The Crawling Eye (1958) The Trollenberg Terror (original title)

Director:

Quentin Lawrence

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)
Peter Key (story)

Release Date:

31 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A man dissolves...and out of the oozing mist comes the hungry eye, slave to the demon brain!

Plot:

A series of decapitations on a Swiss mountainside appear to be connected to a mysterious radioactive cloud.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Alien | Cloud | Metric System Usage | Television Camera

Cast

Forrest Tucker	...	Alan Brooks
Laurence Payne	...	Philip Truscott
Jennifer Jayne	...	Sarah Pilgrim
Janet Munro	...	Anne Pilgrim
Warren Mitchell	...	Prof. Crevett
Frederick Schiller	...	Mayor Klein
Andrew Faulds	...	Brett
Stuart Saunders	...	Dewhurst
Colin Douglas	...	Hans
Derek Sydney	...	Wilde
Richard Golding	...	First Villager
George Herbert	...	Second Villager
Anne Sharp	...	German Woman with Little Girl
Leslie Heritage	...	Carl
Jeremy Longhurst	...	First Student Climber
Anthony Parker	...	Second Student Climber
Theodore Wilhelm	...	Fritz
Garard Green	...	Search Plane Pilot
Caroline Glaser	...	Little Girl
Jack Taylor	...	Jim

Directed by
Quentin Lawrence

Writing credits
Jimmy Sangster		(screenplay)
Peter Key		(story)

Produced by
Robert S. Baker	....	producer
Monty Berman	....	producer

Original Music by
Stanley Black

Cinematography by
Monty Berman

Film Editing by
Henry Richardson

Art Direction by
Duncan Sutherland

Makeup Department
Eleanor Jones	....	makeup artist
Joy Vigo	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ronald Liles	....	production supervisor (as Ronald C. Lisles)
Charles Permane	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Norman Harrison	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Richard A. Smith	....	sound recordist (as Dick Smith)

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Desmond Davis	....	camera operator

Music Department
Stanley Black	....	conductor

Other crew
Yvonne Richards	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Tempean Films

Distributors

• Eros Films (1958) (UK) (theatrical)
• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lehmacher Filmverleih (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Englewood Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Englewood Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Catcom Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Dark Dreams Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Hills Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Network Enterprises (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Anglo-Scottish Pictures Ltd.

Other Companies

• SounDrama  electronic sound

Also Known As:

"The Trollenberg Terror" - UK (original title)

Runtime:

Germany:82 min | USA:84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 (nf) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alliance Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Tempean Films

Trivia:

The fighter pilot during the final battle with the creatures gives his call-sign as "Jolly Roger." While not an historical individual pilot, The elite VF-17 "Jolly Roger" squadron was famous for producing more ace fighter pilots than any other squadron in the history of WWII. During the period of this film (1958), the audience would immediately understand in context, that if "Jolly Roger" had been called in, that the pilot was the best of the best.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Forrest Tucker is talking on the wall phone, the watch on his left wrist appears and disappears throughout the scene.

Quotes:

Philip Truscott:Cute little things, aren't they?
Alan Brooks:Yeah. I'm gonna throw a bomb at that one. You watch on the screen, see what happens.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Kitten with a Whip (#7.15)" (1994)

Good stuff.

Amusing 50's monster movies about a killer eye (!) that terrorizes a town. Lots of fun, and fans of b-movies will enjoy it. The rubbery-looking beast is quite a laugh, even though it actually does look a little better than the average 50's creature. Really fun stuff.