The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

A defecting Soviet scientist is hit by a nuclear explosion near Yucca Flats and roams around as a beast.

Director:

Coleman Francis

Writer:

Coleman Francis

Stars:

Douglas Mellor, Barbara Francis, Bing Stafford

Bottom 100 #45 | See the Bottom 100 movies as voted by our users.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Douglas Mellor	...	Hank Radcliffe
Barbara Francis	...	Lois Radcliffe
Bing Stafford	...	Jim Archer
Larry Aten	...	Joe Dobson
Linda Bielema	...	Wife on Vacation
Ronald Francis	...	Randy Radcliffe
Alan Francis	...	Art Radcliffe
Anthony Cardoza	...	KGB Driver / Helpful Neighbor (as Tony Cardoza)
Bob Labansat	...	Javorsky's Bodyguard
Jim Oliphant	...	Husband on Vacation
John Morrison	...	KGB Passenger
Eric Tomlin	...	Driver Run off Road
Jim Miles	...	Javorsky's Driver
George Prince	...	Man who Reports Murder (as George Principe)
Conrad Brooks	...	Man at Airfield

Storyline

A defecting Russian scientist is transformed by an atomic test into a hulking monster, Tor Johnson, of course. Not much else except some people are killed, boys get lost, and a rabbit sniffs Tor's corpse. (This film was used for Mystery Science Theater 3000.)

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Plot Keywords:

monster | narration | b movie | rabbit | strangulation | 

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Taglines:

Commies made him an atomic mutant!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Girl Madness

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$34,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot without sound. To avoid having to sync a lot of sound in post-production, the actors turned away from the camera when speaking, and cupped their hands over their mouths when shouting.

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Goofs

The Radcliffes get a flat tire and pull over on a desolate desert highway. As the Dad changes the flat tire, the shadow of the film crew vehicle is right behind him, along the side of the road.

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Quotes

[after one of the Beast's victims dies]
Joe Dobson: Well, doctors can't help her. Maybe angels, but not doctors.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Screaming Skull (2010)

User Reviews

A Study in Titillation

Produced in 1961, the very first scene surprises: a topless woman is drying off after a shower and retires to her bed when a strange man appears and.... The scene is shot with quick cuts, and seems like a late insert into the film, since "Psycho" was released the prior year, and has nothing to do with the subsequent events. Later a hulking manbeast, exposed to radiation, kidnaps a fainting woman, and carries her around the desert for a long period of time, including hiding out in a cave. Another scene shows a sheriff summoned to locate the missing woman, leaving his wife in the house, featuring lingering shots of this attractive blonde in a silky nightgown, getting up and going back to bed. The sexual suggestiveness of these three scenes is undebatable, going as far as they can in 1961 to illustrate that theme. Some good location work offsets the silly, yet fascinating narration of this basically silent film. Cast of unknowns remained that way, save Tor Johnson as the titular fiend, inadequately made-up, famous for his Ed Wood roles. Another obscure horror picture that has found its way to DVD in a good black-and-white print with an interesting Cold War influence. Weird.