an alien (Ross Sturlin) has arrived in Steve's spacecraft.

When Dr. Wyman is murdered by the alien, Major John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) and Dave Randall (Ed Nelson) decide to destroy the creature. But Steve is mentally connected to the alien and believes that the creature has peaceful intentions and tries to protect it. But when Steve learns that the alien is an invader, he takes an ultimate decision to protect the earthlings.

"Night of the Blood Beast" is a funny and underrated low-budget sci-fi produced by Roger Corman. This type of black and white Z-movie, with bad acting and poor special effects, is part of my childhood and maybe that is the reason why I find most of them cult. "Night of the Blood Beast" is a sort of grandfather of 1979 "Alien" or 1999 "The Astronaut's Wife" and entertains. My note is five.

Title (Brazil): Not Available