The Snow Creature (1954)

American botanical expedition in the Himalayas stumbles across a Yeti den, capture one and transport it back to Los Angeles, where it escapes while customs officials are debating whether it is animal or human.

Director:

W. Lee Wilder

Writer:

Myles Wilder (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Langton, Leslie Denison, Teru Shimada

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Langton	...	Dr. Frank Parrish
Leslie Denison	...	Peter Wells
Teru Shimada	...	Subra
Rollin Moriyama	...	Leva
Robert Kino	...	Insp. Karma
Robert Hinton	...	Airline Manager
Darlene Fields	...	Joyce Parrish
George Douglas	...	Corey Jr.
Robert Bice	...	Fleet
Keith Richards	...	Harry Bennett
Rudolph Anders	...	Dr. Louis Dupont
William Phipps	...	Lieutenant Dunbar (as Bill Phipps)
Jack Daly	...	Edwards
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Guard in Warehouse

Storyline

Botanist Frank Parrish leads an expedition to the Himalayas to seek out new flora, accompanied by hardboiled news photographer Peter Wells. When their lead guide, Subra, learns his wife has been kidnapped by a Yeti, Parrish disbelieves him, so the sherpas commandeer the expedition at gunpoint and turn it into a search-and-rescue party. To Parrish's surprise, they discover a whole family of Yetis in a cave, and are able to subdue the male and carry it back to civilization, to ship to the USA for study. Subra is forgiven his acts because he was right after all. Wells, meanwhile, phones in the story and Parrish finds his discovery - shipped upright in a meat cooler to maintain its natural environment - detained in the US because Wells' story refers to it as a snowMAN, and a decision must be made whether this is a customs or immigration matter. During this bureaucratic snafu, the creature escapes its containers and disappears into Los Angeles, mysteriously appearing in different parts of ...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | yeti | himalayas | sherpa | raped by monster | 

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Taglines:

Himalayan Monster captured 20,000 Feet above the Earth!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director-producer W. Lee Wilder (and his son, the film's screenwriter 'Miles Wilder') deliberately took the name of the police detective, Lt. Dunbar (played by William Phipps) from the name of the prisoner of war played by Don Taylor in the film Stalag 17 (1953), which was written, produced and directed by W. Lee's much more famous brother: Billy Wilder.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, Dr. Parrish says "starting from Los Angeles, California", but seen below the airplane is New York City.

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes + Snow Creature (1979)

User Reviews

Snow Creature or Bureaucratic Beast

Some of the Himalayan scenes are interesting. There is a conflict as to who is running the show. It's typical of Westerners to try to run roughshod over their "inferiors." Anyway, the Yeti is out there and if we bring him (or her) back, we can make a bundle. Everything works out pretty well and they order his refrigerated box. The problem is the customs guys don't know whether he's human or not. In most respects he is. He lives in a family setting. He has tools. He walks upright and is built pretty much like most homo sapiens. What are his rights? Nobody says anything about just barging into his domain and killing off his family. So, like every good monster movie (or bad one), the "guy" gets loose in the city and wastes a couple of people. What should he do? He's trying to survive. While there are issues that keep this interesting, it doesn't sustain itself very well. There are unanswered questions that are forgotten as soon as the Yeti escapes from his box. A film with some courage might have gone beyond what it does, but money or talent got in the way. The monster looks pretty much like a man with a beard (we never get a good look at him in daylight). Pretty poor with a few perks.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

El terror del Himalaya

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Planet Filmplays

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min 71 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1