The Alligator People (1959)

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Orville H. Hampton (screenplay)
Orville H. Hampton (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

July 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Terror in the Bayou!

Plot:

A newlywed couple sit in a train. The husband receives a frantic telegram. He gets off at a station to make a phone call...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Mutant | Search | Alligator | Newlywed

Cast

Beverly Garland	...	Joyce Webster, aka Jane Marvin
Bruce Bennett	...	Dr. Eric Lorimer
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Manon (as Lon Chaney)
George Macready	...	Dr. Mark Sinclair
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Lavinia Hawthorne, Henry's Wife
Richard Crane	...	Paul Webster
Douglas Kennedy	...	Dr. Wayne MacGregor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Bradley	...	Patient 'Number Six' (uncredited)
Hal K. Dawson	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Dudley Dickerson	...	Train Porter (uncredited)
John Frederick	...	1st Male Nurse (uncredited)
Ruby Goodwin	...	Louann the Maid (uncredited)
Ken Kane	...	Third Male Nurse (uncredited)
Vince Townsend Jr.	...	Toby the Butler (uncredited)
Lee Warren	...	Second Male Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Del Ruth

Writing credits
Orville H. Hampton		(screenplay)
Orville H. Hampton		(story) and
Charles O'Neal		(story)
Robert M. Fresco		uncredited

Produced by
Jack Leewood	....	producer

Original Music by
Irving Gertz

Cinematography by
Karl Struss		(director of photography)

Art Direction by
John B. Mansbridge		(as John Mansbridge)
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Joseph Kish
Walter M. Scott

Makeup Department
Eve Newing	....	hair stylist
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Herbert E. Mendelson	....	production manager (as Herb Mendelson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert E. Mendelson	....	assistant director (as H.E. Mendelson)

Art Department
George Westenhiser	....	property master

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound (as W. Donald Flick)
Arthur Cornell	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Etcheverry	....	special effects

Stunts
Bob Bryant	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ollie Hughes	....	costume supervisor
William McCrary	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Harry W. Gerstad	....	supervising film editor (as Harry Gerstad)
Orven Schanzer	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Mary Coleman	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• Associated Producers (API) (as Associated Producers, Inc.)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (4 film collection)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (4 film collection)

Other Companies

• Bausch & Lomb  CinemaScope lenses by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Approved (Certificate #19352)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This film was made because Twentieth Century-Fox needed a low-budget "monster movie" in the CinemaScope format to play on the bottom of a double bill with Return of the Fly (1959), the sequel to its "sleeper" hit The Fly (1958). Fox did not produce this film, however. It was made by independent producer Jack Leewood and bought by Fox.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Paul Webster is on the operating table, shirtless, only his head and hands are partly alligator, and not the other areas of his visible skin (no doubt due to budgetary reasons).

Quotes:

Dr. Mark Sinclair:Paul...
Paul Webster:Yes...
Dr. Mark Sinclair:I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am.
Paul Webster:Don't blame yourself, I certainly don't. Who can know everything? You're not God, Mark.
Dr. Mark Sinclair:I feel as if I've been playing at it... and been punished.
Paul Webster:Forget it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in American Grindhouse (2010)

Excellent Sci-Fi of the late 1950's

There are many fine reviews on this film that summarize the story of "The Alligator People," the fine actors, and judge the film. What is contained here is two basic points: (1) the memories that stood out to an eight year old boy who watched the movie from the back seat of his older brother's 1947 Chevy; and (2) an analogy that may have been overlooked by other reviewers.

First, the movie was terrifying and yet compelling to this reviewer from his perspective of first viewing this classic at the age of eight years old. My older brother took me to the Big Sky Drive-In Theater on Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona, to see not one but two horror movies ("Return of the Fly" was the first of the twin bill). While the sense was to "not" watch the monsters by staying securely down on the floor board behind the front seats, the compulsion to "see" the Alligator man was too strong...I simply could not take my eyes off of the terrific sight of a man morphing into an alligator. While I loved the movie, I must confess, that to this very day, I still do not extend my arms or legs over the side of my bed. After all, one can never know what might be lurking under the bed.

Secondly, I think there is a not so subtle analogy correlated to the location of the filming...at least the location that I've been led to believe was the site of the film. Carville Hospital for the treatment of Hansen's Disease (Leprosy), at Carville, Louisiana. No doubt, the idea of Leprosy and the swampy Louisiana bayou's living fossils...alligators was a combination that had to happen. For years, people with Hansen's disease were feared as their condition was greatly misunderstood. The disease caused it's victims skin to seemingly rot away in a hideous fashion. With the United States only Leprosorium in the deep bayou regions of South Louisiana, it's plain to see that "The Alligator People" is a weird blend of fears and mystery that twists together a scary creature with a nod towards the horrific disease of leprosy. Even in Bible times, leprosy was so feared that people with that condition were isolated and rejected. Only a miracle could bring healing and restoration. In "The Alligator People," a scientist became maddened with his obsession to provide a drastic miracle cure for people who had a mysterious skin disease...skin like that of alligator skin. Filmed in Louisiana, what better site for such a story that Carville, Louisiana? But even if it was filmed at some other Louisiana location, I suppose I will continue to adopt this analogy.

If you're like this reviewer, you will watch this movie and all of its seemingly ancient special effects and rubber costumes with a wide-eyed wonderment. I still can't take my eyes off the Alligator Man.