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The Alligator People

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The Basics
Forward
The Plot
Main Characters
Walk-Thru
Review
Content Breakdown
Movie Stats
Immortal Dialog
Images

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Video Clip
Don't Forget
Shadow's Commentary
Unanswered Questions
Shadow's Film Awards
Trivia
Final Word
Rating
Personal History
Extras

 

The Basics

Title: The Alligator People
Year Of Release: 1959
Running Time: 74 minutes
DVD Released By: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Directed By: Roy Del Ruth
Writing Credits: Robert M. Fresco (uncredited), Orville H. Hampton and Charles O'Neal
Starring: Beverly Garland, Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Crane
Taglines:
1
. Her honeymoon turned into a nightmare of horror!
2. Nerve-shattering terror!
3. The alligator people will make your skin crawl!
Alternate Titles: None
Review Date: October 10, 2004

Shadow's Title: "Ambien - The Movie"

Content Guide:
Haunted House Monsters Science Swamp Hijimks
Violence
Icon Guide

Single Sentence Synopsis:
A woman participating in a hypno-regression experiment recalls repressed memories from years earlier, when a search for her missing husband turned up horrifying results in a Louisiana swamp.



Listen to the opening theme! (718 KB)


Internet Movie Database listing for this film.

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Forward
In 1958 Twentieth Century Fox released The Fly, starring Vincent Price. That film, about a scientist who ends up partially turning into a giant fly via a mishap in the lab, proved to be a modest hit for the studio. In true capitalist fashion, they decided to cash in by not only producing a sequel, but by producing a cheap derivative. The Alligator People follows a similar theme – A woman discovers her husband is has turned into an alligator-human hybrid. Whereas The Fly was shot in color, with state of the art FX, The Alligator People was lensed in black and white with a story that called for very little in the FX department. Sadly, what little there is to be seen is not very well done and is poorly lit – no doubt to help hide its substandard nature. The Alligator People was also presented in Cinemascope – a wide-screen format pioneered to help lure movie goers back into theaters after television had stolen them away. After watching this film, its only natural to think that they ran like hell back to their TV sets.

The Plot

Dr. Eric Lorimer pops by his old pal Dr. Wayne McGregor’s place…which happens to be a sanitarium. Rather than experimenting on the patients like any decent mad doctor would do, McGregor has decided to experiment on one of his nurses, Jane Marvin. Using a hypno-regression technique, he gets her to spill all sorts of vital secrets: the color of her panties, how many girls she’s kissed, whether she likes back door lovin’…and an entire former life that she has totally repressed.

Under hypnosis Jane recalls how she was once Joyce Webster. She remembers her wedding night when she and her new husband, Paul Webster, were anxious to begin a long and happy life together. Setting out on their honeymoon on board a train, the happiness is interrupted when Paul receives a telegram that visibly disturbs him, though he does not share the details with Joyce. He jumps the train at a mail stop, leaving a frantic Joyce behind. Frantic, no doubt because he left without consummating the marriage. Hell hath no fury, eh?

Joyce takes up the search for her husband, but nothing she does helps in locating him. Weeks go by and she persists in following every little clue that comes her way. Finally, one last sliver of hope leads her to a secluded plantation in the heart of the Louisiana swamps. Here she is met with open hostility by the owner, Mrs. Hawthorne and open lust by Manon, a hook-handed slob who works for her and who bears a grudge against the gators who bit off his hand. Hawthorne denies any knowledge of a Paul Webster and insists that Joyce leave as soon as possible, which won’t be until the next day when another train arrives at the closest station. Refusing to leave, Joyce is sure she is closing in on Paul’s location. She meets up with some of the locals, including a Dr. Sinclair, a Colonel Sanders wannabe who runs some type of clinic in the deep swamp where strange experiments with alligators are taking place and people decked out head to toe in white show off their threads.

Strange and weird things begin to happen (but still not very interesting), but rather than getting the hell out of Dodge as any sane person would do, Joyce sticks around and confronts her reluctant hosts, revealing the ugly truth at last. It seems Sinclair’s greatest triumphant was also his worst mistake, and Paul is in the middle of it. A once hopeful medical procedure has now caused people to slowly take on alligator features. As tensions build, a desperate gamble will be undertaken to cure Paul of the strange circumstances which have befallen him…but is the damage to far along to be undone? In the end what will happen? Will Gator-Paul be cured? Will Manon ever stop bitching about the gators and take a friggin bath? Will Sinclair create his own line of fancy gator skin accessories? Will these people ever stop talking? Will anything of interest happen at all? Will the fact that the bulk of the film is told in flashback clue you in as to what will happen? Find out when you watch (and manage to stay awake through) The Alligator People!


Main Characters

Joyce Webster, aka Jane Marvin – She starts off the film as Jane Marvin, a nurse participating in a hypno-regression experiment and mumbles the events of the movie in one great big flashback. Wait a minute! She’s a nurse and is willing to try weird new things? This woman might just be too good to be true! Talk about the possibilities for some kinky shit! It turns out that at one time she was Joyce Webster, a woman who’s husband vanished on their wedding night (wise maneuver, dude). Her search to find him leads her to a horrifying discovery – a drunk and horny Lon Chaney! Oh, and there are these Alligator People, too. Played by 50’s horror cinema hottie Beverly Garland (Swamp Women, It Conquered the World, Curucu, Beast of the Amazon).

Paul Webster – After surviving a horrible plane crash that left nearly every bone in his body broken, this guy makes a remarkable recovery. Hey, if Evel Knievel did it, why can’t Paul here do it? Showing no signs of injury, he finally agrees to get hitched – perhaps a sure sign of mental instability resulting from his injuries. Then again, Joyce is kinda hot, so maybe he was just lookin’ for some tail! Get it? Tail? Alligator? Cuz alligators have tai…oh forget it. Anyway, a mysterious telegram received on their wedding night prompts him to suddenly vanish. The bill for dinner? A report on his new bride from her OB/GYN? My guess is that it was a coupon for some free porn. What else is gonna lure a guy away from his old lady on such an occasion…or any occasion for that matter?

Gator-Paul – This is what Paul looks like after his transformation from man into alligator has taken effect. It appears he is now the new poster boy for Samsonite luggage. Either that or he is now the world’s very first Preppie. A Proto Preppie! Or would that be Preppie Progenitor? All alliteration aside (smirk), the poor bastard now has some serious skin issues with which to deal and is probably going through the Noxema by the case. On the positive side, those gator skin shoes of his now really, really compliment his eyes and complexion! Oh wait…those aren’t gator skin shoes! Those are his bare feet! Yikes! I wonder what his wang looks like now with all the changes…not that I really want to see it. Just curious is all. Really.

Manon – Ok, this guy is just creepy. He lives in a little shack out in the swamp and runs errands for Mrs. Hawthorne and Dr. Sinclair. He always seems to be drinking or shooting his gun off at the local gators – usually both. He has a hook for one hand, which looks absolutely ridiculous and utterly unconvincing, and he has obviously not been well schooled in charm, etiquette or how to impress the ladies. He also seems to be lacking any knowledge on the intricacies of bathing, grooming and the value of wearing clean clothes...or even owning clean clothes. I’m betting his breath and body odor could kill the gators faster than the bullets. Played by the legendary Lon Chaney Jr. (The Wolf Man) who sadly, was well on his drunken spiral into obscurity with this film.

