Village of the Giants (1965)

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel)
Bert I. Gordon (story)
(more)

Release Date:

20 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

She's 30 feet tall!

Plot:

Delinquent teens ingest a substance and grow to 30 ft tall, then proceed to take over a small town.

Plot Keywords:

Giant | Teen | Growing | Duck | Dancing

Cast

Tommy Kirk	...	Mike
Johnny Crawford	...	Horsey
Ron Howard	...	Genius (as Ronny Howard)
Joe Turkel	...	Sheriff (as Joseph Turkel)
Beau Bridges	...	Fred
Joy Harmon	...	Merrie
Robert Random	...	Rick (as Bob Random)
Gail Gilmore	...	Elsa
Tisha Sterling	...	Jean
Tim Rooney	...	Pete
Kevin O'Neal	...	Harry
Charla Doherty	...	Nancy
Toni Basil	...	Red
Hank Jones	...	Chuck
Jim Begg	...	Fatso
Debi Storm	...	Cora
Rance Howard	...	Deputy
Vicki London	...	Georgette
The Beau Brummels	...	Themselves / Singers
Ron Elliott	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
Ron Meagher	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
Declan Mulligan	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
John Peterson	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
Sal Valentino	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
Freddy Cannon	...	Singer
Mike Clifford	...	Singer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Orangey	...	Giant Cat (uncredited)
Christopher Riordan	...	Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Bert I. Gordon

Writing credits
H.G. Wells		(novel "The Food of the Gods")
Bert I. Gordon		(story)
Alan Caillou

Produced by
Bert I. Gordon	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by
Paul Vogel

Film Editing by
John A. Bushelman		(as John Bushelman)

Art Direction by
Franz Bachelin

Set Decoration by
Robert R. Benton		(as Bob Benton)

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair styles supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Frank Caffey	....	production manager
Curtis Mick	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James A. Rosenberger	....	assistant director (as Jim Rosenberger)
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ross Wheat	....	special prop constructor

Sound Department
John R. Carter	....	sound recordist (as John Carter)
Arthur Cornell	....	sound effects (as Jack Cornall)
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Herman E. Townsley	....	special effects (as Herman Townsley)

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Bert I. Gordon	....	special visual effects
Flora M. Gordon	....	special visual effects (as Flora Gordon)

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Morris	....	camera operator (as Tom Morris)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leah Rhodes	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Jack Nitzsche	....	conductor
Charles Paley	....	music editor

Other crew
Toni Basil	....	choreographer
Joseph E. Levine	....	presenter
Marvin Paige	....	talent coordinator
Dorothy Yutzi	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Berkeley Productions
• Embassy Pictures Corporation
• Joseph E. Levine Productions

Distributors

• Embassy Pictures Corporation (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Barris Kustom City  customized hot rod

Also Known As:

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Berkeley Productions

Trivia:

Ron Howard plays a boy genius who invents a super growth formula. He later played the same kind of role in "Land of the Giants: Genius at Work (#1.21)" (1969)

Goofs:

Continuity: When the giants shrink back to normal size, the amount of fabric they clutch to preserve their modesty is less than it should be.

Quotes:

Mike:Who got the Goo?
Genius:They got it. One of them ran off with it. I was going to stop him, but...
Nancy:But what?
Genius:Reasons of pure logic. He was bigger than me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Movie Macabre: Village of the Giants (#4.5)" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Marianne

Giant cats, giant teens.. giant laughs..

Interesting movie that I first saw on TNT a few years ago. The writing and effects do leave a lot to be desired but this was actually a fun movie to watch if you don't try and take it too seriously. Lots of laughs at some of the gags and moments that this movie takes. And the music.. oh brother. ha ha.

While some of the giant animals like the dog, cat and ducks look really bad and you can tell that its like a split screen zoom up close effect thing they are going for , those type of scenes and moments could have really worked using todays technology. The ideas for this movie were there and with a good script I really believe this would have been one of the best fantasy/sci fi/comedy spoof type movies made. (Potentially) But unfortunately what we do get is giant cats that exit through the door never to be seen again, giant dogs that can't enter the room at all, giant wooden legs in the middle of a road as cheap built motorcycles circle around. And Ron Howard in a role I'm sure he would rather soon forget he did.

The plot itself was silly. 4 trouble making teens enter a town only to steal some growth formula invented by before mentioned Ron Howards character. Lots of giant kids run loose and tell everyone they are in charge now. But all they seem to do is sit around a lot in a huge auditorium and eat. Lots of sexual innuendo (including a breast ride on one of the giant female teens as she tries to dance with someone) and bad jokes like midgits at the end showing up hoping for some of the formula.

Funny movie but if it was written well and even remade to todays effects could be a great movie all together.

2 1/2 stars in my book. Has a lot of potential and you have to take into effect when it was made.