| Snowbeast | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Herb Wallerstein |
| Produced by | Wilfrid Lloyd Baumes |
| Written by | Joseph Stefano |
| Starring | Bo Svenson Yvette Mimieux Robert Logan Clint Walker Sylvia Sidney |
| Music by | Robert Prince |
| Cinematography | Frank Stanley |
| Editing by | Dennis Mosher Carroll Sax Uncredited: Neil Travis |
| Release date(s) | 1977 |
| Running time | 86 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Snowbeast is a made-for-television horror film that was first broadcast in 1977 in the The United States of America.
The movie details the attacks of a ravenous white sasquatch on a Colorado ski resort. The teleplay was written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote the script for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 thriller Psycho. Stefano reportedly used a book by Roger Patterson (who claimed to have encountered a bigfoot in 1967) as his primary inspiration, though no credit is given.
Snowbeast was directed by Herb Wallerstein, a veteran of many television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, Star Trek, The Brady Bunch, and The Six Million Dollar Man.
Contents |
A ski resort in the Colorado Rockies has its annual winter carnival spoiled by a series of vacationers that are being brutally murdered by an unknown animal. The local sheriff (Clint Walker) believes that the culprit is a legendary creature, a Yeti or Sasquatch. The owner of the ski resort says there is no such being because she doesn't want to lose her business. Either way, the creature must be stopped as it is continuing its attacks.
In the film's climax, the Yeti attacks Gar Seberg (Bo Svenson) who shoots it with a revolver. However, the Yeti survives the shots, and, out of ammunition, Gar picks up a ski pole and impales the beast, causing it to fall off a mountain, killing it. Gar and his wife, Ellen Seberg (Yvette Mimieux) embrace happily, while the rest of the group looks on.
The film appears to be in the Public Domain because it is an American production which did not have its copyright renewed after its 28th year. This has caused the film to be released legitimately by numerous distributors on TV, DVD and VHS, sometimes on the home DVD-R format, all in copies of varying quality. As of 2008, the film is available on DVD from the following companies: Mill Creek Entertainment (USA), Legacy Entertainment/Air Music and Media Group (USA and Canada), Synergy Entertainment (USA), EastWestDVD (USA), Family Value Collection (USA) and VIPCO (UK).
Due to its on-location setting, timelessly captivating theme of 'Bigfoot' and higher-than-usual production values for a made-for-television movie, the film was a major success when it was first released, and it has since earned a cult following.