Trog: Difference between revisions
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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The film was originally developed by [[Tony Tenser]] at [[Tigon Films]], who sold it to [[Herman Cohen]].<ref name="x cert">{{cite book |first=John |last=Hamilton |title=The British Independent Horror Film 1951–70 |publisher=Hemlock Books |year=2013 |pages=186–189}}</ref> |
The film was based on an original story by Peter Biyan and John Gilling. It was originally developed by [[Tony Tenser]] at [[Tigon Films]], who sold it to [[Herman Cohen]], who wrote the screen play with Aben Kandel.<ref name="x cert">{{cite book |first=John |last=Hamilton |title=The British Independent Horror Film 1951–70 |publisher=Hemlock Books |year=2013 |pages=186–189}}</ref> |
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In July 1968 Cohen announced he had signed a two picture deal with Warner Bros-Seven Arts. He would make ''[[Crooks and Coronets]]'' and ''Trog''; the latter would begin filming in September.<ref>Geraldine Page Signs Pact |
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| ⚫ | |||
Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 11 July 1968: e17. </ref> |
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| ⚫ | Filming wound up being delayed. In May 1969 [[Joan Crawford]] agreed to star. ''Trog'' was the second of two films that she starred in for Cohen the first was ''[[Berserk!]]'' ([[1967 in film|1967]]). It also paired her again with [[Michael Gough]], who costarred with Crawford in ''Berserk!''. Crawford's character in the original script had been a man but Cohen rewrote it for Crawford.<ref>MOVIE CALL SHEET: Mariette Hartley to Star |
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Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 22 May 1969: e22. </ref> |
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The director was Freddie Francis, who later said "''Trog'' wasn't my |
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sort of picture. For political reasons. I'd rather not go too deeply into this... The best thing that happened on that picture was that I formed an association with Herman Cohen. He was delighted with what I did for him on Trog, even though in a case like that you know you're going to take a beating no matter what you do."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_030/page/n17|magazine=Fangoria|number=30|page=17|title=The British Terror of Freddie Francis}}</ref> |
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===Shooting=== |
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Filming began June 30, 1969.<ref>Stark to Film Sarah Bernhardt Story |
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By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 27 May 1969: 42. </ref> |
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Crawford called it "a low budget picture. I supply most of my own wardrobe."<ref>Joan Crawford Can Still Cry on Cue |
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Oakes, Philip. Los Angeles Times 2 Sep 1969: e14.</ref> |
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Cohen says the film was more expensive than ''Beserk''. It was shot at Bray studios and on the English moors. Cohen said Crawford's drinking on the film "was worse than it was when we were doing Berserk. I had to reprimand her a few times for drinking |
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without asking. She had a huge frosted glass that said Pepsi- Cola — but inside was 100-proof vodka!"<ref name="fan">{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_111_1992_Sleepwalkers_QualityControl-BONES_c2c/page/n17|year=1992|title=Crime and Crimson Part Three|first=Tom|last=Weaver|page=17}}</ref> |
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The dinosaur sequence was stock footage from the [[Warner Bros.]] movie ''[[The Animal World (film)|The Animal World]]'' ([[1956 in film|1956]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Stop-Motion Filmography|last=Pettigrew |first=Neil |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]], Inc.|year=1999|page=40|isbn=0-7864-0446-9}}</ref> |
The dinosaur sequence was stock footage from the [[Warner Bros.]] movie ''[[The Animal World (film)|The Animal World]]'' ([[1956 in film|1956]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Stop-Motion Filmography|last=Pettigrew |first=Neil |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]], Inc.|year=1999|page=40|isbn=0-7864-0446-9}}</ref> |
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The film features a small role by actor [[David Warbeck]]. |
The film features a small role by actor [[David Warbeck]]. |
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Francis later called it "a terrible film...I did it because of Joan Crawford, and poor Joan by this time was a very sad old lady. We had to have idiot cards all over the place because she couldn't remember her lines. It was the last thing she ever did and she shouldn’t have done it. Neither should I. . She had no friends, and she kept writing sad |
