The Beast with a Million Eyes: Difference between revisions
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American Releasing Company president [[James H. Nicholson]] had come up with a title and ad treatment that had film exhibitors signed on before seeing the finished film. When the company vice-president Samuel Z. Arkoff received ''The Beast with a Million Eyes'' he was unhappy that it did not even feature "the beast" that was implicit in the title. [[Paul Blaisdell]], responsible for the film's special effects, was hired to create a three-foot-tall spaceship (with "beast" alien) for a meager $200. Notably, the Art Director was [[Albert S. Ruddy]], who would later win two "Best Picture" Academy Awards for ''[[The Godfather]]'' (1972) and ''[[Million Dollar Baby]]'' (2004).<ref name="gary">Smith 2009, p. 21.</ref> |
American Releasing Company president [[James H. Nicholson]] had come up with a title and ad treatment that had film exhibitors signed on before seeing the finished film. When the company vice-president Samuel Z. Arkoff received ''The Beast with a Million Eyes'' he was unhappy that it did not even feature "the beast" that was implicit in the title. [[Paul Blaisdell]], responsible for the film's special effects, was hired to create a three-foot-tall spaceship (with "beast" alien) for a meager $200. Notably, the Art Director was [[Albert S. Ruddy]], who would later win two "Best Picture" Academy Awards for ''[[The Godfather]]'' (1972) and ''[[Million Dollar Baby]]'' (2004).<ref name="gary">Smith 2009, p. 21.</ref> |
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Paul Birch's casting was announced in April 1954.<ref>War Buddies Alex Nicol, Mickey Knox to Costar; Kennedy to Stage-Direct |
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Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 13 Apr 1955: B11. </ref> |
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Filming took place in [[Indio, California|Indio]] and the [[Coachella Valley]], California.<ref>{{AFI film|51436|The Beast with a Million Eyes}}</ref> Corman shot 48 pages of interiors in just two days at a studio on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles.<ref name="smith"/> |
Filming took place in [[Indio, California|Indio]] and the [[Coachella Valley]], California.<ref>{{AFI film|51436|The Beast with a Million Eyes}}</ref> Corman shot 48 pages of interiors in just two days at a studio on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles.<ref name="smith"/> |
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Revision as of 06:20, 15 May 2020
| The Beast with a Million eyes | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Albert Kallis | |
| Directed by |
|
| Written by | Tom Filer |
| Produced by | David Kramarsky |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Everett Baker |
| Edited by | Jack Killifer |
| Music by | John Bickford |
Production company | San Mateo Productions |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33,000[1][2] |
The Beast with a Million Eyes (a.k.a. The Unseen) is a 1955 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by David Kramarsky, that stars Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, and Dona Cole. Some film sources have said that the film was co-directed by Lou Place.[citation needed] The film was co-produced by Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff.[3] and was released by American Releasing Corporation, which later became American International Pictures.
The film's storyline concerns a space alien that is able to see through the eyes of a large array of Earth life that it can also mentally control, part of its plan to conquer the Earth.
Plot
![[icon]](./wiki.php?slug=File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2015) |
The isolated Kelley family struggle to survive on their small "date ranch", located in a bleak desert landscape well away from civilization. After a mysterious object crashes nearby, both wild and domesticated animals, and finally the farm's handyman, turn on the family, attacking them. It is finally revealed that a space alien ("the beast" of the title) has taken total control of the area's lesser animals and is working its way up to humans, all part of its master plan to conquer the Earth. In the end the family bond together, fighting against the alien menace, finally thwarting its plan of conquest.
Cast
- Paul Birch as Allan Kelley
- Lorna Thayer as Carol Kelley
- Dona Cole as Sandy Kelley
- Dick Sargent (credited as Richard Sargeant) as Larry
- Leonard Tarver as "Him"
- Bruce Whitmore (voice only) as The Beast
- Chester Conklin as Old Man Webber
Production
The Beast with a Million Eyes was the third of a three-picture deal Roger Corman had with the American Releasing Company following The Fast and the Furious (1955) and Five Guns West (1955).[4] Only $29,000 remained to make the film for Pacemaker Productions. The tiny budget meant music in The Beast with a Million Eyes, credited to "John Bickford", is actually a collection of public-domain record library cues by classical composers Richard Wagner, Dimitri Shostakovich, Giuseppe Verdi, Sergei Prokofiev, and others, used to defray the cost of an original score or copyrighted cues.[5]
American Releasing Company president James H. Nicholson had come up with a title and ad treatment that had film exhibitors signed on before seeing the finished film. When the company vice-president Samuel Z. Arkoff received The Beast with a Million Eyes he was unhappy that it did not even feature "the beast" that was implicit in the title. Paul Blaisdell, responsible for the film's special effects, was hired to create a three-foot-tall spaceship (with "beast" alien) for a meager $200. Notably, the Art Director was Albert S. Ruddy, who would later win two "Best Picture" Academy Awards for The Godfather (1972) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).[6]
Paul Birch's casting was announced in April 1954.[7]
Filming took place in Indio and the Coachella Valley, California.[8] Corman shot 48 pages of interiors in just two days at a studio on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles.[4] The Beast with a Million Eyes was a non-union filming of a script originally titled The Unseen, with Lou Place set to direct. After one day's filming, the union threatened to shut down the production unless everyone signed with the Guild. Roger Corman, who was producing, took over the film's directing chores and replaced the cinematographer with Floyd Crosby; however Corman took no official screen credit.[1] Another version of this story has Corman allocating directing duties to Dave Kramarsky, his associate director on Five Guns West.[4]
Reception
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2015) |
Film historian Leonard Maltin called The Beast with a Million Eyes, "Imaginative though poorly executed sci-fi melodrama with desert setting; a group of people is forced to confront an alien that can control an unlimited number of animals, hence the title." He further described the film as, "(an) early Roger Corman production (that) features Paul Blaisdell's first movie monster."[9] In 2007 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer sold The Beast with a Million Eyes as part of its Midnight Movies DVD catalog as a double-feature with The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955).
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b McGee 1996, pp. 24–27.
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean. "The dime-store way to make movies-and money." The New York Times, August 4, 1974, p. 202.
- ^ Lentz 1983, pp. 608, 629.
- ^ a b c Smith 2014, pp. 18–19.
- ^ "Movieland events; Gig Young obtains 'A Man in Eritrea'." Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1955, p. B6.
- ^ Smith 2009, p. 21.
- ^ War Buddies Alex Nicol, Mickey Knox to Costar; Kennedy to Stage-Direct Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 13 Apr 1955: B11.
- ^ The Beast with a Million Eyes at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ Maltin, Leonard. "Leonard Maltin Movie Review." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: March 23, 2015.
Bibliography
- Lentz, Harris M. III. Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits, Vol. 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1983. ISBN 978-0-7864-0952-5.
- McGee, Mark. Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1996. ISBN 978-0-7864-0137-6.
- Smith, Gary A. American International Pictures Video Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7864-3309-4.
- Smith, Gary A. American International Pictures: The Golden Years. Albany, Georgia: Bear Manor Media, 2014. ISBN 978-1-5939-3750-8.
- Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties, 21st Century Edition (revised and expanded). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. ISBN 0-89950-032-3.
External links
