The Killer Shrews
Encyclopedia
The Killer Shrews is a 1959
science fiction film
directed by Ray Kellogg
. It has been released on DVD and is considered a cult classic
. It was featured in the fourth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000
, as well as the first season of the similar show This Movie Sucks!
.
On the island, a doctor works to make humans half-size. This, apparently, will reduce world hunger as smaller humans would presumably eat less. Unfortunately, his experiments have also created some giant, venomous shrews. Thorne and Ann begin to fall in love, which angers Jerry. As the shrews run out of smaller animals to eat, they eat Griswold and close in on the people in the house, ultimately breaking in through the basement. It is discovered that the shrews have a poisonous bite, as a small single bite is enough to kill Mario. The poison kills Radford, and the shrews force the group (save for Jerry, who wants to stay) out of the house to escape to Thorne's boat. They do this by making impromptu armor out of oil drums and crawl to the beach lashed inside them. Jerry is killed by the shrews after he changes his mind and chases after the others, but the rest of the crew (Thorne, Ann, and Marlowe) manage a successful escape to the boat.
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....
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by Ray Kellogg
Ray Kellogg
Edgar Ray Kellogg was an American film director from Iowa.During World War II, Kellogg was a US Navy Lieutenant with the O.S.S. Field Photographing Branch where he became acquainted with John Ford....
. It has been released on DVD and is considered a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
. It was featured in the fourth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, as well as the first season of the similar show This Movie Sucks!
This Movie Sucks!
This Movie Sucks! is a Canadian comedy television series hosted by Ed the Sock, premièring on May 28, 2010, two years after Ed's Night Party went off the air. The show is similar to another former Ed the Sock series, Ed's Nite In...
.
Plot
Thorne Sherman and his first mate Griswold deliver supplies to a group on a remote island. The group, consisting of a scientist named Marlowe Cragis, his research assistant Radford Baines, the scientist's daughter Ann, her fiancee Jerry Farrel, and a servant named Mario, meet the captain and his first mate and advise them to stay with them in a house because a hurricane is approaching. Thorne goes but Griswold stays with the boat.On the island, a doctor works to make humans half-size. This, apparently, will reduce world hunger as smaller humans would presumably eat less. Unfortunately, his experiments have also created some giant, venomous shrews. Thorne and Ann begin to fall in love, which angers Jerry. As the shrews run out of smaller animals to eat, they eat Griswold and close in on the people in the house, ultimately breaking in through the basement. It is discovered that the shrews have a poisonous bite, as a small single bite is enough to kill Mario. The poison kills Radford, and the shrews force the group (save for Jerry, who wants to stay) out of the house to escape to Thorne's boat. They do this by making impromptu armor out of oil drums and crawl to the beach lashed inside them. Jerry is killed by the shrews after he changes his mind and chases after the others, but the rest of the crew (Thorne, Ann, and Marlowe) manage a successful escape to the boat.
Cast
- James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
as Thorne Sherman - Ingrid GoudeIngrid GoudeIngrid Goude is a model from Sandviken, in Gästrikland, Sweden.She became an actress in B-movie and sci-fi motion pictures of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Edward K....
as Ann Cragis - Ken CurtisKen CurtisKen Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
as Jerry Farrel - Gordon McLendonGordon McLendonGordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
as Dr. Radford Baines - Baruch LumetBaruch LumetBaruch Lumet was a Jewish actor best known for his work in the Yiddish theater.Lumet was born in Warsaw, Russian Empire, and immigrated to the United States with his wife Eugenia Gitl Lumet and daughter Feiga in 1922, where his son, film director Sidney Lumet was born.Although he appeared...
as Dr. Marlowe Cragis - Judge Henry Dupree as Griswold
- Alfred DeSoto as Mario
DVD release
- A new colorized version was released alongside The Giant Gila MonsterThe Giant Gila MonsterThe Giant Gila Monster is a 1959 black-and-white science fiction film directed by Ray Kellogg, and produced by Ken Curtis. It stars Don Sullivan, Lisa Simone, as well as Fred Graham, Shug Fisher and Bob Thompson. This low-budget B-Movie featured a cast of unknown actors, and the effects included a...
as a double-feature by Legend FilmsLegend FilmsLegend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...
. - The TV show Mystery Science Theatre 3000 showed the movie in an episode during their 4th season. The cast focused their gags on the main flaws of the film: the lack of conflict in the first hour of the film (which mostly focused on the living room of the island house and the characters talking to each other), the silly appearance of the shrews (dogs dressed to appear like them) and how most of the dialogue was hard to understand due to the accents of the characters. MST3K version of the film was released by Rhino Home VideoRhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
as part of the 'Collection, Volume 7' box set.