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:

Half man! Half monster!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

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

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

When the expedition are chasing the Yeti into the caves, you see the "rocks" that are falling hit some of the people with no apparent effect.

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Connections

Featured in Horrible Horror (1986)

User Reviews

Shambling Shag Rug Attacks!! :=8O

Silly, preposterous cheapie from Billy Wilder's incowpetant kid brother, W. Lee Wilder("Killers from Space", "Phantom from Space", "Manfish"). A churlish failed botanist & a drunk photographer lead a group of Japanese actors trying to pass as Tibetans into some poorly designed fake Himalayan sets; a tall shaggy fellow steals one of the "Sherpas" wives, and a merry chase ensues with the "legendary Yeti" to retrieve the wife & bring the Big Hairy Guy back to the States. Once in Los Angeles a debate brews over wether the walking rug is a human monster or mutant DuPont Stainmaster, and therefore cargo. The carpet then escapes, haunts the sewers of L.A., and is given the Final Treatment by the cops. Slow, stodgy, and dumb as a box of Himalayan rocks, this early ABSM(Abominable Snowman)stinker features the single worst snowman costume ever - it's obviously a huge shaggy rug, with a square hole cut out of the face so the "actor" stuffed inside can see/breathe. The poor unfortunate inside can barely moove around, and we even get to see him/her slip on the icy rocks that are supposed to pass for the Himalayans. Wilder's threadbare technique of using the same shots and scenes over and over again to shave moolah off the the film's production costs serve as further hilarity - one shot, of the "snowman" stepping out of the shadows, is shown and reversed over and over and over, some 20 or 30 times. Like a brief glimpse into future Coleman Francis moovies, actors spend much of the non-Himalayan time smoking and/or drinking coffee. You will remember Paul Langton, who plays Botanist Frank Parrish, from such stinkers as "IT:The Terror from Beyond Space", "The Cosmic Man", and "Invisible Invaders", although he may best be remembered for 1957's "The Incredible Shrinking Man", which was actually a pretty good flick. Lock Martin("Invaders from Mars", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "The Incredible Shrinking Man") reportedly was the poor soul stuffed inside the shaggy rug, a very tall actor known as 50's tv host "The Gentle Giant" and for playing Gort, the robot in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" - kind of a Richard Kiel of the 50's. As for "Snow Creature", well its typical W. Lee Wilder, and that means slow, cheap, and dumb. The MooCow suggests viewing the W. Lee Wilder trilogy ("Snow Beast", "Killers from Space", "Phantom from Space")with yer stinky moovie buddies, and let the silliness ensue. ;=8)