Caltiki - il mostro immortale (1959)
Encyclopedia
Caltiki - The Immortal Monster (Italian
title: Caltiki - il mostro immortale) is a 1959
Italian
horror film
directed by Riccardo Freda
. The plot concerns a team of archaeologists investigating Mayan
ruins who come across a blob
-like monster
. They manage to destroy it with fire
while keeping a sample of the monster. Meanwhile, a comet
is due to pass close to the Earth
, the same comet which passed near the Earth at the time the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. The film proposes the question "Is there a connection between the monster and the comet?"
Upon reaching the cave, they find a deep pool of water, behind which is a large statue of Caltiki, the vengeful Mayan goddess who had been ceremonially presented with human sacrifices. Hoping to find artifacts, the group sends one of their number down into the pool. At the bottom, he finds a menagerie of skeletons clad in gold jewelry. Running out of oxygen, he comes back up, clutching as much gold as he can. Although the group wishes him to not go down again, he insists on doing so, suggesting that they could become millionaires from the wealth below. Relenting to him, they let him descend once more. As he collects more and more treasure, his cable to the surface suddenly writhes erratically. Fearing for his safety, the group pulls him back to the surface, only to find, upon removing his face mask, his body reduced to a decayed mass distended about his skeleton.
Moments later, the monster that attacked him rears up from the pool, attempting to digest anyone near. One of the group is caught, but is then rescued. As the team escapes, the monster begins to crawl out of the cave menacingly. Luckily, there is a tanker truck full of gasoline nearby that the main character drives into the vile blob. It explodes violently, vanquishing it.
The team travels back to Mexico City to take the man who had been caught by the monster to a hospital. Still on his arm is a small piece of the monster that had come apart from the main blob and is still digesting him. When the surgeons remove the blob, they find that his arm is nothing more than a few moist scraps of flesh still connected to his bones. The surgeons wrap it up anyway. After further experimenting on the blob, scientists later discover that it is a unicellular bacterium that quickly grows when in the presence of radiation. Unfortunately, a comet that emits radiation and crosses Earth's path only once in every 850 years or so is quickly approaching. Upon the comet's closest approach, the piece of the blob that the main character left in his house with his wife and infant expands to enormous size and reproduces.
Dr. John Fielding (John Merivale
), meanwhile, attempts to convince the Mexican government to send its army to destroy the beast, but is then thrown in prison for his "madness". Fortunately, the government changes its mind, releases him, and sends regiments of flame-throwing tanks to his house. Upon their arrival, they find that the blobs have overrun the house and Dr. Fielding's wife and child are desperately standing on a second-floor window ledge. The mother and child are rescued by Dr. Fielding as the flame-throwing tanks lay waste to the blob monsters.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
title: Caltiki - il mostro immortale) is a 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda was an Egyptian-born Italian film director. Best known for his horror and thriller movies, Freda had no great love for the horror films he was assigned, but rather favored the epic sword and sandal pictures...
. The plot concerns a team of archaeologists investigating Mayan
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
ruins who come across a blob
The Blob
The Blob is an independently made 1958 American horror/science-fiction film that depicts a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorizes the small community of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania...
-like monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
. They manage to destroy it with fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
while keeping a sample of the monster. Meanwhile, a comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
is due to pass close to the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, the same comet which passed near the Earth at the time the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. The film proposes the question "Is there a connection between the monster and the comet?"
Plot
The film begins as a delirious archaeologist stumbles into his group's camp without his partner, both of whom having been exploring a cave. He becomes mad, requiring hospitalization. Their interest piqued, the group sets out for the cave.Upon reaching the cave, they find a deep pool of water, behind which is a large statue of Caltiki, the vengeful Mayan goddess who had been ceremonially presented with human sacrifices. Hoping to find artifacts, the group sends one of their number down into the pool. At the bottom, he finds a menagerie of skeletons clad in gold jewelry. Running out of oxygen, he comes back up, clutching as much gold as he can. Although the group wishes him to not go down again, he insists on doing so, suggesting that they could become millionaires from the wealth below. Relenting to him, they let him descend once more. As he collects more and more treasure, his cable to the surface suddenly writhes erratically. Fearing for his safety, the group pulls him back to the surface, only to find, upon removing his face mask, his body reduced to a decayed mass distended about his skeleton.
