Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

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Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	John De Bello
Produced by	John De Bello
Written by	John De Bello Costa Dillon Stephen Peace Rick Rockwell
Starring	David Miller George Wilson Costa Dillon
Music by	John De Bello
Cinematography	John K. Culley
Editing by	John De Bello
Distributed by	NAI Entertainment
Release date(s)	1978
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$90,000 USD
Followed by	Return of the Killer Tomatoes
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a 1978 musical comedy cult science fiction film directed by John De Bello and starring David Miller. The film which is intended to be a spoof of B-movies involves tomatoes coming to life by unknown means and revolting against humanity.

Made on a budget of less than US$100,000, USA Today have named it one of the ten best movie titles of all time. Writing credits were shared by John De Bello, Costa Dillon, Stephen Peace and Rick Rockwell. The concept of Killer Tomatoes was created by Dillon, and he is the only person to appear in this film and all three of its sequels.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Sequels
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with a scroll dictating that, when Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963) was released, audiences laughed at the notion of birds revolting against humanity, but when an attack perpetrated by birds occurred in 1975, no one laughed. This is followed by a pre-credits sequence of a tomato rising out of a woman's garbage disposal unit. Her puzzlement turns into terror as the tomato draws her into a corner. Following the credits, we see the police investigating her death. One officer discovers that the red substance she is covered with is not blood, but tomato juice.

A series of attacks perpetrated by tomatoes occur (including a sequence where the tomatoes attack innocent swimmers, in a parody of Jaws). While the President's press secretary Jim Richardson and Ted Swan, the CEO of the fictional Mindmaker advertising agency, try to convince the public there is no tomato threat by unleashing a publicity blitz, the nation's officials employ a crack team of specialists under the command of Mason Dixon to try and find a way to defeat the tomatoes. Dixon's team includes Sam Smith, an African-American disguise expert who is seen at various points dressed as, among other things, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and even Adolf Hitler; Navy diver Greg Colburn; Russian Olympic swimmer Gretta Attenbaum; and parachute-toting Wilbur Finnletter.

Smith is sent out to infiltrate the tomatoes, eventually blowing his cover when he asks if anyone could "pass the ketchup." Finletter is sent to a hotel, and suspects Fairchild, who tries to follow him for information, of being a spy. Both Finletter and Dixon are targeted by an unknown assassin. While driving, Dixon's car is cornered by large tomatoes who scurry away when the song "Puberty Love" by Ronny Desmond comes on the radio. Dixon is kidnapped by Richardson, who it turns out is actually the one behind the tomato revolt. Dixon manages to outwit him and escapes with a copy of "Puberty Love" on vinyl.

The tomatoes are cornered in a stadium. "Puberty Love" is played over the loudspeaker, causing the tomatoes to shrink and allowing the various people at the stadium to squash them by stomping on them repeatedly. Fairchild, meanwhile, is cornered by a giant tomato wearing earmuffs. Dixon saves her by showing the tomato the sheet music to "Puberty Love." He professes his love to her, in song. The film ends by showing a carrot rising from the Earth. We hear a squeaky voice that says "All right, guys. Let's go." Similar gags suggesting that a carrot revolt is not far off are also used at the end of future Killer Tomatoes films.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
David Miller	Mason Dixon
George Wilson	Jim Richardson
Sharon Taylor	Lois Fairchild
J. Stephen Peace	Wilbur Finletter
Ernie Meyers	The President
Eric Christmas	Sen. Polk
Ron Shapiro	Newspaper editor
Al Sklar	Ted Swan
Jerry Anderson	Maj. Mills
Don Birch	Old man
Tom Coleman	Singing soldier
Art K. Koustik	Fia director
Jack Nolen	Sen. McKinley
Paul Oya	Dr. Nokitofa
John Qualls	Captain

[edit] Sequels

There have been a number of sequels and other spinoff material in various media as a result of this movie. They include three movie sequels

The film was then reworked in 1990 as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series, a cartoon TV series which ran on Fox Kids, but despite the name, it was based on Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

In January 1992, THQ released a game based on the animated series for the NES and Game Boy. This was also entitled Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

A novel released in 1997, Attack of the Killer Potatoes, pays tribute to the film.

American composer and orchestrator Gordon Goodwin, one of the original composers for the film, later wrote a big band piece inspired by the music for this film, to be played with his jazz ensemble Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. The piece is meant to poke fun at the soundtrack in a musically comic fashion, especially through the song's use of solo Bass Trombone.