Man Beast

Got the video of this in a lot of horror films that we bought, and was surprised at how well done this little low-budget film was. It definitely stands as one of the better Yeti films of the period, most of them are fairly sluggish and without any real terror. This one is just over an hour, and has a nice pace with a concise story. Good acting by all except the female lead, good locations that are mostly realistic (except for some shrubs sticking out of the snow in an area where no shrubs would exist), fairly scary Yeti creatures. Some may not like the idea presented here that the Yeti are dangerous to humans, and perhaps prefer to think of them as kind and peaceful, how some other films portray Yeti, but let's remember that Yeti have not been proved to exist and are most likely imaginary creatures. Sorry to pop the politically-correct balloon regarding Yeti.

This was the unequaled Jerry Warren's first production. He didn't write it so it's not as goofy as, say, "The Wild World of Batwoman" or "Frankenstein Island". For a low-budget B-movie it does alright for itself. There are probably too many shots of people hiking in the mountains, but the dialogue seems realistic in most scenes and the story does build nicely to an unexpected climax. In fact, Varga's revelation is kind of creepy. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to find it, but if it came across my path I'd check it out.

No illusions from me here. This movie is bad. Real bad. In fact, it's a stinker. A woman and a guy named "Hud"(wants to be her boyfriend I think) hire he-man/guide into the Himalayas Steve Cameron to find her brother. Turns out her brother is part of an expedition to find the famed yeti creatures. Well, along the journey we meet up with the lead professor of the mission and his native guide named Varga. Are there yeti creatures? Big surprise. Are they made up fairly interestingly? Not real bad. What is real bad is the acting. It is bad and everyone in the movie is bad. The woman playing Connie looks off to the side trying to feign interest while wearing enough make-up in the Himalayas to be mistaken for a hooker! The guy playing Steve is even worse. Catch the scene where he and Connie are talking at the fire near the beginning. He actually looks like he is looking directly into the camera lens with virtually no shame. The gentleman playing the rounded, bald professor fairs just a tinge better, and the best performance of all these bad ones goes to the guy playing Varga. He at least can ham it up a bit. The story makes no sense when you hear the resolution. It is in its favor a very short film and is mildly entertaining for all of its faults and flaws.

It is almost impossible to discuss the 1956 yeti movie "Man Beast" without making comparisons to the British film "The Abominable Snowman," which came out the following year. While the latter film features the stars Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker, "Man Beast" boasts the "talents" of Virginia Maynor (who acts atrociously and doesn't even provide the requisite eye candy) and action lead Tom Maruzzi. And while the Brit film boasts a literate script and interesting characters...well, let's just say that the American film again comes off second best. But perhaps the most telling difference of all is that whereas "Snowman" only teases us with occasional glimpses of the yetis, seemingly adhering to Val Lewton's unspoken credo that the viewer's imagination can supply far more terror than anything shown on a screen, "Man Beast" shoves the yetis in our faces again and again. Fortunately, for red-blooded monster fans, this is not altogether a bad thing. The snowmen do look pretty scary here, especially in the film's finest scene, in which the yetis attack our heroes for the first time, in a dark cave. This scene is filmed largely in silence, and in somewhat slow motion, and is pretty darn nightmarish. As reported in the fine book "Sleaze Creatures," stock footage and filming in the hills of Bishop, CA do a decent job of simulating the Himalayan locale. Still, at least half of the film's compact 63-minute running time consists of scenic shots of our band plodding through the snow. Bottom line: This is a fun hour at the movies, inferior to the Brit version as it may be. Oh--the DVD here is nice and clean looking, but scratchy in spots, and with no extras to speak of.

1956's "Man Beast" marked the debut of hustler director Jerry Warren, a former bit player like Ed Wood itching for a shot behind the camera. Hype from W. Lee Wilder's "The Snow Creature" first created interest in the Himalayas, but as a single feature this opus only earned a flat rate that brought on his decision to combine double bills for 100% of the profits. Sources vary as to exactly what type of footage was used for long shots of frigid mountain climbing, either an unfinished Mexican title or something closer to home, but he did use the cast for scenes in Griffith Park's Bronson Canyon, easily identifiable for its lack of snow. Despite the deadly pace it might be said that as a first feature Warren probably never surpassed it as a coherent story from start to finish, the mysterious screenwriter B. Arthur Cassidy likely a pseudonym for the director himself, everything composed around the stock footage at hand, some provided by Poverty Row's Monogram/Allied Artists catalog. It remains a long slog as Asa Maynor's intrepid heroine goes in search of her missing brother, accompanied by two assistants to reach a scientist and his native guide Varga (George Skaff), all the while failing to notice a yeti observing from a discreet distance (a costume previously used for PRC's "White Pongo," certainly an improvement on the shag carpet from Wilder's minor epic, not seen until the 25 minute mark). The final reel makes up for all the climbing tedium, as Varga reveals himself as half human and half yeti, intending to take the woman for himself after dispatching all the men first, the last survivor escaping an avalanche to do victorious battle for the fair maiden, leaving their pursuer to try climbing down a steep mountain side with a rope that yields to the law of gravity. At least Warren has more to offer than "The Snow Creature," but Hammer's upcoming Peter Cushing vehicle "The Abominable Snowman" put the exclamation point on such cheap productions with a touch of class. Next up for the filmmaker would be his first double bill, "The Incredible Petrified World" (first collaboration with John Carradine), then a script conceived on his honeymoon, "Teenage Zombies." If George Skaff looks familiar, his screen comeback essentially began with Ray Milland's 1972 "Frogs," a film in which he demonstrated the wrong method of alligator wrestling!