Monster from Green Hell (1957)

A scientific expedition in Africa investigates wasps that have been exposed to radiation and mutated into giant, killing monsters.

Director:

Kenneth G. Crane

Writers:

Louis Vittes (screenplay), Endre Bohem (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Davis, Robert Griffin, Joel Fluellen

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jim Davis	...	Dr. Quent Brady
Robert Griffin	...	Dan Morgan (as Robert E. Griffin)
Joel Fluellen	...	Arobi
Barbara Turner	...	Lorna
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Mahri
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Dr. Lorentz

Storyline

In preparation for sending a manned rocket into space, American scientists Dr. Quent Brady and Dan Morgan are put in charge of a program that sends various animals and insects into space to test their survival rates. After one of their rockets carrying wasps malfunctions and goes off course, a computer calculates that the rocket is likely to land somewhere off the coast of Africa. Some time later, in a remote part of Africa, Dr. Lorentz and his daughter Lorna perform an autopsy on a native and determine that he died of paralysis of the nerve centers caused by an injection of a massive amount of venom. Arobi, Lorentz' African assistant, then informs him that a monster is believed to be terrorizing people and animals in an area known as Green Hell. Several months later, Brady reads a newspaper account of turmoil in Central Africa caused by gigantic monsters and surmises that the wasps in the missing rocket were exposed to huge amounts of cosmic radiation because an earlier, very minimal...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | bare chested male | green hell jungle | creature feature | rocket | 

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Taglines:

Atomic mutations with an appetite for flesh!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original uncut version the scene showing lava is in red tint. Most versions shown on television have this in black and white.

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Goofs

In the closeup of the newspaper article headlines Central Africa in Turmoil, it is clearly visible that the upper half of the newspaper has been pasted over the lower portion. The thumb on the left hand side of the screen is at the dividing point between the pasted portions.

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Connections

Featured in Attack of the Killer B-Movies (1995)

User Reviews

Jock Ewing meets Albert Schweitzer and some big old Wasps

Before Jim Davis got his last and career part as Jock Ewing in Dallas, he had one tortured path to Hollywood success. He had a much publicized debut as Bette Davis's leading man in Winter Meeting which was one of her worst films. His portrayal of a war hero about to enter the priesthood met with a ton of critical guffaws. Still Davis persisted and took any kind of work. The Monster from Green Hell qualifies as any kind of work.

A wasp is sent up in space to see the effects. Unfortunately on re-entry the space capsule crashes in the region of West Africa and the wasp has grown to the size of a Panzer tank. To top it all off the geniuses sending up the rocket sent up a pregnant queen so we've got all kinds of those Panzer wasps running around Africa.

Jim Davis is sent to clean up the mess and runs into a medical missionary played by Vladimir Sokoloff. Albert Schweitzer was very much alive at the time and running his mission in West Africa. No one in 1958 mistook who Sokoloff was portraying. The wasps set up a colony in the shadow of a volcano. You can figure out the rest.

This is typical Fifties science fiction when all kinds of radiation was the explanation for these creatures. In this case it was the radiation from cosmic rays, presumably from the newly discovered Van Allen belt around the earth.

Tepid acting and chintzy special effects make The Monster from Green Hell great cult stuff. One thing though that is timely. An Arab character played by Eduardo Ciannelli joins forces with Davis and one of the natives Joel Fluellen to combat the danger the giant wasps present. Amazing how religious differences can suddenly melt away in time of crisis.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1957 (UK)

Also Known As:

Monster from Green Hell

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gross-Krasne Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1