Moments later, the monster that attacked him rears up from the pool, attempting to digest anyone near. One of the group is caught, but is then rescued. As the team escapes, the monster begins to crawl out of the cave menacingly. Luckily, there is a tanker truck full of gasoline nearby that the main character drives into the vile blob. It explodes violently, vanquishing it.
The team travels back to Mexico City to take the man who had been caught by the monster to a hospital. Still on his arm is a small piece of the monster that had come apart from the main blob and is still digesting him. When the surgeons remove the blob, they find that his arm is nothing more than a few moist scraps of flesh still connected to his bones. The surgeons wrap it up anyway. After further experimenting on the blob, scientists later discover that it is a unicellular bacterium that quickly grows when in the presence of radiation. Unfortunately, a comet that emits radiation and crosses Earth's path only once in every 850 years or so is quickly approaching. Upon the comet's closest approach, the piece of the blob that the main character left in his house with his wife and infant expands to enormous size and reproduces.
Dr. John Fielding (John Merivale
John Merivale
John Herman Merivale , also known as Jack Merivale, was a British theatre actor, and occasional supporting player in British films.-Biography:...
), meanwhile, attempts to convince the Mexican government to send its army to destroy the beast, but is then thrown in prison for his "madness". Fortunately, the government changes its mind, releases him, and sends regiments of flame-throwing tanks to his house. Upon their arrival, they find that the blobs have overrun the house and Dr. Fielding's wife and child are desperately standing on a second-floor window ledge. The mother and child are rescued by Dr. Fielding as the flame-throwing tanks lay waste to the blob monsters.
Cast
- John MerivaleJohn MerivaleJohn Herman Merivale , also known as Jack Merivale, was a British theatre actor, and occasional supporting player in British films.-Biography:...
as Dr. John Fielding - Didi PeregoDidi PeregoDidi Perego was a statuesque actress who appeared in over 80 films and television shows. She made her debut in 1959's Death of a Friend and followed it up in the same year with perhaps her best-known performance, as Sofia in Kapò for which she won the Silver Ribbon for Best Supporting Actress...
as Ellen Fielding - Gérard HerterGérard HerterGérard Herter was a German actor of the fifties and sixties who played many villains especially Prussian types in spaghetti westerns. He made his impressive film debut in Caltiki - il mostro immortale in 1959...
as Max Gunther - Daniela RoccaDaniela RoccaDaniela Rocca was an Italian model and actress.Rocca was born and raised in Acireale, a poor neighborhood in Catania. She became Miss Catania in 1953, and was discovered by talent scouts after competing in a Miss Italy competition...
as Linda - Giacomo Rossi-StuartGiacomo Rossi-StuartGiacomo Rossi-Stuart was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart. He appeared in over 80 films between 1953 and 1989.He was born in Todi, Italy and died in Rome, Italy....
as Prof. Rodriguez's assistant - Daniele Vargas as Bob (expedition member)
- Vittorio André as Prof. Rodriguez
- Nerio BernardiNerio BernardiNerio Bernardi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 192 films between 1918 and 1970.He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* The Avenger * Vanina Vanini...
as Police inspector - Arturo DominiciArturo DominiciArturo Dominici was an Italian actor and dubbing artist.Born in Palermo, Dominici became best known for his many villainous roles in horror and fantasy films. He is best remembered for his performance as the monstrous Igor Javuto in Mario Bava's Black Sunday...
as Nieto (expedition member)
Production Notes
- Nominal director Riccardo FredaRiccardo FredaRiccardo Freda was an Egyptian-born Italian film director. Best known for his horror and thriller movies, Freda had no great love for the horror films he was assigned, but rather favored the epic sword and sandal pictures...
claims that future director Mario BavaMario BavaMario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
did most of the directing of this film uncredited. Bava's first screen credit as director was the 1960 classic Black Sunday.