The Crater Lake Monster (1977)

Director:

William R. Stromberg

Writers:

William R. Stromberg (original story and screenplay) and
Richard Cardella (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A beast more frightening than your most terrifying nightmare!

Plot:

A meteor that crashed into Oregon's Crater Lake unearths a dinosaur egg. The heat from the meteor causes the egg to hatch, and the emerging dinosaur takes to snacking on the locals.

Plot Keywords:

Egg | Meteor | Dinosaur | Lake | Monster

Cast

Richard Cardella	...	Steve Hanson
Glen Roberts	...	Arnie Chabot (as Glenn Roberts)
Mark Siegel	...	Mitch Kowalski
Bob Hyman	...	Richard 'Doc' Calkins
Richard Garrison	...	Dan Turner
Kacey Cobb	...	Susan Patterson
Michael F. Hoover	...	Ross Conway (as Michael Hoover)
Suzanne Lewis	...	Paula Conway
Marv Eliot	...	Jack Fuller
Garry Johnston	...	Blackmailer
Sonny Shepard	...	Robber
John Crowder	...	Mechanic
Susy Claycomb	...	Waitress
Hal Scharn	...	Birdwatcher
Mike Simmons	...	Store Clerk
Mary Winford	...	Lady Customer
Jim Goeppinger	...	Villager
Joe Sasway	...	Ferguson

Directed by
William R. Stromberg

Writing credits
William R. Stromberg		(original story and screenplay) and
Richard Cardella		(original story and screenplay)

Produced by
William R. Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Will Zens		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Paul Gentry		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Nancy Grossman
Steven Nielson		(as Steve Nielson)

Production Design by
Roger Heisman

Makeup Department
Meg Hodgetts	....	makeup artist
Elaine Stromberg	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Gentry	....	second unit director
Roger Heisman	....	second unit director

Art Department
Armando Norte	....	illustrator

Sound Department
Hal Scharn	....	sound

Special Effects by
Bill Dickinson	....	special effects
Steve Neill	....	special mechanical effects

Visual Effects by
David Allen	....	stop motion supervisor (as Dave Allen)
Tom Scherman	....	special miniature effects
Jon Berg	....	miniatures builder (uncredited)
Randall William Cook	....	assistant model animator (uncredited)
Jim Danforth	....	assistant model animator (uncredited)
Phil Tippett	....	miniatures builder (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Broad	....	grip
Cindy Korman	....	grip assistant
Michelle Lahti	....	grip assistant
Bret McCormick	....	grip (as Brett McCormick)
Jerry Osteen	....	key grip
Bert Winford	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Meg Hodgetts	....	assistant to editor

Music Department
James West	....	composer: songs
Johnny Douglas	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Raymond Jones	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Richard LaSalle	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Crown International Pictures

Distributors

• Crown International Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Saguenay Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• United Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Communities of Huntington Lake and Palomar Mountain, California, The  the producer thanks
• Fantamation  filmed in
• Metrocolor  color
• Pacific Title  titles
• U.S. National Forestry Service  the producer thanks (as the U.S. Division of Forestry)
• Van der Veer Photo Effects  opticals (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Huntington Lake, California, USA

Company:

Crown International Pictures

Trivia:

According to lead actor/writer Richard Cardella, Crown International Pictures took over the film's production and did little if any proper post-production work, leading to night scenes not being blue-tinted amongst other continuity errors.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Dan Turner is described as a paleontologist (an expert in fossilized animals), yet he seems to be working as an anthropologist throughout the film.

Quotes:

Steve Hanson:All right. I'll give you twenty-four hours, but I AM gonna call in some outside help, because my first responsibility is to save HUMAN lives, not sea-serpents.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies (1990) (V)

This hurts-sometimes

Well the Horror Channel here in the UK use this film on a regular basis, usually screened in the afternoon. So there's a hint to the impact it must have when it's OK to show to pre-school kids. Anyway the plot is a one-liner that stretches over its alloted time. Meteorite hits lake, warms water, brings monster to life, monster needs food, eats people, monster is eventually killed by a bulldozer. You know the kind of thing.

However this film is so bad it's almost good. OK you might want to be scared out of your wits but come to it from another perspective and you can see the funny side. The ham acting, incoherent plot line, cave drawing and 'plastic' monster attack.

Doesn't the world of cinema need these films. I for one have come to enjoy it for what it is a good laugh on a rainy afternoon.

I don't advocate making more films like this, but at least with this around the B movie is alive and well.