Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)

A group of gold thieves pull of a heist and flee into the snowy wilderness, only to be pursued by a horrible, spider-like monster.

Director:

Monte Hellman

Writers:

Charles B. Griffith (original story), Charles B. Griffith (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Forest, Sheila Noonan, Frank Wolff

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Forest	...	Gil Jackson
Sheila Noonan	...	Gypsy Boulet (as Sheila Carol)
Frank Wolff	...	Alexander Ward
Wally Campo	...	Byron Smith
Richard Sinatra	...	Marty Jones
Linné Ahlstrand	...	Natalie, the bar-girl
Chris Robinson	...	The Beast / A Bartender (as Christopher Robinson)
Kay Jennings	...	Jill Jackson

Storyline

Gangster Alexander Ward, his girl friend, Gypsy Boulet, and two henchmen come to Deadwood, South Dakota with the idea of stealing a few gold bars. They enlist the aid of a local ski instructor, Gil Jackson, and plan to use him as a guide out of the territory after the robbery. However, a blizzard forces them to take refuge in Jackson's cabin, where Gypsy lowers the inside temperature by giving the cold shoulder to Ward, her former sweetie until she saw Jackson. Ward don't care, as he plans to kill Jackson after they have no further use of him. But they had used an explosion in a cave to serve as a distraction during the heist, and this explosion had irritated the big spider that lived there and, sure enough, all hands have to seek refuge in the cave from the fury of the storm. All but two of them would have been better off facing the South Dakota elements.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | ski instructor | gold bar | deadwood south dakota | blizzard | 

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Taglines:

Horror Beyond Words!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Creature from the Cave

Filming Locations:

Deadwood, South Dakota, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gene Corman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min (theatrical) 71 min (DVD) 72 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Monte Hellman was introduced to Roger Corman through his wife, Barboura Morris, who had previously acted in some of Corman's films. Corman gave Hellman the director's job for this film on the spot. According to Hellman, he offered the job through a handshake agreement and there was no official contract. Hellman recalled that "We didn't have a contract or anything. Just a handshake. And Roger's handshake was better than most people's contracts."

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Connections

Featured in Killer Creature Features: 50 Movie Mega Pack (2016)

User Reviews

A Typical Trash Movie of the 50's

In a skiing station in Dakota, a gang of criminals leaded by Alexander "Alex" Ward (Frank Wolff) plans the heist of golden bars from a small bank. While the lover of Alex, Gypsy Boulet (Sheila Carol), goes to an isolated cabin with the ski instructor Gil Jackson (Michael Forest), a time bomb explodes a cave to divert the attention of the locals and the gangsters steal the gold. But the explosion releases a spider-like monster and due to a storm, the group becomes trapped in Gil's cabin and threatened by the creepy beast.

The debut of Monte Hellman as director is a typical trash movie of the 50's. The story is not bad; the low budget effects are very poor and laughable; the heroine is gorgeous; the sudden conclusion gives the sensation that the shooting was interrupted; and the cover of the Brazilian DVD is extremely funny with the following text: "Young girls scared and sucked by a maze of horror and blood of a hunger beast from hell", which is delightfully funny and ridiculous, since the story has nothing to do with it. In spite of these remarks, I like this type of film, which are part of mine childhood, therefore "Beast From Haunted Cave" is a good entertainment at least for me. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Besta da Caverna Assombrada" ("The Beast From the Haunted Cave")