Dr. Mark Sinclair – This dork pioneered a new method for healing terrible injuries, by injecting Alligator hormones into humans so that people could take advantage of a reptile’s faster regenerative abilities. He was all set to give himself an enormous pat on the back and cash in on his work when things went horribly…and predictably awry. All his patients began transforming into hideous caricatures of human beings, their grotesque features needing to be hidden from the sight of others. No, not like Michael Jackson. More like walking suitcases. He does his best to reverse the process but the answer, much like the interesting parts of this movie, continues to elude him (and us). Played by George Macready (The Human Duplicators, Count Yorga, Vampire, The Return of Count Yorga).

Mrs. Lavinia Hawthorne – Paul’s mother, one seriously cranky old broad. She does her best to get rid of Joyce and prevent her from learning the truth, even lying by claiming that she has never heard of Paul and not admitting to who she really is. I’ve heard of some annoying in-laws in my time (and had some myself at one point long ago) but this woman has got to take the grand prize for mother-in-laws you want to strangle with their own intestines. Despite mellowing out by the end of the picture and treating Joyce with a modicum of respect and kindness, I still get the impression that this old gal would fly into a teeth-clenched, spittle dripping, vein-popping rage if even the littlest thing did not go her way…like the bed sheets having a slight crease in the wrong spot. Played by Frieda Inescort (The She-Creature).

Dr. Wayne McGregor – This is the turkey that is running the framing story – a hypno-regression experiment where he uncovers Jane’s former life as Joyce Webster. As she has repressed the horrible memories extremely well, and seems to have a happy life now, he’s not sure if telling her the truth would be a good thing. Do no harm, idiot! Do no harm! Of course, what he should have been doing was hypnotizing her into performing a striptease and giving him one of those “special” massages as part of her nursely duties. Hey, the thought would certainly cross my mind if I could hypnotize hot chicks so easily. Played by Douglas Kennedy (The Land Unknown, The Amazing Transparent Man).

Dr. Eric Lorimer – A colleague of Dr. McGregor, he drops by to see his friend’s experiment. Surprised at what is uncovered, he advises that McGregor just keep his big, fat mouth shut. Hey, if you’re just gonna keep everything a big secret, at least have the hypnotized hot lady do something memorable like a sexy dance or reading something smutty to you. These dorks have no imagination whatsoever. Even playing it one hundred percent safe, they could have gleaned some naughty facts from her while she was under hypnosis, just by asking a few simple questions. Played by Bruce Bennett aka Herman Brix (The Cosmic Man, Fiend of Dope Island) a former screen Tarzan.


Walk-Thru

This film opens with a title and credit sequence that looks like it was filmed on a studio back lot rather than in a dark and foreboding swamp. In fact, I’m almost positive that this entire sequence was shot in such a location. I’d be willing to bet some serious cash. Why do I say that? Well, because the shoreline to the “swamp” the camera seems to be traveling through, is made of freakin’ concrete! The last time I saw a body of water with such smooth and gently sloping sides was the pool housing the bumper boats at the local miniature golf place. I guess scary really is a subjective term.

We ditch the “swamp” locale and now see a black car with Louisiana plates pull up and park in front of the Webley Sanitarium, in a section reserved solely for doctors. We know this because of the sign that clearly states that the area is for “Doctors only.” Do they have their own water fountains and toilets, too? The driver picks a parking spot with an empty spot on its left and an occupied one on the right. So what does the driver then do? Instead of getting out of the car on his side – the side with no vehicle next to it, he slides across the front seat (didn’t all the cars from this era have huge single sofa-like seats in the front? Yes? No?) and exits the automobile from the passenger side. WTF? Was this the forerunner of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazard? Is the driver’s door welded shut or something? Or is this guy just an idiot? Anyway he gets out, pops on a black hat and heads into the sanitarium.

Inside he enters a door marked, “Dr. Wayne McGregor – Neuropathology,” where the resident physician greets him warmly, and we learn that the seat-sliding moron is Dr. Eric Lorimer. Apparently these two go way back and Lorimer has dropped by after McGregor extended an invitation to come see something odd with one of his cases. Lorimer mentions that on the phone, McGregor admitted to having a serious problem with a young girl. Suddenly my mind was filled with an image of some pregnant teen who got knocked up by the kinky, perverted Doc while she was under anesthesia. That really would be serious trouble…and not wholly unexpected behavior on the part of some doctors.

Alas, the young girl in question happens to be one of the nurses employed at the sanitarium. Lorimer then asks if she is pretty! How is that for professionalism? McGregor hands over the case file and Lorimer, after looking it over, remarks that the girl is pretty. What an old lecher! The woman, Jane Marvin had volunteered to help McGregor is some Narco-hypnosis techniques and is by all standards a quite competent nurse. It seems it was by pure accident that McGregor discovered something strange about her. Lorimer wonders when he can see her (I’ll bet! The old perv…), so McGregor calls her in. Jane comes in and McGregor introduces her to Dr. Lorimer, who he says was a football teammate back in med school. Jane doesn’t object to Lorimer sitting in as an observer for the session (if she only knew what the lustful old creep was thinking!).

Jane reclines on one of those sofa-couches that all shrinks have in their offices. McGregor injects her with Sodium Pentathol and has her count backward from twenty. She barely gets to seventeen before she is mumbling incoherently…a state of mental acuity usually reserved for Scientologists. Pow. She’s out of it. McGregor hooks her up to a lie detector and Lorimer inquires into its presence since the general agreement amongst physicians (and torturers I might add) is that no one has been known to lie while under the effects of Sodium Pentathol. McGregor just cryptically says, “You’ll see later.” He then starts up one of those ancient tape recorders, the ones that are about the size of a suitcase with two vertically positioned reels. He asks Jane what her name is, and she replies with “Joyce Patton. Joyce Patton Webster.” Some more questioning follows and she reveals that she was once married and was Mrs. Paul Webster. She frowns when recalling the details, and isn’t sure if it is all real or not. McGregor asks her to tell them all everything about it, from the beginning. She continues on under hypnosis, relating how she met Paul overseas. She was nursing at a hospital and he was lieutenant. They made plans to get married after they were both discharged. At this point, McGregor’s office fades away and we are met with the image of an oncoming train. If only that oncoming train would continue right on through the screen, into the midst of the audience, wiping us all out. At least we would be spared the rest of this yawn-fest.


Tonight on ET – Our exclusive interview with Sleeping Beauty

On board the train, Joyce and Paul Webster are celebrating their recent nuptials with some champagne. She is glad that she has finally managed to convince him to get hitched, after waiting for such a long time. Paul references a plane crash he survived, no doubt alluding to his recovery time as the reason they had to wait. Joyce tells him how badly she had been worried, especially after the hospital told her that he was “more dead than alive” (he’s Republican!) and nearly all his bones were broken. The doctor even used the words “completely torn, mangled and smashed” to describe his condition after the crash. Joyce admits to Paul that she doesn’t believe what the doctor told her, as Paul now looks perfectly fine. No marks, no scars…nothing to denote that he had survived such a horrific accident and had been in such terrible shape. Upon hearing this, my brain screamed PLOT POINT!!! Can anyone truly doubt that this information will pop up again later? These old movies went by the numbers if not anything else.

Paul confirms that there really was an accident and that he had very much been in such crappy shape. "By all rights, I should be dead,” he says solemnly. Joyce tries to dismiss his words as crazy talk, but Paul gets very serious. He begins to tell her something that he claims she has a right to know. Something she should have known before they got married. Something that truly explains why he made her wait so long to get married. Can I get a drum roll, please?!

