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Cast and credits: The Giant Gila Monster was produced by Ken Curtis and Gordon McGlendon; screenplay by Ray Kellogg and Jay Simms; directed by Ray Kellogg; original music by Jack Marshall and Don Sullivan; cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline; Special Effects by Ralph Hammeras and Wee Risser. Produced in mid - late May, 1958; Released in November, 1958.
Don Sullivan Chase Winstead Fred Graham Sheriff Jeff Lisa Simone Lisa Shug Fisher Harris Bob Thompson Mr. Wheeler Janice Stone Missy Winstead Ken Knox Horatio Alger 'Steamroller' Smith Gay McLendon Don Flournoy Gordy Cecil Hunt Mr. Compton Stormy Meadows Agatha Humphries Howard Ware Ed Humphries Pat Reeves Rick Jan McLendon Jerry Cortwright Bob Beverly Thurman Gay Clarke Browne Chuck Grady Vaughn Pat Wheeler Desmond Doogh Hitchhiker Ann Sonka Whila Yolanda Salas Liz Humphries Patricia Simmons Sherry Angus G. Wynne III Dumb teen
The Plot: A giant gila monster is shown roaming near a small Texas town until it comes upon teens Pat Wheeler and his girlfriend Liz "necking" in a car. They are the first victims we see of the giant gila monster. Chase Winstead, a teenage mechanic who supports his widowed mother and sister who has polio, meets his girlfriend, Lisa, at the town soda shop. Chase is the leader of the teenagers and has kept most of them out of trouble. They plan to attend a sock hop at a barn nearby later that evening. Everyone wonders where Pat and Liz are since they were supposed to show up.
Mr. Wheeler, a wealthy oilman and the town bigshot, complains to the sheriff that his son did not come home and suspects he eloped with his girlfriend. He blames Chase for being a bad influence. The sheriff defends Chase, who is trying to save up to buy his sister a leg brace. Soon the sheriff has other things to worry about as the gila monster terorizes the local highways and more people soon are missing.
Chase helps his boss, Mr. Compton, transfer some nitroglycerin and then has to help his favorite DJ, Steamroller Smith, out of a ditch after Smith had gotten drunk and wrecked his car. Winstead lets Steamroller stay at his place until morning. Steamroller claims to have seen something huge with stripes along the road.
Mr. Wheeler, meanwhile, keeps after the sheriff to find his son. Chase and Lisa are out with the other teenagers trying to find the whereabouts of the missing couple. The automobile the missing couple were in is found and Chase is called in to tow it to the sheriff.
Chase and Lisa go back to his home where Chase plays a song on his ukulele to cheer up his mother and sister. Chase's sister Missy is given a leg brace that Lisa bought for her and Missy takes her first steps with it on. Chase has been saving all his money to buy the leg brace. Chase then gets a phone call from the sheriff who tells him that an oil tanker has crashed and there are more strange skid marks nearby. Chase's boss had been driving the tanker, but there is no sign of him.
Then, while the teenagers are getting ready to attend a sock hop, the gila monster manages to smash a bridge, which causes a train wreck. Screams are heard as the giant gila monster closes in on the helpless passengers. Mr. Harris, who had been drinking, sees the gila monster and reports it to the sheriff, who is skeptical at first. But when Sheriff Jeff comes upon the scene of the train wreck, he starts to believe that there is truth to a giant monster roaming around.
The climax starts when Chase and the other teens are having a sock hop and the gila monster, attracted by the music, heads for the barn. Steamroller Smith plays a new record recorded by Chase to the delight of Chase's friends. However, Mr. Wheeler, who arrives with the sheriff, demands that that the sheriff arrest Chase for putting the whitewall tires from his son's wrecked car on Chase's hot rod. It is then that the giant gila monster breaks down a wall of the sock hop barn, forcing the sheriff to shoot at the creature. The bullets make the creature turn away from the teenagers. The sheriff deputizes Mr. Wheeler and tells him to keep the teenagers under control while he goes after the monster. Chase remembers the nitroglycerin in his shed and drives there to get it. Winstead then discovers, to his horror, that the gila monster has destroyed the house where his sister and Lisa were staying, but they managed to escape in time. Chase drives his hot rod straight at the monster, managing to dive out of the vehicle in time. There is an explosion as the car smashes into the monster and destroys it. The sheriff and Mr. Wheeler arrive then and Mr. Wheeler has a change of heart and offers Chase a job. The End.
The Giant Gila Monster is one of those films "that is so bad it's good." Don Sullivan made a few more films but didn't really have the talent to be a star. A real gila monster was used and shown walking aorund miniature sets and trains. Overall the acting is subpar and Don's singing (not to mention the songs he sings) would never be on the hit parade! Overall I still enjoyed this film.
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