Alligator (1980)

A baby alligator is flushed down a Chicago toilet and survives by eating discarded laboratory rats injected with growth hormones. The small reptile grows gigantic, escapes the city sewers, and goes on a rampage.

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writers:

John Sayles (screenplay), John Sayles (story)

Stars:

Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Forster	...	David
Robin Riker	...	Marisa
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Chief Clark (as Michael Gazzo)
Dean Jagger	...	Slade
Sydney Lassick	...	Gutchel (as Sidney Lassick)
Jack Carter	...	Mayor
Perry Lang	...	Kelly
Henry Silva	...	Brock
Bart Braverman	...	Kemp
John Lisbon Wood	...	Mad Bomber
James Ingersoll	...	Helms
Robert Doyle	...	Bill
Patti Jerome	...	Madeline
Angel Tompkins	...	Newswoman
Sue Lyon	...	ABC Newswoman

Storyline

Ramon the alligator is flushed down the toilet as a baby and grows into a gargantuan monster by eating the corpses of laboratory animals who have undergone dubious hormone experiments, thus providing all the ecological and social subtext that one could possibly wish for, even if one doesn't normally go for films about giant alligators eating people left, right, and center--which is the inevitable and tragic result of Ramon's decision that the outside world looks rather more interesting than the sewers....

---

Plot Keywords:

alligator | toilet | sewer | baby alligator | knocking on a window | 

---

Taglines:

It lives 50 feet beneath the streets. It weighs over 2,000 pounds. It's killed five people already...And it's about to break out!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shot of the SWAT team emerging from the sewers looked so real that people actually thought they were terrorists and some called the police.

---

Goofs

The Cadillac limousine switches from a 1971 Fleetwood 75 to a 1966 Fleetwood 75 sedan when Ramon crushes the limo.

---

Quotes

Gutchel: How about cats? I got plenty of cats. I also got a parrot I'd like to get rid of.

---

Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to heavily edit scenes of gore, including shots of legs being bitten off, a car being destroyed by the alligator and victims being eaten alive during the garden party attack, and to remove one instance of the word 'fuck' in order for the film to receive an 'A' (PG) certificate. The cuts were waived in 1991 when the certificate was raised to a 15, and all subsequent releases are fully uncut.

---

Connections

Referenced in Serial Mom (1994)

User Reviews

A fun, entertaining film!

When this film turned up on T.V. I was prepared for the worst. Much to my surprise this was a good thrilling monster movie with just the right amount of tongue and cheek to make the far fetched premise acceptable; ie the idea that an alligator this big could slip in and out of the sewers with out being detected. Robert Forster as the detective out to track down the killer gator gives a good performance. ,real stand out is Henry Silva as the military man sent to destroy the monster gator. He plays him like a broad stereotype of a general from some Latin American dictatorship.

FYI: If you think the idea of a 36 foot plus alligator is impossible, there is a fossil skull on display in the American Museum of Natural History in New York of an extinct crocodile. The skull is over five feet long. Image that such monsters once did roam the earth!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alligator

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alligator

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 86 min (theatrical cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1