However, before he can spill his guts, a knock at the compartment door interrupts him. The attendant has returned with more wine and telegraphed messages for the couple. Joyce gets a message from her coworkers at the hospital where she works while Paul receives one from an old buddy. Things seem just dandy, but then Paul reads one message and his face visibly darkens. Joyce doesn’t notice at first, as she is gleefully reading he stack of messages and well wishes. We know something is wrong, not only from the “I think I just shit my pants but I wonder if I can get away with it before anyone knows” look that Paul is sporting, but also from the blatant music cue that makes it clear to all the ADD afflicted people in the audience, “something is not right here!” Paul looks around, as if contemplating something. My guess is that he has quite suddenly and jarringly realized what a mess he has gotten himself into with this whole marriage thing and is now wondering if it’s possible to slit one’s wrists with the edge of a piece of paper or drown oneself in a small glass of booze – after all, all you really need to fit into the glass in your nose. He quickly crumples the paper the message came on and gets up, leaving their compartment (a jump from the train perhaps?).

Outside, he asks the conductor when the next stop will be. Alas, the next scheduled stop won’t be for thirty-five minutes. He insistently inquiries if there isn’t any other stop before then. The conductor informs him that there is a mail pickup just ahead, and that is the reason the train is slowing down, but the stop will only be for half a minute or so – certainly no time to be getting off to make a phone call. Joyce approaches and wants to know what is wrong. Paul reveals nothing. He just kisses her and disembarks once the train has slowed to its brief stop. Joyce panics as the train begins to move again, calling for him to hurry, but he just walks away with only the slightest of glances back at her. Love and leave ‘em, eh? What a dork. At least he could of gotten in a few rounds of the Horizontal Hustle before leaving Joyce. She tries to convince the conductor that they need to stop and go back, but the annoying music swells, drowning all other sounds out…except for the noises made by the train footage now overlapping that of Joyce struggling with the conductor.

Suddenly we’re back in McGregor’s office. Still under hypnosis, Jane/Joyce talks about how that day was supposed to be the happiest of her life, but she had just seen her husband’s face for the last time. McGregor asks, “What did you do then Joyce,” in much the same stilted manner an ignoramus would try communicating with a foreigner, a deaf person or an idiot (everyone knows that the proper method is to YELL REALLY DAMN LOUD!). Jane/Joyce relates how she was frantic. She got off at the next stop and went back to where Paul had vanished, but not only had no calls been made from that location, no one had seen him. He had just vanished.

McGregor prompts her again in idiot-speak and she then talks about how someone can disappear like that, despite feeling like you know them so very well. She relates how she went on to talk to everyone who knew him, even checking out his last known address, but she found no sign of him, nor any reason why he would disappear. The Police and private detectives were unable to help her. Even the army, in which he had once served, was only able to offer an old, useless address. Finally, months later she was going through his things again, looking for clues. She came across his fraternity pin. She wrote to the their headquarters and they confirmed that Paul had belonged to their chapter at Louisiana State University. So she went there and examined the records, where she found an address Paul had given when he initially enrolled in college. A place called Bayou Landing in La Fourche Parish. McGregor’s office fades away again…

…And we see a train stop at the aforementioned Bayou Landing with Joyce standing alone on the platform. Well, all alone beside a big crate that reads “Caution. Radioactive material. Cobalt 60.” Apparently she was the only person to get off the train at this stop and there is no one to be seen. That is always a good sign is it not? Especially with a huge box of radioactive crap as your only friend. So she sits down on the crate and waits. I don’t know about you, but I would not put my ass anywhere near the thing. I can only imagine what kind of horrible afflictions I could get. Super hemorrhoids or giant ass warts or something. No thanks.

Since from here on out the movie is nothing more than one gigantic flashback, we will be treated to several of Joyce’s voiceovers, as she recalls the events under hypnosis and relates them to the unseen Doctors McGregor and Lorimer. As we see her walking around the deserted train station, we suffer through the first of them.

So, she is sitting there waiting when a truck pulls up that has “The Cypresses” on the door. A real creepy guy (the type that continually calls women ‘sweetheart’) gets out and asks her if someone is supposed to meet her. She admits that no one is and that she was hoping someone would be along to collect the Big Box of Radioactive Crap. The Creep says that is what he is there to retrieve. He then wonders what her business is, as no one ever gets off the train here. She claims to be looking for a place called “The Cypresses” and asks Mr. Creep if he has heard of it. Is the woman blind? The truck didn’t stop that far away, and the words are in plain sight right there on the freakin’ door. The Creep says he knows the place, but also knows that they don’t receive visitors and asks if she is expected. She claims that they will know who she is, and that answer seems to satisfy The Creep. He agrees to take her there. She gets in his truck, which given the heat and the Creep’s sweaty, unwashed appearance, must really stink. He grabs the Cobalt 60, places in the back of the truck and they’re off.


"Yes, this is the Clarksville station, and yes that was the last train…
but do I look one of The Monkees to you?"

Winding their way through some pretty rough swamp terrain, they come to a stretch of road, and I use the word “road” very loosely here, that is blocked by some fallen tree limbs. The Creep stops the truck and gets out to clear the way, which gives Joyce the chance to get a closer look at the grotesque denizens of the swamp – snakes, lizards, alligators… and gator wrestlers. Not far off, two guys are trying to maneuver a small alligator into a canoe and despite the fact that the poor animal hardly moves at all in this scene, the two men somehow get thrown around as if they were trying to wrestle a full grown Grizzly bear. Either that gator is hideously strong, with deceptively slow but powerful movements, or those two dorks are the worst overactors I’ve seen in quite some time.

The Creep now gets back in the truck and gives Joyce a speech on how deadly the swamps are, culminating with a rant on the dirty, nasty slimy gators. He fires up the truck and tears off down the road again, happily running over an alligator which has climbed out of the water and is making its way across the road. This scene is funny. First we see the alligator slowly emerge from the swamp. Then we see it casually making its way across the road (why did the gator cross the roa….oh nevermind). Then a rear projection shot of Joyce and The Creep in the truck as it “bounces” down the road. Next up is a shot that is supposed to be the truck racing up the gator, but what it actually happens to be is a scene where the truck backed away from the animal, only now the footage has been sped up and shown in reverse. A reaction shot follows, showing Joyce reaching for the steering wheel, no doubt trying to avoid the animal (and not knowing how much this particular guy hates gators). Instantly her hand is gone from the wheel in the next shot and finally we see the gator as it runs back to the water as if it was on crack or something. Any faster and it would have been running on just two legs. This whole scene (731 KB) is somewhat amusing.

The Creep stops the truck and laughs. Joyce asks why he did that, as the animal was not doing him any harm. It is at this point that we learn why this guy hates gators so much. He has no left hand – just a hook, and it was a gator that was responsible for the missing appendage. Now, I must say that his hook is by far the worst looking “hook hand” I have ever seen on film. Sometimes filmmakers will at least try to make it appear like a character’s arm ends in a stump, with only a hook attached to the end. Not here. It is so painfully obvious that actor Lon Chaney Jr. just has his hand in a glove. Not only can you see the tremendous bulge where his fist is, but also the left arm is noticeably longer than his right. I guess I just didn’t realize that when you lose a hand, that arm compensates for the missing flesh by spontaneously growing, lengthening not only to match the untouched arm and hand, but in some cases even surpassing it! The miracles of nature! Yeah right.

