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 | Cloud | Alien | Decapitation | Telephone

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:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Tempean Films

Trivia:

It had been a TV serial before becoming a film, Laurence Payne and Stuart Saunders reprise their roles from the serial. In the original production, the creatures were called "Ixodes."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Alan is going to try out the Molotov cocktail on the monsters, he tells everyone in the hallway to move to the far end, except for one older gent with a black jacket, hat and mustache. He tells him to close the door after he gets outside. Apparently the man has trouble closing the heavy door because a balding crew member wearing a white shirt closes the door after Alan.

Quotes:

Prof. Crevett:And then dere is da cloud.
Alan Brooks:What cloud?
Prof. Crevett:Come on, Alan, you know what I'm talking about. Da cloud where there should be no cloud.
Alan Brooks:Where there are mountains, there are always clouds.
Prof. Crevett:But dis one remains static. On da side of da Trollenberg it never moves.
Alan Brooks:A freak of nature.
Prof. Crevett:A *radioactive* freak of nature?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Sci-Fi Boys (2006)

Good Drive In Movie

I kind of liked this movie for all of it's B movie glory. It's a great 50s sci-fi movie. It's a little boring but I thought the monster was pretty good. A great late night or after noon viewing, not even all that scary. Good solid drive in movie or the kind of movie that you would watch on TV late at night. I laughed at various points during the movie but they did a pretty good job with the monster. Even though, it's kind of boring, it's good to watch if you like schlock movies from the 50s like I do. I wish it had been a little more entertaining and scary. But I do have affection for the movies of this period. You can tell that they were trying to keep the cost down. The acting was okay, what you would expect to find in these types of movies. All around fun and excitement for a lazy afternoon.