Monster a Go-Go

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Monster a Go-Go!
Directed by Bill Rebane
Herschell Gordon Lewis (uncredited)
Produced by Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Sheldon S. Seymour)
Henry Marsh
Bill Rebane
Written by Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Sheldon Seymour)
Screenplay by Jeff Smith
Dok Stanford
Bill Rebane
Narrated by Herschell Gordon Lewis (uncredited)
Bill Rebane (uncredited)
Cinematography Frank Pfeiffer
Studio B.I. & L. Releasing Corp.
Distributed by B.I. & L. Releasing Corp.
Something Weird Video
Release dates July 1965
Running time 70 min.
Country United States
Language English

Monster a Go-Go! is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed by Bill Rebane and Herschell Gordon Lewis (who remained uncredited in association with this film). The film is considered to be one of the worst films ever.

The film was featured in an episode of movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Comedy Central. As it is an incredibly blatant deus ex machina, the phrase "but there was no monster!" became an often repeated riff for similar events in other films. The team felt that this was the worst film ever featured on the show.[1]

Story

The plot concerns an American astronaut, Frank Douglas, who mysteriously disappears from his spacecraft as it parachutes to Earth. The vanished astronaut is apparently replaced by or turned into a large, radioactive humanoid monster. A team of scientists and military men attempt to capture the monster – and at one point succeed, only to have him escape again. Neither the capture nor the escape are ever shown, and are simply mentioned by the narrator.

At the end of the film, the scientists receive a telegram stating that Douglas is in fact alive and well, having been rescued in the North Atlantic, perhaps implying the monster was an alien impersonating Douglas. After the monster seemingly vanishes, the narrator provides the film's closing dialogue:

As if a switch had been turned, as if an eye had been blinked, as if some phantom force in the universe had made a move eons beyond our comprehension, suddenly, there was no trail! There was no giant, no monster, no thing called "Douglas" to be followed. There was nothing in the tunnel but the puzzled men of courage, who suddenly found themselves alone with shadows and darkness! With the telegram, one cloud lifts, and another descends. Astronaut Frank Douglas, rescued, alive, well, and of normal size, some eight thousand miles away in a lifeboat, with no memory of where he has been, or how he was separated from his capsule! Then who, or what, has landed here? Is it here yet? Or has the cosmic switch been pulled? Case in point: The line between science fiction and science fact is microscopically thin! You have witnessed the line being shaved even thinner! But is the menace with us? Or is the monster gone?

Cast

  • Henry Hite as Frank Douglas/The Monster
  • June Travis as Ruth
  • Phil Morton as Col. Steve Connors
  • Peter M. Thompson as Dr. Chris Manning

Production

The film had an unusual production history. Director Bill Rebane ran out of money while making the film. Herschell Gordon Lewis, who needed a second film to show with his own feature, Moonshine Mountain, bought the film, added a few extra scenes and some dialogue, and then released it, creating an odd, disjointed film with little continuity. Rebane had abandoned the film in 1961; Lewis did not finish the film until 1965 and so was unable to gather all of the original cast, resulting in almost half the characters disappearing midway through the film to be replaced by other characters who fill most of the same roles. One of the actors Lewis was able to get back had dramatically changed his look in the intervening years, necessitating his playing the brother of the original character.[2]


DVD release

  • Monster a Go-Go! was released with Psyched by the 4-D Witch as a DVD double feature by Something Weird Video.
  • The MST3K version of the film was released by Rhino Home Video as part of the Collection, Volume 8 DVD set.
  • The film's original director, Bill Rebane, is working on a special edition DVD release.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hi-keeba!'s MST3K Episode Guide". Angelfire.com. 2001-03-01. Retrieved 2012-11-23. 
  2. ↑ "Monster A-Go Go (1965)". The Agony Booth. 16 June 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2012. 

External links

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