It was released for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray on September 13, 2016, by Olive Films. The Monster of Piedras Blancas was released on VHS by Republic Pictures Home Video on January 1, 1998. Several scenes broke new ground for onscreen gore, such as the monster making a shock entrance carrying a bloody human head and a later shot of the same head with a crab crawling across the face. The lighthouse locations were shot at the Point Conception lighthouse near Lompoc, and the film's town was actually the seaside city of Cayucos, about 30 miles south of the real Piedras Blancas. The film was shot entirely on location, but oddly enough, not at the real Point Piedras Blancas, which is north of San Simeon on the California coast. Wayne Berwick, who played "Little Jimmy", was the son of director Irvin Berwick and the godson of prolific actor Harmon. Character actor Lewis was primarily known for his radio work, as was Tremayne. This was the only lead role of B-movie actress and pin-up model Carmen, best known as a trick-shot golf "expert". Top-lined Sullivan would appear in a number of other genre films afterward, such as The Giant Gila Monster. Vanwick received sweetheart deals for production vehicles and equipment, the studio's way of helping many of its laid-off technicians who found work on the independent film. Universal gave a great deal of unofficial cooperation to the production, since it was going through a period of budget problems. Parts of the rubber monster suit showed up years later in the TV show Flipper, in the episode "Flipper's Monster", which was directed by Ricou Browning, who had performed the Gill-man swimming scenes in Creature From the Black Lagoon. Actor/stuntman Pete Dunn wore the green-hued monster suit in the film and did double-duty playing the bartender character. For this film's fictional "diplovertebron", Kevan cut cost and labor time by using existing molds for the feet (cast from those of the Metaluna Mutant from This Island Earth) and the oversized hands (designed originally for The Mole People). The Monster of Piedras Blancas, their first film, was designed as a takeoff on U-I's popular Creature from the Black Lagoon, whose iconic monster suit Kevan had helped manufacture. Berwick and Kevan formed Vanwick Productions and became independent producers. Kevan in particular chafed under the stewardship of Bud Westmore, the head of the studio's makeup department, who seldom allowed employees like Kevan or sculptors Chris Mueller and Millicent Patrick to receive publicity. Berwick had been an uncredited dialogue director at U-I and at Columbia prior to that, working with the likes of William Castle and Jack Arnold.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |