Tor Johnson the famed Swedish Angel wrestler and member in good standing of the Ed Wood stock company stars as The Beast Of Yucca Flats. Tor wasn't always a beast, in fact he was a respected defecting Russian nuclear scientist whom the KGB tracked down to the Yucca Flats testing site. The Russians and the FBI shoot it out over possession of Tor, but a nuclear blast settles the issue.
It leaves the FBI and the Russians quite dead, but all Tor has is a nasty skin rash and a nastier disposition. He's now The Beast of Yucca Flats and the rest of the film involves law enforcement tracking him down after he commits a few murders. There's also a couple of stray kids lost on the desert and a suspenseful race to get them before The Beast Of Yucca Flats does.
I just saw another terrible science fiction flick in which the same voice-over technique was used masking the performances of the cast who I'm sure were giving Oscar quality performances. Probably just as well we didn't hear too much banal dialog, but the voice-over wasn't any better.
As for the cinematography most amateur film makers have done better with an old Belle&Howell.
I just finished reading a biography of Bela Lugosi in which Tor Johnson is described as a big, lovable, pussycat of a man. I feel kind of bad for him. His best work might well be in Mighty Joe Young where he was one of the wrestlers challenging the large simian in that tug of war. As for The Beast Of Yucca Flats, no Ed Wood product has anything on this film.