So onward they plunge through the swampy surroundings, finally arriving at The Cypresses, which is an old plantation. Now, are there really plantations in the middle of the bayou? If so, what the hell for? What are they growing? Are the owners going to corner the world market for Spanish moss? Who knows and who cares. Anyway the Creep drops Joyce off at the front door and then speeds away, his odor no doubt still wafting through the air.

Joyce knocks on the front door and a butler opens it way too fast, as if he was standing just five feet away on the other side waiting for someone to do just that. When asked if she is expected, Joyce explains that she is following up on a letter she sent to this address. An older woman behind the butler tells him to let Joyce enter. This woman seems very testy and quickly asks Joyce what she wants after admitting that she is the owner of the house. Joyce goes through the whole spiel about Paul’s disappearance and her search for him, which has led her here. When she gives her name as Mrs. Paul Webster, the older woman reacts visibly to this news but doesn’t reveal anything, only accusing Joyce of making up stories. She introduces herself to Joyce as Mrs. Henry Hawthorne – a widow. Mrs. Hawthorne turns to Tobey the butler and tells him to fetch Manon so he can driver Joyce back to the train station. One assumes Manon is The Creep who Joyce met earlier. Tobey explains that the train only stops once a day and won’t return until the next day. Very reluctantly, Mrs. Hawthorne allows Joyce to spend the night, but lays down some stiff rules, like insisting that Joyce not leave her room under any circumstances.


"Avon calling!"

Night comes and Joyce is in the guestroom, pondering things (which means another voiceover) and sure that Mrs. Hawthorne is hiding some secret. Suddenly gunshots begin piercing the air. Mrs. Hawthorne tells Tobey to “Find the drunken fool” and “tell him to stop that shooting.” It seems creepy old Manon has been hitting the sauce and has gotten himself good and liquored up. He is drunk off his ass and is now taking pot shots at alligators as part of his ongoing grudge against the critters. Tobey manages to get the fool to stop and go off to sleep it all off. There are twenty shots heard during these brief scenes, nine of them apparently shot without Manon needing to reload. It is also during this sequence that Joyce discovers that she has been locked in her room.

Louann the maid arrives to bring Joyce her dinner. Joyce asks her about the gunshots but Louann doesn’t reveal anything. Then Joyce asks if she has come to the wrong place. The maid is reluctant to say anything and tries to make a getaway but after Joyce corners her, she does say that the place is troubled and that Mrs. Hawthorne has a “big sorrow” and Joyce should leave before she has it, too. Then she leaves, forgetting to lock the door behind her.

Elsewhere, Mrs. Hawthorne receives a phone call from a Dr. Mark Sinclair who, going by the conversation, has just returned from somewhere. We see him in his lab, filled with all sorts of scientific equipment (in other words lots and lots of test tubes, beakers and a Bunsen burner) and an alligator strapped to a nearby table. She tells him that Paul’s wife has arrived and they must decide what they are going to do about it. She tells him to wait, as she will be right over. From her room, Joyce sees her leave.

Mrs. Hawthorne arrives at some building in the bayou that is being used as a medical clinic. Inside, orderlies are trying to contain a patient who is dressed in a long white hospital gown and an idiotic looking headpiece that covers his entire noggin. Whoever it is, he is putting up a hell of a fight and the four orderlies have to lay on the elbow grease to hold him down. Sinclair arrives and injects the patient with something, the masked man muttering something unintelligible in a voice that sounds like Darth Vader when he gargles (36 KB) in the morning. Sinclair admonishes the orderlies for manhandling the guy, saying that “these are people. You don’t handle them like animals.” I guess this is to help set up Sinclair as a compassionate man who is views his patients as people rather than just statistics. Just wait till the HMOs take over.

Mrs. Hawthorne enters Sinclair’s laboratory, which for some very odd reason seems located right off the main door to the building. She calls out for him and when he arrives, they discuss what to do about Joyce’s arrival. Sinclair is firm in that they need more time and Hawthorne is worried about what might happen if Joyce says anything to the police. The good doctor feels helpless in whatever he is trying to do and Hawthorne reminds him of the cobalt bomb that arrived that very day, its inherent radioactive properties surely a potential aid in whatever task he is attempting to accomplish. The doctor is reluctant to take a chance on a Human without months of animal testing first. Hawthorne says that he will get all the time he requires and that Joyce will be on the train first thing in the morning. Sinclair promises to swing by to see Joyce, so he can ascertain if she knows anything before leaving.

Later that night, a figure emerges from the swamps and enters The Cypresses. He sits down at a piano and begins to play in the dark. This attracts the attention of Joyce upstairs. She leaves her room (before the door was locked from outside but now there is a key in the keyhole on her side – I think she somehow tricked the maid into inadvertently leaving it) and descends the stairs, launching into another voiceover as she descends. She enters the room where the music is coming from, and the figure stops playing. Turning to see who has interrupted him, he bolts and flees out a door as soon as he recognizes Joyce. Joyce follows as far as the door, which leads outside, but it is obvious she didn’t get a very good look at whoever it was. All that is left are a bunch of mud the mysterious pianist left all over the floor. What an inconsiderate slob. Joyce launches into another voiceover as we see her examining the room.

Outside, the figure runs up to an approaching car and waves the driver down. Inside the vehicle is Mrs. Hawthorne. She shows no surprise when the figure is revealed to be Paul Webster himself, only now looking quite terrible – his skin now dark, wrinkled and positively scaly in appearance. He questions Hawthorne as to why Joyce is there. She explains that Joyce came in on the train and she had no choice but to put her up for the night, the alternative being putting her out in the middle of the swamp. She promises that Joyce will be gone the next day.


"For the love of god, somebody get me an analgesic!"

Morning comes and Dr. Sinclair arrives in some type of amphibious vehicle – one that goes straight from the water of the swamps to dry land without missing a beat, but pretty much looks like a small fishing boat with four wheels. Joyce is standing on the porch to The Cypresses when Sinclair pulls up and introduces himself as the “Swamp Doctor.” Joyce does her best to get some answers out of him through some verbal wrestling, but he reveals nothing to her, claiming he was just dropping by to see Mrs. Hawthorne. Joyce drops her name, but he acts as if he has never heard the name Webster before. She is sure he and the others are hiding something, but he just dismisses her worries and moves on.

A brief scene shows Sinclair in his laboratory, unpacking the Cobalt bomb and preparing to use it in a test of some kind. Hopefully the moron won’t accidentally detonate it, creating a mushroom cloud over Louisiana.

Back at The Cypresses, Joyce is being a total snoop and is rummaging around through Mrs. Hawthorne’s desk. That could get you shot around my house, I’ll tell you. Elsewhere Mrs. Hawthorne grills her staff on why Joyce hasn’t left yet and Louann explains that Joyce had refused to go when Tobey brought the car around to pick her up. Hawthorne is even more upset now and catches Joyce rifling through her stuff. She accuses Joyce of taking advantage of her hospitality, but Joyce is sure that the older woman his hiding something from her. She wants to know who was playing the piano the night before in the dark and why Dr. Sinclair came around in an obvious attempt at finding out what she may or may not know. Joyce continues to press Mrs. Hawthorne and begins to accuse her of doing something with Paul, even going so far as eliminating all traces of him from his own home. Finally, Mrs. Hawthorne breaks and admits that she would be the last one to ever hurt Paul as she is his mother. Kick yourself if you didn’t see that one coming. Yeah, I thought so. Fade out.