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letters to my wife and I until she died."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Hammer Horror|url=https://archive.org/details/Hammer_Horror_006_1995_Marvel/page/n10|page=11-12|year=1995|number=6|title=Tales from the Script|first=Christopher|last=Koetting}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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Cohen said the film came in on time, under budget and was "very successful".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_111_1992_Sleepwalkers_QualityControl-BONES_c2c/page/n55|year=1992|title=Crime and Crimson Part Three|first=Tom|last=Weaver|page=57}}</ref> |
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At the time of release, ''[[The New York Times]]'' panned the film but commented, "There is, however, a rudimentary virtue in ''Trog''...in that it proves that Joan Crawford is grimly working at her craft. Unfortunately, the determined lady, who is fetching in a variety of chic pants suits and dresses, has little else going for her."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E04E4DC173BEE34BC4151DFB667838B669EDE |title=Movie Review: 'Trog' and 'Taste Blood of Dracula' |date=29 October 1970 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> |
At the time of release, ''[[The New York Times]]'' panned the film but commented, "There is, however, a rudimentary virtue in ''Trog''...in that it proves that Joan Crawford is grimly working at her craft. Unfortunately, the determined lady, who is fetching in a variety of chic pants suits and dresses, has little else going for her."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E04E4DC173BEE34BC4151DFB667838B669EDE |title=Movie Review: 'Trog' and 'Taste Blood of Dracula' |date=29 October 1970 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 13:37, 18 May 2019
| Trog | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Freddie Francis |
| Written by | Peter Bryan John Gilling Aben Kandel |
| Produced by | Herman Cohen |
| Starring | Joan Crawford Michael Gough Bernard Kay |
| Cinematography | Desmond Dickinson |
| Edited by | Oswald Hafenrichter |
| Music by | John Scott |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Trog is a 1970 British science fiction horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Joan Crawford in a story about the discovery of a living troglodyte. The screenplay was written by Peter Bryan, John Gilling, and Aben Kandel. Trog marks Crawford's last motion picture appearance.
Plot
Set in contemporary England, the film follows Dr. Brockton (Joan Crawford) who learns that in the caves of the countryside, a troglodyte is alive and might be able to be helped and even domesticated. In the interest of science and the potential groundbreaking discovery of the missing link, she gets the creature to the surface. And while the rest of the townsfolk and police scatter in terror, Dr. Brockton stands steady with her tranquilizer gun and stuns the creature into submission. She brings it back to her lab for study, but runs into trouble as a few people oppose the presence of a monster in the town, especially a local businessman, Sam Murdock (Michael Gough), who is both afraid of negative commercial consequences and is suspicious of a woman heading a research facility. In the meantime, this creature, given the name of "Trog", is taught by Dr. Brockton to play and share; and the capacity for language is induced by a number of surgeries and a mysterious hypnotic device that causes Trog to see or relive the ice age.
Still disturbed by Dr. Brockton's experiments, and enraged at a municipal court's decision to protect Trog, Sam Murdock releases Trog in the middle of the night in the hopes that Trog will be captured and killed. Murdock's plan works in part. After being released, Trog wanders into town and kills the first three people he meets (a grocer, a butcher, and a citizen in a car), but not before he beats Murdock to death. Trog then snatches a little girl from a slide on a playground and retreats to his cave. By now Dr. Brockton and the army have gathered at the cave opening. After pleading fruitlessly with the police and army to let her reason with Trog and safely retrieve the little girl, Dr. Brockton takes matters into her own hands and charges down into the cave. She successfully finds the little girl cowering in a corner. Trog initially behaves aggressively at the sight of the doctor in his cave, but after a stern reprimand and a plea, Trog surrenders the girl. Moments later, after a victorious ascent from the cave, all of Dr. Brockton's work in the service of science and truth are shattered as Trog is killed, pierced by a stalagmite in his cave after being felled by a barrage of army bullets. The movie ends as a reporter asks the doctor to comment on the death of the missing link. Dr. Brockton—a woman of great learning and science—finds no words for her disappointment, and she simply shoves the reporter's microphone away and walks into the horizon stricken with grief.
