The Alligator People

This typical "drive-in" flick of the late 50s is actually fairly complicated that gets very interesting in the last 45 minutes. "Starring" the totally under-appreciated Beverly Garland (a scream queen of the 50s) and Tuesday Weld's mom in PRETTY POISON in the 60s, this sly "gator" tale is walked through Cajun swamps into unknown realms where George MacReady and Lon Chaney, Jr. live every day. Thankfully, Ms. Garland (beautiful, talented, and finally on the color MY THREE SONS episodes) is SO believable in her character's plight about her husband's "condition" ..you're sucked it.

Best performance - Ms. Garland. A 7 out of 10. The husband (who looks the same to me ..even when he's "afllicted" is good), but the Mom, the servants, the HOUSE. It has all the ingredients that make "B" movies fascinating with a lot of help from Beverly Garland playing a lead Chara ..along with Bruce Bennett and various types. Recommended for it's breed of cat.

This is actually a pretty good horror flick from the late 50's when it seems that all of God's creatures were being mutated somehow by radiation. This movie differs from that premise and that's what makes is unique and fun to watch. Beverly Garland plays a young woman on her honeymoon when her new groom suddenly disappears from a train. She desperately tries to find him and her search leads her to his home in the Louisiana Bayou where she confronts terror from all different levels. The movie is fast paced and the storyline good, I really enjoyed it. Lon Chaney, Jr. is a hoot as a drunken cajun who tries to rape the young bride. The ending is a surprise as well. Enjoy!!!!

With a crazy title like "The Alligator People" this late '50s shocker is much too vulnerable to jokes and attacks, and that's unfortunate because it's actually much better than you might think, and the subject matter is taken quite seriously. Beverly Garland plays a newlywed wife named Joyce who despairs when her husband (Richard Crane) ducks off the train they're honeymooning on to make an urgent phone call, and then is never heard from again. Desperate, she tries without success to locate him until she eventually gets a lead that he could be at a house secluded off in the swamplands of the Louisiana bayou. Once there she is made aware of unusual experiments gone awry which involved her husband, and faces the horror that he is gradually turning into a scaly reptilian creature. His mother (Frieda Inescort, who's pretty bad in this) tries to discourage Joyce in her search and at first does not give her a welcome reception.

Miss Garland is quite believable and sincere in her part, and this is a nice-looking black and white film shot in the cinemascope process, showing off some nice imagery in the land of alligators and snakes. Also adding to the experience is Lon Chaney, one of the uncouth local Cajun men who sports a hook in place of his left hand, having been a victim himself of an alligator attack. He never lets these "dirty, stinking gators" forget it either, as he constantly gets drunk and fires his gun at them, and tries to run them down with his jeep when they cross the road. One of the best lines in '50s schlock cinema may be when Lon yells to the human victim of the story: "I'll KILL you, Alligator Man... just like I'd kill any four legged gator!!". Chaney is also involved in a violent rape sequence, which is pretty shocking for those times.

The scaly makeup for Richard Crane in its early stages is pretty effective, but when he emerges in full alligator-headed form later on, the first instinct is usually to laugh. But this is a '50s monster movie, after all, and many creatures of this era have been bizarre. Once you get past the initial sight of the Alligator Man, the result actually comes off not too bad at all. This is an enjoyable movie of its type for the period, and also comfortably short at only 75 minutes. *** out of ****

I heartily agree with the comments provided by reptilicus from Vancouver, Canada (and I appreciate the "high heels" heads-up, and the various actors' cross-refs).

I recommend this movie for its creative application of pre-60s sci-fi/horror canon: eerie melodrama, sympathetic characters, strictly implied gore, rough & toothless scientific explanation, and absolutely no pretensions to credibility, 'cause we're all just here to have fun anyway. Great use of bookends, and of ominous bayou atmosphere.

Note that the synopsis on the DVD case (20th Century Fox, released September 7, 2004) incorrectly lists "Lon Chaney" as our heroine's husband. Mr. Chaney actually plays the drunken Cajun, and Richard Crane plays the husband.

The very good last third of this film and an outstanding ending made this movie worthwhile for me to watch. One has to be patient in some of these classic films, as many of them begin rather slowly.....but there is a reward if you stick with it.

This story is told in flashback as a woman "Joyce Weber," played by Beverly Garland) is given an injection and relates to two doctors the amazing story of what happened to her and her missing husband.

Garland did well and looked terrific. She was a little over 30 years of age at the time she made this film. Sadly, she just died a few months ago (as of this review) at the age of 82. She has a long resume of movies and TV shows.

Lon Chaney plays a goofy role, a man who is obsessed with shooting alligators after one had the nerve to eat his hand. He makes a play for Beverly in one scene, trying to get her drunk and have his way with her. Can't blame the poor slob.

Bruce Bennett, who plays the main doctor here, also died recently, passing away at the age of 90 in 2007. Bennett did some great 1940s films like "Mildred Pierce" and "Dark Passage," plays the main doctor. George Macready, whose best days were behind him, too, ("Gilda" is my favorite film of his) is the other doctor, who is there to witness "Joyce's" story as it is told under some sort of truth serum.

Lesser-known Richard Crane plays the "Paul Crane," the alligator man.

The title of the film is a bit misleading. "Alligator People" imply plural - more than one, but there really is only one alligator man in this film, and he only looks like a guy with a bad sunburn and acne! At the end, though, Crane dons a rubber suit with an alligator head that will have you howling - in laughter, not fear! The other alligator-men are only shown as patients lying in their beds. It's all part of a man-plays-God experiment in which the good doctor is trying to help people who are desperate straights.

Without giving the last 25 minutes away - which was very good - along with particularly excellent ending that had some intelligent twists to it - suffice it made up for the earlier slower moments.