Outside, we see Paul approaching the house again through the rain. When he enters, obviously believing that Joyce has been made to leave, she confronts him. Once again he runs off like a scared rabbit, plowing into the swamp in his haste to get away. Joyce calls after him and finally gives chase. However, it is not long before she is hopelessly lost in the swamp, the darkness and pouring rain making the situation even worse. Still calling Paul’s name, she has a couple of close encounters with some gators and a snake before attracting the attention of something even worse – Manon. The hook-handed creep arrives just in time to save her from a moccasin and then escorts her back to his cabin.

At his cabin, Manon offers her a drink to help Joyce warm up. When she asks him why he has brought her to his cabin, he mutters something about assuming she would naturally appreciate him for saving her from that snake. Uh-huh. Raise your hand if you know where this is going. Ok, ok, ok! Hands down! Manon then advises her to get out of her wet clothes so she won’t get sick. I said hands down! She claims she will be all right, so then he wraps her in blanket. Once he has gotten his arms around her, he then starts trying to kiss her and no doubt has much more on his mind. Naturally she screams and struggles, so what does the oaf do? He belts her, knocking her out. Watch this scene (1.76 MB). Of course, having an unconscious partner saves him from having to wrestle her into submission, so he starts to remove her clothes. At this point Paul rushes in and attacks him. A brief fight ensues, which looks like it was lifted from an old Republic Pictures serial. They manage to make a mess of the interior of the cabin in record time. Paul finally lands a solid punch and the drunken, glass-jawed Manon drops like a wet rag. Paul collects the unconscious Joyce and leaves with her. Manon comes to and yells out to Paul, promising to kill him.

Once more we return to The Cypresses, where Paul arrives with Joyce. She is handed over to the care of the staff while Paul explains to his mother what happened. She advises him that they can no longer keep Joyce in the dark and that hiding things from her will only lead to her getting hurt. She says that she will get Dr. Sinclair to explain things to Joyce.

Paul goes to see Sinclair and asks when they can use the Cobalt 60. The Doctor explains it will be months before it can be used. Paul insists that it be used as soon as possible. Sinclair claims it is just too great a risk. Paul persists, saying that the Doctor owes him this chance. Sinclair gives in and tells him they have to perform at least one test first. Paul agrees but is adamant that the procedure be performed on him the next night. Sinclair then informs him that he is going to tell Joyce all the facts and that she will know everything.

The next day, after a bunch of orderlies wrestle an alligator onto a gurney and transport it to Sinclair’s lab for testing, Joyce arrives and is given the grand tour by the doctor after he finishes up aiming some sort of radioactive ray at the test gator. Sinclair goes on to explain how he had once pioneered a method of injecting alligator hormones into people who were horribly injured or disfigured. Mrs. Hawthorne had financed his research and helped him set up his clinic. His new treatment allowed those who were mangled and horribly burned to heal amazingly fast and with no sign remaining of their injuries. Joyce recalls how Paul looked like he had never been in a plane crash and the doctor tells her that Paul had been the worst of the cases he treated, the most horribly burned and disfigured. Sinclair was convinced that he had stumbled onto a medical Holy Grail.


"All hail Landru! Let Red Hour Commence!"

They are interrupted by an orderly who informs him that “Number six” is acting up again. Sinclair has Joyce accompany him to a room where three orderlies are trying to restrain a man who also has scaly skin on half of his face and a voice like Froggy from The Little Rascals. They finally get him to calm down after directing a bright heat lamp in his direction – warmth making reptiles somewhat lethargic and all that. Joyce asks who these people are and Sinclair reveals that these are the people he had once helped with his discovery. There was an unfortunate side effect from his revolutionary new procedure. It seems a year after their treatment, all of them began turning into alligators – Paul included.

They now wander outside, where Joyce wonders if there is any hope for these people and Sinclair explains that there is one: massive doses of radiation, with Paul being the first test case. Joyce insists on being there for the test and the doctor realizes that given all the circumstances, he really can’t prevent her from doing so.

 

Note - It is at this point that the movie enters its final segment, so if any of you really feel the need to watch this film and not know the ending ahead of time, skip the rest of the Walk-Thru.

 

Night comes and Paul emerges from the swamp again. Just where the hell is he staying anyway? Sure, he is looking all scaly, but there is no way he has taken to hanging out with the other gators. He obviously wasn’t staying at The Cypresses. So, does he have shack in the swamp somewhere? A treehouse? A cave? What exactly? Alas, the film never tells us. Paul enters the lab and is met by Joyce. He tries to run and turn away, but she will have none of it. She tells him that she knows everything about what has befallen him as well as the plans for that evening. She professes her love for him and does her best to be encouraging, saying that she knows he’ll come out of it all as handsome as ever. Yeah, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Dr. Sinclair and Mrs. Hawthorne arrive and things are made ready for the test. Paul is ushered off, Joyce begins to cry and Hawthorne apologizes for how she behaved earlier. Paul is strapped to the table with the big gizmo thing that emits the radioactive beam stationed over him, aimed right at his head. Sinclair tells the women that the absolute maximum time of exposure is thirty seconds. No more. He then apologizes to Paul for playing god.

Meanwhile, Manon busts into The Cypresses, looking for Paul. The staff chases him off, but not before he realizes where Paul is. He arrives at the lab just as things are getting under way. He pulls Sinclair away for the control panel before the doctor can bring an end to Paul’s exposure to the Cobalt 60. Then Manon storms into the radiation chamber to confront Paul, only now the prolonged exposure has accelerated Paul’s transformation into an alligator. His entire upper torso is covered with thick, scaly skin and his head is that of an alligator. Paul frees himself from the table and lunges at Manon, who raises his arm in defense. His Hook-hand gets caught on an electrified cable nearby and the smelly oaf is promptly barbecued. Paul makes a run for it, startling both Joyce and his mother with his new appearance.


"Ok, you can have the last spot if musical chairs means so much to you!"

Gator-Paul flees the clinic and when Joyce comes after him, barrels into the swamp. Inside the lab, the smoking control panel has caught fire. Somehow the combination of that, Manon still hanging from the electric cable and the Cobalt 60 produces and explosion that takes out the entire building, and presumably everyone that was inside.

Out in the swamp, Joyce continues to chase after Gator-Paul, who has caught his reflection in some water and is no doubt in a very bad mood. He wrestles a real alligator (434 KB) for a few minutes, probably out of spite. During this scene, the alligator suit really looks pathetic in comparison to the real thing. Then, moving on, he falls into a pit of quicksand. He tries to extricate himself, but it is to no avail. With a horrified Joyce looking on, Gator-Paul vanishes (144 KB) beneath the surface to his doom. Joyce screams and screams and screams….and screams some more. Finally, we fade out….

…And fade back into Dr. McGregor’s lab where he and Dr. Lorimer are going over the results of the experiment. The lie detector shows that Jane was telling the truth. In addition, records do indeed show that a Paul Webster and Dr. Mark Sinclair did exist but have since disappeared. McGregor wonders if he should tell Jane the truth, seeing as how she seems to have made a satisfactory adjustment after living through such a horrible experience. She now has a happy life, and attempting to cure her might make things worse. Lorimer isn’t sure what to do either, concurring that the situation poses a real ethical conundrum. Jane enters with some papers for McGregor to sign, saying that she will be going off duty unless the doctor needs her for anything else. As she turns to go, McGregor calls to her but a quick shake of the head from Lorimer convinces him to let things go and he just says goodnight to her. She bids both doctors goodnight, turns and exits through the door.

