The Killer Shrews (1959)

Director:

Ray Kellogg

Writers:

Jay Simms (story)
Jay Simms (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 April 1962 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All that was left after...THE KILLER SHREWS! (Used in conjunction with a woman's pink pump and splattered blood)

Plot:

On an isolated island, a small group of people are terrorized by giant voracious shrews in the midst of a hurricane.

Plot Keywords:

Shrew | Hurricane | Remote Island | Boat Captain | Sidekick

Cast

James Best	...	Thorne Sherman
Ingrid Goude	...	Ann Craigis
Ken Curtis	...	Jerry Farrell
Gordon McLendon	...	Dr. Radford Baines
Baruch Lumet	...	Dr. Marlowe Craigis
Judge Henry Dupree	...	'Rook' Griswold
Alfredo DeSoto	...	Mario

Directed by
Ray Kellogg

Writing credits
Jay Simms		(story)
Jay Simms		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ken Curtis	....	producer
Gordon McLendon	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Harry Bluestone
Emil Cadkin

Cinematography by
Wilfred M. Cline		(director of photography) (as Wilfrid M. Cline)

Film Editing by
Aaron Stell

Set Decoration by
Louise Caldwell

Makeup Department
Corinne Daniel	....	makeup artist (as Cornie Daniel)

Production Management
Ben Chapman	....	production manager

Art Department
Louise Caldwell	....	art designer (as Louis Caldwell)

Sound Department
Milton Citron	....	sound effects
Earl Snyder	....	sound

Stunts
Fred Graham	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry L. Gianneschi	....	camera assistant
Henry A. Kokojan	....	camera operator
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator
William John Ranaldi	....	camera assistant

Music Department
Harry Bluestone	....	music supervisor
Gilbert D. Marchant	....	music editor (as Gil Marchand)

Other crew
Audrey A. Blasdel	....	script supervisor (as Audrey Blasdel)

Production Companies

• Hollywood Pictures Corporation (II)

Distributors

• McLendon-Radio Pictures Distributing Company (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Victory Multimedia (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• K-tel Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Catcom Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Genius Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Screen Gems (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration

Also Known As:

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (video rating) (1996) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #19311)

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures Corporation (II)

Trivia:

For its Germany release the film was titled Die Nacht der unheimlichen Bestien, which means "The Night of the Uncanny Beast."

Goofs:

Continuity: (At 15:00) A shot shows "Rook" rowing his boat to shore accompanied by the sound of the approaching howling hurricane yet the water is absolutely calm.

Quotes:

Ann Craigis:You're a strange man, Thorne. I never met anyone like you. You seem so disinterested in everything. Aren't you the least bit curious? Don't you wonder about the unusual things around here? The guns. The fence. The shattered windows. My accent. Anything?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dead End (1985)

Danger, mutant shrews on the loose

I've seen The Killer Shrews several times and despite the low budget and reading bad reviews, isn't that bad. It was released in the UK on VHS as part the Screamtime Video series, long deleted but luckily I own a copy.

A small group of people on a remote island are stranded there by a hurricane. One of this group is a scientist who been doing experiments on shrews and as a result, these have turned into giant mutant monsters and have escaped and are hungry. They start trying to get into the house and gradually, members of the group are killed and eaten until there are three survivors and these escape to the sea by using old barrels welded together. Not surprisingly, two of the survivors declare their love for each other at the end.

The giant shrews in this movie are actually dogs with shaggy coats and large teeth.

The Killer Shrews's cast is mostly made up of unknown B-movie actors including James Best, Ingrid Goude and Ken Curtis, who also produced.

This movie is worth looking at, despite its low budget.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.