Teenage Monster
{{short description|1957 film}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Teenage Monster
| image = Teenage monster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Jacques R. Marquette
| producer = Jacques R. Marquette
Dale Tate
| writer = Ray Buffum
| starring = Anne Gwynne
Stuart Wade
| music = Walter Greene
| cinematography = Taylor Byars
| editing = Irving M. Schoenberg
| studio = Marquette Productions Limited
| distributor = Howco
| released = {{Film date|1957|12|25|US}}
| runtime = 65 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $57,000 (estimated)
}}
File:Teenage Monster trailer (1958).webm
Teenage Monster is a 1958 American independently made science fiction-horror Western film. It was produced and directed by Jacques R. Marquette,{{cite book | last = Warren | first = Bill | year = 1986 | title = Keep Watching The Skies, Volume 2 | publisher = McFarland & Co., Inc. | isbn = 0-89950-170-2 | page = 767}} and stars Anne Gwynne and Stuart Wade.{{Cite web |title=Teenage Monster |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52763-TEENAGE-MONSTER |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=American Film Institute Catalog}} The film had a first screening on December 25, 1957, in Los Angeles.{{cite web | title=Overview for Teenage Monster (1958) | publisher=Turner Classic Movies | work=Vault Collection | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/92463/teenage-monster | access-date= July 2, 2009}} It went into general theatrical release in January 1958, in a double feature with The Brain from Planet Arous (1957).
Plot
In 1880, in a town in the Southwestern United States, young Charlie Cannon and his gold prospector father see a meteorite crash in the desert. At the crash site, Charlie's father is killed, and Charlie is exposed to mysterious rays emanating from the meteorite that cause him to begin aging rapidly. His mother, Ruth, hides him and the town believes him dead.
Seven years later, Charlie has grown and aged abnormally, becoming a hairy, aggressive, man-beast. He sometimes escapes his confinement, and terrorizes the community. After his mother strikes gold, she purchases a house in town in the hopes that living in a real home will soothe her son's inner beast. However, he scares more people and kidnaps a young woman, Kathy, after killing her abusive boyfriend.
Ruth pays Kathy to keep her silence, but Kathy begins to blackmail Ruth and to manipulate Charlie to kill for her. In the final showdown, Charlie understands Kathy's lies and hurls her off a cliff before being shot and killed himself.
Cast
- Anne Gwynne as Ruth Cannon
- Stuart Wade as Sheriff Bob
- Gloria Castillo as Kathy North
- Charles Courtney as Marv Howell
- Gilbert Perkins as adult Charlie Cannon / The Monster
- Stephen Parker as young Charlie Cannon
- Norman Leavitt as Deputy Ed
- Jim McCullough as Jim Cannon
- Gaybe Morradian / Gabe Mooradian as Fred Fox
- Frank Davis as Man on the street
- Arthur Berkeley as Man with burro
Production
Jacques R. Marquette made the feature because his company needed a cheap film to run as a double bill with The Brain from Planet Arous (1957).{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Jacques Marquette also helped develop the film's plot and handled some of the cinematography. Jack Pierce handled the make-up effects.
Release
Teenage Monster was released by Marquette Productions Limited. The film's working title was Monster on the Hill. When the film was released to television, the title was changed to Meteor Monster. The film – as Teenage Monster – was refused{{why|date=August 2024}} a United Kingdom rating certificate in 1959. In 1995, the film was finally released in the UK fully uncut and with a PG certificate rating.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}
Reception
Variety wrote: "This is a silly nonsense, an unworthy companion to the film with which it is being packaged (The Brain From Planet Arous)."{{Cite journal |date=8 January 1958 |title=Teenage Monster |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1014799196 |journal=Variety |volume=209 |issue=6 |pages=48 |url-access=subscription |via=ProQuest}}
Writing in DVD Savant, film critic Glenn Erickson reported that the "film is so primitive that none of the ugly subtext seems to matter," that "Marquette's action direction is terrible," and that "[i]mpossible characters defeat the actors."{{cite web |last1=Erickson |first1=Glenn |title=Teen Terror Collection |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s2147teen.html |website=DVD Savant |publisher=MH Sub I, LLC |access-date=2022-06-23}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0051063}}
Category:1950s Western (genre) horror films
Category:1950s science fiction horror films
Category:American Western (genre) horror films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American science fiction horror films
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:Films set in the 19th century
Category:Films set in the Southwestern United States
Category:Films about rapid human age change