The End.


The end? That tape looks like it has quite a ways to go.


Review
There is a word for films like The Alligator Peopleboring. This is definitely one of those films that is long on talk and short on action. While a great many science fiction and horror films of the same era contained lots of talk, as their budgets rarely allowed for frequent or extensive uses of FX, action or both; many still had enough polish to make the talky bits halfway interesting – even considering their often short running times. The Alligator People clocks in at one hour and fourteen minutes, but seems far longer. Not to say that the events in the film are of the coma inducing variety. It is just that things unfold so…well, boringly. Despite what we see, there just never seems to be any real sense of excitement.

It can be said the film certainly tries to live up to its hype. There is a desperate search, a creepy and foreboding plantation in the middle of a swamp, strange happenings at a nearby clinic that only add to the mystery and locals ardently trying to keep their secrets from seeing the light of day. Throw all these in the mixer and most would assume a really good and riveting film will result. Alas, The Alligator People doesn’t even achieve decent, and instead settles on barely passable. Despite all the right ingredients, the end product is flat. The pace is terribly slow. It takes forever for anything to happen, and when it does, it just doesn’t generate much enthusiasm for the film. Joyce’s search for Paul is just a seemingly endless series of conversations with various people. There is no real action undertaken to help move this plot point along. As a result, the film becomes boring. Even the resistance she meets during her quest doesn’t seem strong enough to deter anyone older than ten years of age. The filmmakers are going for intense drama is some of these confrontations, but instead give us a snooze-fest.

One reason for this general lack of thrills is the misleading name. I’m sure that many monster-loving kids back in the late 50’s swarmed to this film, positively convinced that they were going to see hordes of Alligator People rampaging across the screen. Well, I feel sorry for those kids, whose hopes were so cruelly dashed by this film. Not only do we rarely see any of the Alligator People, but when we do, they are almost always covered head to toe in bandages and white robes. What the hell is frightening about that? Paul is the only one we get a really good look at, and his early stages of transformation are adequately done. However, once the final metamorphosis takes place, he becomes a total cheese monster. I’ve seen more frightening gators populating the local mini golf course. Adding to the silly look is Lon Chaney Jr’s ridiculously realized hook-hand that I mentioned in the summary. It is just so bad looking, one has to wonder whether the people making this film even noticed it, and if they did, why they didn’t do anything about it.

There is one bright spot to this film, and that would be lead actress Beverly Garland. She totally sells her portrayal as both the friendly, happy nurse Jane Marvin as well as the worried Joyce Webster committed to finding her missing husband. A veteran of several earlier B films, as well as having numerous other television and film credits, she brings a touch of class and style to the film – something even the legendary Lon Chaney Jr, fails to do. It seemed pretty evident that at this stage of his career, old Lon was hitting the sauce pretty heavily and taking just about any role that came along – most of them being parts in low budget science fiction and horror films that took advantage of his notoriety years earlier as the Wolf Man. While turning in an effectively creepy performance as the lustful, crazy Manon; he still just seems regulated to glorified set dressing.

Speaking of set dressing, this film seems poorly lit all too often. At times I figured it was done in part to help hide the lame make-up and FX, while other times utilized to further convey mood – a sense of dread and gloom that has settled over The Cypresses. Many of the interior shots are well lit, but when the "action" moves outside to the swamp, things really begin to get murky and difficult to see. When Joyce stumbles around in the bayou, bumping into various creatures, it was often hard to see what she was screaming at. Likewise, the climactic chase through the swamps is similarly dark and difficult to make out at times.

However one other positive element is the DVD transfer. Never have I seen an old black and white film look so good and clean. Sure, there are some imperfections, but considering that the film is over forty years old and despite the dark lighting, I must congratulate Twentieth Century Fox on their excellent presentation. The wide screen format is also a blessing for those B film fans like myself that have suffered with the pan and scan version of this film for years.


Content Breakdown 
Haunted House

Haunted Houses – No ghosts inhabit it, but we do get a large, spooky plantation that sits in the middle of the Louisiana swamps. It is so far off the beaten path, I wonder how they get power or telephones lines out to it.

Monsters

Monsters – We have people slowly turning into alligators. Most remain covered through the film and those we do see just appear to have the worst case of acne ever. When Paul gets that big dose of radiation, we finally get to see the half man-half alligator monster seen in the promotional spots for this film. Alas, he’s only on screen for just a few brief moments at the end so don’t blink.

Science

Science – Dr. Stupid…er…I mean Dr. Sinclair started the whole mess with his experimental new method for helping people heal faster. Now he employs science in a tireless effort to reverse the hideous transformations.

Swamp Hijimks

Swamp Hijinks – Lots of swamp hijinks here. Of course, since the bulk of the film takes place at an old plantation in the middle of the bayou, it is hard to avoid the swamp. Still, we get lots of scenes of people driving, boating and running through the swamps for all manner of reasons.

Violence

Violence – Not too much violence here. Some blatant gator abuse seen when Manon shoots at them or when he hits one with his car. One fistfight between Manon and Paul also shows up, but the choreography looks like something out of an old Republic Pictures serial. One brief confrontation at the end between Manon and Gator-Paul.

Movie Stats 
Deaths: 8 (possibly more)
Alcoholic drinks: 5
Cigarettes smoked: 1
Fistfights: 1
Times Joyce screams Paul’s name: 26
Number of voiceovers from Joyce: 3
Real alligators seen in film: 19
Fake alligators seen in film: 2
Times Manon’s hook hand looks convincing: 0
Minorities in roles of servants: 3
Shots fired from a six shooter without reloading: 9
Alligator People seen: 5



Shadow's Drinking Game: Every time you see an alligator, take a drink. Every time you see an alligator person, take two drinks. Every time you see an alligator person that actually resembles an alligator...take three drinks.


Immortal Dialog
TheAlligatorPeople1.wav

(170KB) Manon giving Joyce the low down on the swamp

Manon: "Do you know how long you’d last if you got a hundred yards off of this road? Maybe ten minutes. If the quicksand didn’t get ya, the moccasins would. Then…Then there’s always the gators! Dirty, nasty, slimy things!!

Shadow’s comment: Considering the source, it may be best to take your chances in the swamp rather than stick with him. And I do mean stick. I bet he hasn’t bathed in weeks.

 

TheAlligatorPeople2.wav

(123KB) A drunk Manon going on about those pesky gators again.

Manon: "Dirty, stinkin’, slimy gators! You bit my hand off, didn’t you? Haha, I’m gonna spend the rest of my life killin’ gators. The rest of my life."

Shadow’s comment: At least the smelly oaf has goals. Too bad bathing isn’t on the list.

 

TheAlligatorPeople3.wav

(269KB) Louann the maid dispensing some home grown bayou advice.

Louann: "I can tell you this. This is a troubled house. Real, deep, big trouble. Like the old country woman in big bayou say. Mrs. Hawthorne, she deal with the evil alone. She got big sorrow. Just like you'll get if you stay here. Go, child. Please go! This is a troubled house. Real, deep big trouble."

Shadow’s comment: You’re doomed! Hear me? DOOMED!!

 

TheAlligatorPeople4.wav

(291KB) One of Joyce’s rare narrative monologues.

Joyce: "Somehow I seemed drawn to the music. A theme that I had heard before. Somewhere. Who else lived in this strange household? Who could be playing in the dead of night? I couldn’t rid myself of the premonition that each step was taking me closer to the secret contained in this shadowy house. I had to know. I had to find out."

