Village of the Giants (1965)

Delinquent teen-agers ingest a substance and grow thirty feet tall, then proceed to take over a small town.

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel), Alan Caillou (screenplay)

Stars:

Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford, Beau Bridges

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Kirk	...	Mike
Johnny Crawford	...	Horsey
Beau Bridges	...	Fred
Joy Harmon	...	Merrie
Robert Random	...	Rick (as Bob Random)
Gail Gilmore	...	Elsa
Tisha Sterling	...	Jean
Tim Rooney	...	Pete
Kevin O'Neal	...	Harry
Charla Doherty	...	Nancy
Toni Basil	...	Red
Ron Howard	...	Genius (as Ronny Howard)
The Beau Brummels	...	Themselves / Singers
Ron Elliott	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)
Ron Meagher	...	Himself (as The Beau Brummels)

Storyline

Mike thinks he's hit the jackpot when his girlfriend Nancy's kid brother, who they call Genius, creates a growth compound that results in animals growing to huge proportions. A group of delinquents led by Fred has come to town and when they get their hands the goo, as Genius calls it, their giant size make them unstoppable. While Genius tries to recreate the formula, Mike and other teenagers in town, serve the giants. Genius simply can't reproduce the formula but fortunately comes up with the next best thing.

---

Plot Keywords:

enlargement | teenage boy | downpour | looking at oneself in a mirror | duck meat | 

---

Taglines:

They're 30 feet tall!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

The Unofficial Fanpage of Village of the Giants [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cidade dos Gigantes

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Berkeley Productions, Embassy Pictures, Joseph E. Levine Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vicki London was originally cast with a larger role, but declined to disrobe in preproduction, so her part was changed with Joy Harmon's, and much of London's subsequent screen time was cut. Her agent kept her in the movie at full pay, while London didn't seem to object to what happened, since she saw the whole thing as forgettable.

---

Goofs

When the giants shrink back to normal size, the amount of fabric they clutch to preserve their modesty is less than it should be.

---

Quotes

Merrie: Fred, what's going to happen to us?
Fred: I don't know. As long as it lasts, I guess we'll have to live with it.

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Giants (1996)

---

Soundtracks

Nothing Can Stand In My Way
by Jack Nitzsche and Russ Titelman

User Reviews

Excellent Camp/Features Vintage Beau Brummels

I first saw this great campy film 20 years ago on TV and its got a great mixture of INTENTIONAL camp, the beginnings of a pre-hippy teen rebelliousness (1965), and some great music from Beau Brummels. The key to this film is not to take it seriously...the cast and crew didn't. "Genius" (Ron Howard) invents "GOO", a substance that turns rebel teens into giants who take over a village and the only hope is for Genius to find an antedote. He does just in time and it all works out in the end. But not before we get some giant ducks dancing to BBs live perfomance of "Woman" and other great pre-psychedelic background music. It's a trippy comedy of it's era. You can trash it, but then you miss the point. Also don't miss those sexy giant teen girls; when they grow their bikinis pop off.