Cast
- Joan Crawford as Dr. Brockton
- Michael Gough as Sam Murdock
- Bernard Kay as Inspector Greenham
- Kim Braden as Anne Brockton
- David Griffin as Malcolm Travers
- John Hamill as Cliff
- Thorley Walters as Magistrate
- Jack May as Dr. Selbourne
- Geoffrey Case as Bill
- Simon Lack as Lt.Colonel Vickers
- Chloe Franks as Little Girl
- Joe Cornelius as "Trog"
- Rachel Stephens as "Child in the Park"
Production
The film was based on an original story by Peter Biyan and John Gilling. It was originally developed by Tony Tenser at Tigon Films, who sold it to Herman Cohen, who wrote the screen play with Aben Kandel.[1]
In July 1968 Cohen announced he had signed a two picture deal with Warner Bros-Seven Arts. He would make Crooks and Coronets and Trog; the latter would begin filming in September.[2]
Filming wound up being delayed. In May 1969 Joan Crawford agreed to star. Trog was the second of two films that she starred in for Cohen the first was Berserk! (1967). It also paired her again with Michael Gough, who costarred with Crawford in Berserk!. Crawford's character in the original script had been a man but Cohen rewrote it for Crawford.[3]
The director was Freddie Francis, who later said "Trog wasn't my sort of picture. For political reasons. I'd rather not go too deeply into this... The best thing that happened on that picture was that I formed an association with Herman Cohen. He was delighted with what I did for him on Trog, even though in a case like that you know you're going to take a beating no matter what you do."[4]
Shooting
Filming began June 30, 1969.[5]
Crawford called it "a low budget picture. I supply most of my own wardrobe."[6]
Cohen says the film was more expensive than Beserk. It was shot at Bray studios and on the English moors. Cohen said Crawford's drinking on the film "was worse than it was when we were doing Berserk. I had to reprimand her a few times for drinking without asking. She had a huge frosted glass that said Pepsi- Cola — but inside was 100-proof vodka!"[7]
The dinosaur sequence was stock footage from the Warner Bros. movie The Animal World (1956).[8]
The film features a small role by actor David Warbeck.
Francis later called it "a terrible film...I did it because of Joan Crawford, and poor Joan by this time was a very sad old lady. We had to have idiot cards all over the place because she couldn't remember her lines. It was the last thing she ever did and she shouldn’t have done it. Neither should I. . She had no friends, and she kept writing sad letters to my wife and I until she died."[9]
Reception
Cohen said the film came in on time, under budget and was "very successful".[10]
At the time of release, The New York Times panned the film but commented, "There is, however, a rudimentary virtue in Trog...in that it proves that Joan Crawford is grimly working at her craft. Unfortunately, the determined lady, who is fetching in a variety of chic pants suits and dresses, has little else going for her."[11]
The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made".[12]
In 2012, Trog was listed as one of John Waters's favorite films on MUBI.[13]
Release
The film was released theatrically in both the United States and United Kingdom by Warner Bros. in 1970.[citation needed]
The film received a VHS release by Warner Home Video in 1995; it received a DVD release from the same company in 2007.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Hamilton, John (2013). The British Independent Horror Film 1951–70. Hemlock Books. pp. 186–189.
- ^ Geraldine Page Signs Pact Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 11 July 1968: e17.
- ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Mariette Hartley to Star Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 22 May 1969: e22.
- ^ "The British Terror of Freddie Francis". Fangoria. No. 30. p. 17.
- ^ Stark to Film Sarah Bernhardt Story By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 27 May 1969: 42.
- ^ Joan Crawford Can Still Cry on Cue Oakes, Philip. Los Angeles Times 2 Sep 1969: e14.
- ^ Weaver, Tom (1992). "Crime and Crimson Part Three". Fangoria. p. 17.
- ^ Pettigrew, Neil (1999). The Stop-Motion Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 40. ISBN 0-7864-0446-9.
- ^ Koetting, Christopher (1995). "Tales from the Script". Hammer Horror. No. 6. p. 11-12.
- ^ Weaver, Tom (1992). "Crime and Crimson Part Three". Fangoria. p. 57.
- ^ "Movie Review: 'Trog' and 'Taste Blood of Dracula'". The New York Times. 29 October 1970.
- ^ Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-69334-0.
- ^ Panorama, Walt (2012). "John Waters Loves these films, so should you". MUBI.