Shadow's comment: It's astounding…time is fleeting…madness takes its toll…

 

TheAlligatorPeople5.wav

(88KB) Manon threatening Paul after the latter knocked him senseless while rescuing Joyce from his lustful advances.

Manon: "I’ll kill ya, Alligator man. Just like I’d kill any four-legged gator. Ya hear me? I’ll kill ya!!"

Shadow’s comment: Evidently this is accomplished by breathing in the target’s general direction and letting that unnatural breath do the rest.

 

TheAlligatorPeople6.wav

(179KB) Joyce and Paul discussing the impending procedure to cure him.

Joyce: "Well, radiation therapy works wonders.
Paul: "It’ll have to."
Joyce: "Well you’ll come out of that laboratory as handsome as ever."
Paul: "Joyce, I love you, you know that. I wouldn’t have done this to you and let you see me. I’d rather have died."

Shadow’s comment: Yes, my fellow Americans...behold the wonders of radiation! Slowly turning into a slimy lizard? Inexplicably growing larger and larger everyday? Feeling starved for tomatoes the size of basketballs? Why, radiation will fix that in a jiffy!


Images


"I know I ordered a Black Russian, but this is a bit much."


"Oh, damn. That was supposed to be inserted rectally,
wasn’t it?"


JAG’s new amphibious lawyer-assault vehicle.


You’d scream too if you just accounted for both his hands,
but still felt a little something.


"So tell me Colonel Sanders, is this where you perfected the
eleven secret herbs and spices for your KFC recipe?"



"Hold him tight, he swallowed El Corazon!"


Modern science has drastically cut the time it takes to
make gator skin shoes. Here we see a pair of loafers
being cut directly from an alligator.



"Sir? It appears you fell asleep under the tanning ray.
Might I offer you some skin cream?"


Let’s see…rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper,
paper beats rock and…electric currents beat
metal hook, dumb ass!!



"I’ll get you some day, Spider-Man! Some day!"


The cast didn’t react well when sequel plans were announced.


Video Clip

TheAlligatorPeople.wmv
(3.29 MB)

SEE! The hook-handed, maddened Caijun!
SEE! A Man transform into a scaly alligator before your very eyes!
SEE! The electrifying confrontation between man and man-beast!
SEE! Oh, just watch the clip already.

Don't Forget
  • Nurses routinely volunteer to take part in untested medical experiments.
  • Hypno-therapy can be accomplished without any actual hypnotism.
  • It is perfectly ok to ship radioactive materials in standard wooden crates.
  • Alligators make roaring sounds just like lions.
  • You can run over an alligator in your car at full speed and not hurt them at all.
  • Butlers have nothing better to do but wait by the front door for visitors.
  • Sweaty, one-handed guys who live in swamps are terminally horny and best avoided.
  • Hospital orderlies are trained to handle live alligators.
  • Radiation is a fix-all medical treatment, especially in massive doses.
  • Electricity + radioactivity = BOOM.
  • Repressing the memories of entire years is simple and raises no nagging questions about one’s past.

Shadow's Commentary
00:21 – Opening credits. Is that Gilligan’s Island?
04:22 – It’s a 5.0 on the Richter scale.
05:53 – 3D coming at ya!
07:23 – So you married Evel Knievel?
13:30 – Voiceover time from Joyce.
13:36 – Elevation 13 feet and sinking.
14:05 – Don’t open til doomsday.
16:10 – Now we know where Fred Sanford got his truck.
16:56 – Did you hear the one about the two idiots and the alligator?
18:47 – See image at right ->
18:48 – Somebody call PETA!
19:05 – How? By doing something your mother told you not to do, no doubt.
21:49 – I bet her husband killed himself just to get away from her.
23:20 – Another voiceover from Joyce.
23:45 – It’s a drive by shooting.
25:20 – Crazy white people!
28:33 – Somebody give that poor guy a throat lozenge!
32:13 – Yet another vice over from Joyce.
32:57 – I wish my brother George was here.
33:23 – See image at right ->
35:53 – I wonder if he always tries to pick up chicks with his swamp buggy.
40:31 – Liar, Liar. Pants on fire.
42:55 – Time for a night time stroll through the swamp.
44:40 – That wasn’t the swamp thing I was wanting to rescue me.
47:18 – Bitch slap!!
48:14 – You were in the army? Where the hell are your hand-to-hand skills?
51:23 – Is his middle name Veruca?
53:08 – Alligator People. How scary! NOT.
55:30 – Ask Doctor Stupid!
58:41 – I am not a number. I’m a free man!
64:27 – Don’t be so sure of that.
67:26 – Can you pick up HBO with that?
71:15 – See image at right ->
72:17 – See ya later, Alligator (you knew that was coming, right?).
74:07 – The End. Somebody please destroy that audiotape.




Unanswered Questions & WTF Moments

1. Why is Paul so insistent about exiting the train? Were the changes really going to pop up that fast? Was he gonna be sporting scales before the night was over, making for one of the most uncomortable wedding nights ever? You’d think he’d at least wait until he got to their destination or even rode out the honeymoon and waited until they were home before pulling his vanishing act, but instead he bugged out on Joyce as if it were only moments before he started resembling their lugagge more than the man she married.

2. Frankly, I find it near impossible to understand why Paul would not tell Joyce of his predicament, especially if he claims to love her. Wouldn’t he want her support during such a trying time? I sure as hell would want The Other Half with me if I suddenly began the transformation from man into bipdel suitcase, but Paul acts like there is some type of social stigma that is attached to his situation. Sure, going out in public would have to wait until you were cured, especially if the entire affair was to be kept secret…but not even telling your wife? He acts like admitting to his situation would be on the same level as admitting to being a child rapist, trafficker of child porn or something even worse…a Yanni fan.

3. How was Joyce able to slip into her new identity so seamlessly without remembering a thing about who she once was? Suffering a severe trauma that forces the mind to deal with it by abandoning one identity for another is one thing, but where did all her new records come from? Things like birth certifficate, driver’s license, social security number or nursing credentials? Her mind could not have created those out of thin air, yet somebody must have done so. Did she get help with her identity switch? Perhaps she herself planned it out in advance before hiring some two-bit carnival side-show hypnotist to convince her of her new life and persona?

4. What kind of idiots ship radioactive material without any escort or any adherance to safety regulations? Just pack it in a crate, slap on a shipping label and toss it on a train! Nevermind about the danger to public safety! Screw the public! Even more importantly, where in the hell does one purchase a mail order bomb? Was there an old military supply depot that had a going out of business sale? Or was it just some guy working at such a place who decided to make a few extra bucks on the side and decided that no one was going to miss a single bomb? I just hope the freakin’ terrorists don’t have that guy’s number.

5. Did any other Gator-people survive the explosion at the end? If so, did the sudden increase in radioactivity suddenly supercharge their transformations, turning them all into full blown Alligator People like Paul? If so, perhaps they just decided to live together in the swamps, founding their own society. Even now there may be Alligator People living in the deep bayou somewhere, descended from this original bunch, living off the land and only occasionally venturing near civilization to forage for supplies (tools, chickens, smokes, etc). Maybe all those sightings of “Lizard Men” in southernly areas are actually sightings of these Alligator People! Then again, maybe all those sightings are just from people who made the mistake of drinking the bong water.

