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, Ron Howard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Kirk	...	Mike
Johnny Crawford	...	Horsey
Ron Howard	...	Genius (as Ronny Howard)
Joe Turkel	...	Sheriff (as Joseph Turkel)
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
Hank Jones	...	Chuck
Jim Begg	...	Fatso

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.

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Plot Keywords:

enlargement | downpour | teenager | teensploitation | hixploitation | 

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Taglines:

They're 30 feet tall!

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joy Harmon said she had a problem with the sweater she had to wear for the scene where the teens started to grow. "The only thing that irritated me while doing this film was the scene when my sweater pops open as I grow to a giant. You didn't see anything, but I hated that scene. Nobody else had that problem. They wore clothes that got smaller but mine had to open. I also felt very uncomfortable because I couldn't wear a bra and I don't like going without one."

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Goofs

When Mike (Tommy Kirk) walks off the courthouse steps to confront Fred (Beau Bridges), the shadow of a camera can be seen in the lower left corner for a few seconds.

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Quotes

Fred: How'd you sleep, honey? Did you get a good rest?
Merrie: Mm-hm. Hey Fred, what's gonna to happen to us?
Fred: I don't know, um... as long as it lasts, I guess we'll just have to live with it.

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Connections

References Son of Kong (1933)

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Soundtracks

Woman
by Ron Elliott
Performed by the The Beau Brummels

User Reviews

Poorly directed, poor acting, low budget, but fun.

If you want to watch a well made movie, this isn't it. 'Village of the Giants' seems to be a B movie that was intended to attract young kids and the teen audience of the early 1960s. What you will find here is a poorly directed, low budget, movie with bad acting, cheap special effects, and a plot that goes no where. You'll see a lot of bikini clad teenagers, go go dancing to some mild, early rock and roll music played by the Beau Brummels. The camera does show a lot of cleavage shots and wiggling butts that surely was and is one of the movies main attractions. This movie was most likely considered a little racy for it's day. Quite a bit of this movie brings up the anti authority, good teen versus bad teen issue. This is all very mild by today's standards. Actually this makes it humorous in today's world and it can be mildly entertaining if not taken too seriously. It is nice to see Ron Howard as a child actor in this movie playing the part of 'Genius'. You'll also find a couple of ex Mickey Mouse Club members in the cast. 'Village of the Giants' could be considered one of those 'it's so bad it's good' movies. You have to view this as a fun, but stupid movie and by no means look at it with a critical eye. Under the harsh light of criticism,'Village of the Giants' will disintegrate into the smallest piece of dust.

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:

Village of the Giants

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