50s Monster Mash Blogathon: Giant from the Unknown

One of the most unusual 1950s movies monsters was Vargas, the resurrected 500-year-old Spanish conquistador who awakens from a deep slumber in contemporary California and proceeds to terrorize the countryside until dispatched by a heroic young archaeologist.

Vargas is played by ex-boxer Buddy Baer, who didn’t need any special effects to improve his already impressive 6-foot, 6-inch frame. However, his features are augmented by make-up created by none other than Jack Pierce. In fact, Buddy’s title card in the opening credits is one sure to raise cheers of Universal monster fans the world over: “and Buddy Baer in make-up created by Jack Pierce.”

You can bet the suits at Universal or any of the other major studios would never, ever deem fit to honor a make-up man in such a fashion. But Giant director Richard E. Cunha was a huge fan of Universal’s monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s and wanted to pay an appropriate tribute to one of his idols. Vargas is even resurrected in a most impressive fashion in a terrific thunder and lightning storm that brings to mind Dr. Frankenstein and Fritz tending to their latest creation.

To be honest, Baer’s make-up is not particularly scary but Baer’s resurrection scene is one of the more effective moments in 1950s monster moviedom. The camera tracks across a pile of leaves and then we see a hand emerging from the pile. The camera continues to track across the pile of leaves and stops. We then see a pair of eyes staring through the leaves, as Vargas rises to his enormous height and begin his reign of terror. The lighting and thunder, and Albert Glasser’s music, create a most memorable scene.

(One of the major plot holes of the film is the film’s opening scenes have the townspeople discussing with the sheriff the animal mutilations and strange noises heard in the countryside. If Vargas is resurrected later in the film, than what is causing those strange occurrences?)

Regardless, there’s a lot of entertainment value to be had in “Giant from the Unknown”, which I’ve always enjoyed and I suspect a lot of other 1950s monster movie fans do as well. Despite those plot holes, it’s pretty impressive for a movie that took 10 days to film on a budget of only $55,000.

On location filming made the film look as good as it does. No studio backgrounds here but real locations filmed at Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Dam and the town of Fawnskin, California, located almost 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Six days of filming were allotted at these locations, with the remaining four days used for interiors back in Hollywood.

How did director Richard E. Cunha get so much accomplished for only $55,000? Doing triple duty helped, as Cunha also served as the film’s cinematographer and (uncredited) editor.

Using existing sets also helped. The old mill and log cabins seen in the film were originally constructed in 1936 for Paramount’s lavish Technicolor outdoor adventure film “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.” Still in pristine condition at the time, Cunha and company wisely worked them into the script.

How else to save money on the shoot? Get free room and board. Cast and crew stayed at the Lagonita Lodge (formerly The Fawn Lodge) in Fawnskin. Cunha made a deal with the Lodge’s operators to have their sign posted on a car door featured prominently in the film. In return, the cast and crew stayed for free. Crewmembers also doubled as extras in early scenes where townspeople gather to discuss the animal killings and strange occurrences happening in their town.

1958 was a busy year for Cunha as he directed three other films that year which are fondly remembered today: “She Demons” (to be written up in this blogathon on August 1 by W.B. Kelso at http://microbrewreviews.blogspot.com/); “Missile to the Moon”; and “Frankenstein’s Daughter.” Much was accomplished on those tiny budgets, and I wonder if those god-awful “Transformers” movies will be as fondly remembered 50 years from now?

I like all those movies, especially “She Demons” but my favorite may be “Giant from the Unknown.” It’s really B movie heaven. You have a lot of action packed into its 77-minute running time; a very appealing hero and heroine (Edward Kemmer and Sally Fraser, who also teamed up that year in Bert I. Gordon’s “The Spider”); Morris Ankrum as an authority figure; and former cowboy great Bob Steele as the town’s sheriff. I also got a kick out of Gary Crutcher’s performance as Charlie Brown (!), who becomes very un Charlie Brown-like when his sister Ann (no, not Lucy) is killed by Vargas and Charlie Brown decides to go after the supernatural giant.

Buddy Baer does make a most impressive evil giant, though in real life was known for his genial nature. An ex-boxer and the brother for former heavyweight champion Max Baer, he was the uncle of Max Baer, Jr., Jethro in the “Beverly Hillbillies” television series. Other famous movie credits include playing another giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” (1952) starring Abbott and Costello, and as Ursus, Deborah Kerr’s bodyguard in M-G-M’s impossibly lavish “Quo Vadis” (1951)

Any 1950s giant monster movie can only be better when accompanied by Albert Glasser’s music. Never one for subtlety, Glasser lets loose with his trademark loud brass punctuations and an electronic instrument that sounds like a theremin, but I’m not sure that it is. It could be an electro theremin.

In an interview for Scary Monsters Magazine, Gary Crutcher appreciated the contribution Glasser made to the film. He remembers producer Arthur Jacobs (not the producer of the “Planet of the Apes” movies) saying how fortunate he was to have Glasser score their movie. Crutcher adds, “I personally think he rivaled Bernard Herrmann. Others may disagree, but that’s my opinion on Glasser’s music. There could have been a soundtrack out for it because he put forth so much music for such a small picture. It was a powerful score and it was clear that he really worked on that one. It didn’t just happen.”

Another slight disappointment is the abrupt climax, as Crutcher remembers. “I wasn’t there when they shot the original finale fight sequence, with Buddy and Kemmer, but they did shoot it. What happened was they realized the shutter on the camera had been closed and they lost the whole thing! Very true. It was a shame because they couldn’t go back and do it again. No time. The sequence that you see in the film was done very quickly in only a few hours and I feel still turned out well.”

With nary a moment wasted and an appealing cast, unique monster and beautiful on-location filming, “Giant from the Unknown” is one of my favorite monster movies of the 1950s. I thank Nathanael for inviting me to participate in this blogathon.

Thanks to Jim Doherty in providing me with background information on the film, and for providing me with copies of the Gary Crutcher and Sally Fraser interviews from Scary Monsters Magazine. Additional information on the film came from Tom Weaver’s notes on the DVD edition.

No fan of 1950s monster movies can afford to miss any of the fine reading offered over the next week. I invite everyone to check out all the blogs. A complete list of dates and titles can be found at http://www.forgottenclassicsofyesteryear.blogspot.com/.