6. Wouldn’t Tobey and Louann tell someone about the big explosion at the swamp clinic? Especially since they would have to find new employment after the death of Mrs. Hawthorne? Or since The Cypresses was so secluded, maybe they just took over running the place and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, not bothering to tell anyone of what happened? Since Doctor McGregor could find no clue as to what happened to Doctor Sinclair – only that he did exist and has since vanished – I’m thinking that Tobey and Louann just kept their big mouths shut and began living the good life.

7. Didn’t anyone notice the radioactivity produced by the explosion, or are six legged gators common in Louisiana? Despite being so far off the beaten track, such radioactive leakage into the ecosystem had to have had some noticable impact. Even if no one ever noticed multi-limbed animals emerging from the area, I’m sure the now-sentient, carnivorous and ambulatory plant life in the region is a sure fire clue that something weird happened.


Shadow's B-Movie Awards   

The Bury The Past Award: This one goes to Jane Marvin, for successfully burying a previous identity to such a degree, that only hypnosis revealed that she was unaware of her former life. Now if we could just get Yanni to forget everything he has done…

The Hell Hall No Fury Like A Woman Scorned Award: This goes to Joyce Webster. After hubby Paul vanishes on their wedding night (and before the boom-boom) she is relentless in her quest to find him and no doubt get whats coming to her. Either that or he hadn’t signed off on the changes to his will and she wasn’t about to let anything prevent her from inheriting whatever was his.

The Shittiest Luck Ever Award: This one is given to Paul Webster for enduring a plane crash, horrible injuries and then making a seemingly miraculous recovery from said injuries before beginning the transformation into a sideshow freak. Worst of all he was married to Joyce, the most relentlessly nagging woman who ever lived. No wonder he threw himself into that quicksand!

The Waste Of Skin Award: Only be Manon could get this one. Constantly drunk, sweaty, smelly and no doubt sporting hideous breath, his lack of hygiene was only eclipsed by his lack of charm. Other guys will get a chick drunk and then taking advantage of her. Not this moron. He gives them a couple shots of moonshine and then just belts them, knocking them out cold so he can then do his deed.

The Get Your Ass Back To Medical School Award: Without a doubt this one goes to Dr. Mark Sinclair. Every doctor no doubt dreams of finding some miracle cure, but most have the common sense to test their methods extensively and thoroughly before using them on people. Hence, most doctors don’t have a clinic full of patients that are slowly turning into luggage.

The Colonel Harlan Sanders Look Alike Award: Given to Dr. Mark Sinclair for obvious reasons. The only thing he was missing was a mustache and goatee. Given the events of the film’s end, had he survived we might have very well seen a chain of Louisiana Radiation-Fryed Alligator restaurants.

The About To Burst A Blood Vessel Award: Awarded to Lavinia Hawthorne for constantly appearing on the verge of a murderous rampage. No wonder the staff kept such low profiles. If the silverware wasn’t shined properly or the front door not answered fast enough, old Mommie Dearest here would launch into a screaming fit that made the “no wire hangers” fiasco look like a comedic skit.

The Your Guy Card Is Revoked Award: This one goes to Dr. Wayne McGregor for not taking advantage of the situation when he hypnotized Jane. She is sure to never remember and he didn’t even get a good squeeze in? MORON.

The Time To Get Some New Wheels Award: Awarded to Dr. Eric Lorimer for that idiotic-looking manuever he pulled at the beginning when he slid across the seat and exited the car from the passenger side, no doubt because the driver’s side door would not open. That can be a fatal pain in the ass if you ever get stuck on some train tracks.

The Moron Of The Movie Award: This one goes to whoever it was that designed that idiotic-looking hook-hand of Manon’s and thought it looked realistic. That’s almost as bad as sticking a diving helmet onto a cheap ape suit and calling it a robot from outer space.

Trivia 

1. The Alligator People was originally released on a double bill with Return of the Fly.

2. In 1956 Beverly Garland starred in five films for producer Roger Corman: It Conquered the World, Gunslinger, Not of This Earth, Swamp Women and Naked Paradise.

3. Lon Chaney is the only person to have played all four of the classic Universal movie monsters: Larry Talbot/Wolf Man in The Wolf Man (1941), The Frankenstein Monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Kharis, the mummy The Mummy's Tomb (1942) and Count Anthony Alucard, Dracula's son in Son of Dracula (1943).

4. Actor Bruce Bennet (Dr. Eric Lorimer) was born Herman Brix and was a medalist in the 1928 Olympics. Later he was hand picked by Edgar Rice Burroughs to portrayed Tarzan in two films that were among the few to portray the character accurately.

5. There was an unreleased prototype for an Alligator People video game on the old Atari VCS aka the 2600. It has recently been dug up, completed and available on the net for classic video game enthusiasts.

6. Actor Richard Crane (Paul Webster) may be best known for portraying the character of Rocky Jones in the TV series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger which ran for thirty-nine half hour episodes in 1954.


The Final Word

Long on talk and very, very short on action, this film just doesn’t offer enough excitement to classify it as a great B movie. Poor lighting, cheesy monster costumes and barely adequate make-up combine with said lack of thrills to produce a film that is almost laughable – especially once the trailer for the movie is viewed and the obvious intent by the producers to make a seriously intense horror viewing experience is realized. Non fans will simply find the film boring and a challenge to watch after twenty minutes. B movie fans will no doubt hang in there longer, but when an hour goes by and next to nothing has transpired, they will be severely tempted to watch something else. To them I say, just hold out for a few more minutes and everything will soon be over.

 

The Good

  • Great performance by Beverley Garland
  • Gorgeous-looking film print
  • Eerie swamp locations
  • Spooky atmosphere
  • Decent make-up for Paul before final transformation

The Bad

  • Horrible final transformation alligator man mask
  • Manon's utterly ridiculous hook hand
  • Not enough alligator people running loose
  • Lame ending

The Ugly

  • Too much damn talk: movie is boring, boring, BORING
  • ludicrous element that has Joyce/Jane so easily assuming new identity
  • Lon Chaney obviously hitting the sauce quite hard by this time in career

Rating
Four Tombstones


My Personal History With This Film
Back when I was young child in the 70’s, I nurtured a passion for older horror films – mainly ones from the 1950’s. I watched them religiously and was always on the lookout for ones I had never seen. Keep in mind that this was long before VCRs and home video were the mainstays of popular culture that they are today. If you missed an airing of a movie or TV show, you were pretty much screwed. So I kept a vigilant eye on the TV listings to see what would be shown each week. I also read monster magazines as much as I could. It was in one such periodical that I first saw a photo from The Alligator People. I remember the name intrigued me and I made it a priority to watch this movie. Well, years and years went by and I never managed to catch the film. High school came and went. It was sometime shortly after graduating that I re-invested in my love of 50’s horror and science fiction by scooping up as many such films on VHS that I could locate. Alas, The Alligator People still eluded me. It wasn’t until a few years later in the early 1990’s that I finally saw the film listed on AMC…and this was back in the good old days when AMC didn’t air commercial breaks. I set my VCR and was finally able to get a copy of the film. I eagerly watched it, and while I wasn’t just completely devastated with disappointment, it is safe to say that I wasn’t jumping up and down in excitement. That taped pan and scan version was my only copy for many years until the recent DVD release. Sure, the film is talky and often dull, but it heralds an era of film making that I love, so I had to have it.

Extras

Review Round-Up
Check out these other reviews for this film!

- Internet Movie Database - movie Review Query Engine
1001 Misspent Hours and Counting - Monster Hunter - B-Movie Central - Eccentric Cinema - The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review


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