SSSSSSS
Encyclopedia
SSSSSSS is a 1973
horror film
starring Dirk Benedict
, Heather Menzies
, Reb Brown
, and Strother Martin
. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski
and written by Hal Dresner and Daniel C. Striepeke. The makeup effects were created by John Chambers
and Nick Marcellino. The film has developed a small cult reputation and is acclaimed by many horror fans. It received a nomination for Best Science Fiction Film in 1975 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.
. Its "snakeman" bares an uncanny resemblance to Stoner's previous assistant. David finds he is transforming into a cobra and is finally killed by a mongoose when he tries to escape.
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
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...
starring Dirk Benedict
Dirk Benedict
Dirk Benedict is an American movie, television and stage actor, perhaps best known for playing the characters Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck in The A-Team television series and Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica film and television series.-Early life:Benedict was born...
, Heather Menzies
Heather Menzies
Heather Urich , born December 3, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian-born actress who moved to California via Florida at the age of 11. She enrolled at the Falcon Studio’s University of the Arts, in Hollywood. Her first professional role at the age of 13 was on My Three Sons...
, Reb Brown
Reb Brown
Reb Brown is an American actor.Known as superhero Captain America in the TV pilot/movies, he's also known for the 1983 cult classic, Yor, the Hunter from the Future, as well as the scifi film, Space Mutiny, and for the collaborations with director Bruno Mattei in films Strike Commando and Robowar ...
, and Strother Martin
Strother Martin
Strother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski
Bernard L. Kowalski
Bernard Louis Kowalski, often credited as Bernard L. Kowalski was an American film and television director, nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys...
and written by Hal Dresner and Daniel C. Striepeke. The makeup effects were created by John Chambers
John Chambers (make-up artist)
John Chambers was a famous make-up artist who became a veteran in both television and film.-Biography:...
and Nick Marcellino. The film has developed a small cult reputation and is acclaimed by many horror fans. It received a nomination for Best Science Fiction Film in 1975 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.
Plot
College student David Blake (Benedict) is hired as an assistant by Doctor Stoner (Martin), an ophiologist. Stoner's previous assistant had mysteriously left town without telling anyone. Stoner begins David on a course of injections, purportedly a safeguard against being bitten by a snake in his care. David begins a romance with Stoner's daughter Kristina (Menzies), to which Stoner objects. David is perturbed by the strange side effects of the injections. Kristina visits a carnival freak showFreak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
. Its "snakeman" bares an uncanny resemblance to Stoner's previous assistant. David finds he is transforming into a cobra and is finally killed by a mongoose when he tries to escape.
Cast
- Strother MartinStrother MartinStrother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
as Dr. Carl Stoner - Dirk BenedictDirk BenedictDirk Benedict is an American movie, television and stage actor, perhaps best known for playing the characters Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck in The A-Team television series and Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica film and television series.-Early life:Benedict was born...
as David Blake - Heather MenziesHeather MenziesHeather Urich , born December 3, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian-born actress who moved to California via Florida at the age of 11. She enrolled at the Falcon Studio’s University of the Arts, in Hollywood. Her first professional role at the age of 13 was on My Three Sons...
as Kristina Stoner - Richard B. ShullRichard B. ShullRichard Bruce Shull was an American character actor.-Career:Shull was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Zana Marie , a court stenographer, and Ulysses Homer Shull, a manufacturing executive. Shull attended the University of Iowa and served in the U.S. Army before starting his Broadway career...
as Dr. Ken Daniels - Tim O'ConnorTim O'ConnorTim O'Connor may refer to:*Tim O'Connor , actor, appeared in Peyton Place and General Hospital*Tim O'Connor , American college football coach*Tim O'Connor , Australian actor, writer and director...
as Kogen - Jack GingJack GingJack Lee Ging is an American actor best known for his role as General Harlan 'Bull' Fullbright in the NBC television series The A-Team.-Early life:...
as Sheriff Dale Hardison - Kathleen King as Kitty Stewart
- Reb BrownReb BrownReb Brown is an American actor.Known as superhero Captain America in the TV pilot/movies, he's also known for the 1983 cult classic, Yor, the Hunter from the Future, as well as the scifi film, Space Mutiny, and for the collaborations with director Bruno Mattei in films Strike Commando and Robowar ...
as Steve Randall - Ted Grossman as Deputy Morgan Bock
- Charles Seel as Old man
- Ray Ballard as Waggish Tourist
Trivia
- This film was released by UniversalUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
as a double feature with The Boy Who Cried WerewolfThe Boy Who Cried WerewolfThe Boy Who Cried Werewolf is a 1973 film directed by Nathan H. Juran. The film stars Kerwin Matthews in the last film both he and Juran did after a few early films, including The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. In this thriller, a boy visits his father in a secluded cabin; the father is attacked by a...
(1973), making the program one of the last double bills released by the studio. - The library was a real herpetological library
- The title for the films release in Spain was Ssssilbido de muerte, which translates to Hiss of Death in English.
- The venomous snakes were not defanged during production. Five King CobraKing CobraThe king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m . This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia...
s were imported from ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
for this feature, they ranged from 10-15' in length. They were recently wild caught and in good health with full venom capabilities. The "Snake Park" milking scenes were real and meant to mimic what Bill HaastBill HaastWilliam E. "Bill" Haast was the director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a facility near Punta Gorda, Florida, which produces snake venom for medical and research use. Haast extracted venom from venomous snakes from the time he was a boy...
did at his Serpentarium in Florida daily. About one ounce of venom was collected during each take with no harm to the snakes. A different cobra was used for each take. The filming of this part of the movie took most of a day, as the cobras spent most of their time trying to escape the fenced enclosure rather than raising up in the traditional cobra attack mode.