'It's Alive!'
Encyclopedia
'It's Alive!' is a 1969 American film directed by Larry Buchanan
. It is about a mad farmer who tries to feed a stranded couple to a dinosaur he keeps in a cave. Its tagline
is: "Trapped In a Cave of Terror!" It was filmed in the Ozark Mountain area of northern Arkansas
and Tennessee
. The monster suit that was used to portray the dinosaur was used in another one of Buchanan's older films called Creature of Destruction
. A parody was made of 'It's Alive!' by Caribou Productions
in 2005. It was titled It's Really Something.
to Los Angeles
. However, they become lost and are eventually stranded in rural countryside. They meet a friendly paleontologist named Wayne Thomas (Tommy Kirk
). Wayne suggests that they visit the nearest farm that could give them some gasoline
. When they visit the farm, they find it is led by a strange farmer named Greely. Greely is actually insane, but the unsuspecting couple do not discover this until later. He introduces Norman and Leela to his "wife" named Bella. Then, he shows them his "zoo", which has everyday animals such as turtles, rattlesnakes, a monkey
, and some coyotes. Greely then shows Norman and Leela his prized possession, an 80 feet (24.4 m) prehistoric aquatic dinosaur
known as a Manosaurus in a cave. Greely traps them in a prison-like cell
he has built in the cavern and prepares to feed them to the dinosaur. Wayne Thomas arrives and is knocked out and imprisoned as well. Norman escapes the cell and tries to overpower Greely, knocking his pistol
out of his hand. Norman grabs the pistol and attempts to shoot the monster and Greely, but the monster kills and eats Norman before he can do so. Bella then arrives and reveals that she is not Greely's wife, and that the truth is: he kidnapped her, starved her, beat her, and tormented her until her will was so broken that she gave up and did whatever he told her to do. Wayne convinces Bella to join sides with them, and as he remembers that he has some paleontology digging dynamite in his car, Wayne tells Bella to sneak upstairs and bring back a couple of sticks of dynamite
. Greely suspects Bella of scheming, and drugs the coffee
she is bringing to them behind her back. Leela and Wayne drink the coffee and are drugged. However, Wayne hides the dynamite under the bed.
As they are trying to set off the dynamite after they broke out of their cell, Greely tracks them down and gives Leela one last chance to join him in the house and become his servant, or be fed to the monster.
Greely spots his pistol laying on the floor at the foot of the stairs, and shoots Wayne, but Wayne kicks Greely in the face and knocks him unconscious. Seeing the dynamite on the floor, Bella lights the fuse and explains to the now-recovered Greely that she plans to blow the place up in order to put an end to the monster and Greely. Greely grabs his pistol and shoots her in the chest. However, before she dies, the dynamite ignites, causing the cavern to collapse on the monster and Greely. The final shot shows Wayne and Leela implying that they will forget the whole thing ever happened as they walk to the car and drive off. It is hinted that they will have a relationship. The end card shows the words: The End?
Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan was a film director, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a "schlockmeister". Many of his titles have landed on "worst movie" lists, but all at least broke even and many made a profit.Buchanan was born in Mexia, Texas. He was orphaned as a baby, and was raised in Dallas in...
. It is about a mad farmer who tries to feed a stranded couple to a dinosaur he keeps in a cave. Its tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
is: "Trapped In a Cave of Terror!" It was filmed in the Ozark Mountain area of northern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The monster suit that was used to portray the dinosaur was used in another one of Buchanan's older films called Creature of Destruction
Creature of Destruction
Creature of Destruction is a 1967 American made-for-television film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is an uncredited color remake of the 1956 film The She Creature directed by Edward L. Cahn.- Plot summary :...
. A parody was made of 'It's Alive!' by Caribou Productions
The Caribou Show
The Caribou Show is a locally-produced sketch comedy television show, which was recorded in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area. The half-hour show was broadcast weekly on Sunday mornings at 12:30AM on KDLT....
in 2005. It was titled It's Really Something.
Plot
Norman and Leela Sterns are newlyweds who are trying to drive from their home in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. However, they become lost and are eventually stranded in rural countryside. They meet a friendly paleontologist named Wayne Thomas (Tommy Kirk
Tommy Kirk
Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
). Wayne suggests that they visit the nearest farm that could give them some gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
. When they visit the farm, they find it is led by a strange farmer named Greely. Greely is actually insane, but the unsuspecting couple do not discover this until later. He introduces Norman and Leela to his "wife" named Bella. Then, he shows them his "zoo", which has everyday animals such as turtles, rattlesnakes, a monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
, and some coyotes. Greely then shows Norman and Leela his prized possession, an 80 feet (24.4 m) prehistoric aquatic dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
known as a Manosaurus in a cave. Greely traps them in a prison-like cell
Prison cell
A prison cell or holding cell or lock-up is a small room in a prison, or police station where a prisoner is held.Prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. Solid doors...
he has built in the cavern and prepares to feed them to the dinosaur. Wayne Thomas arrives and is knocked out and imprisoned as well. Norman escapes the cell and tries to overpower Greely, knocking his pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
out of his hand. Norman grabs the pistol and attempts to shoot the monster and Greely, but the monster kills and eats Norman before he can do so. Bella then arrives and reveals that she is not Greely's wife, and that the truth is: he kidnapped her, starved her, beat her, and tormented her until her will was so broken that she gave up and did whatever he told her to do. Wayne convinces Bella to join sides with them, and as he remembers that he has some paleontology digging dynamite in his car, Wayne tells Bella to sneak upstairs and bring back a couple of sticks of dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
. Greely suspects Bella of scheming, and drugs the coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
she is bringing to them behind her back. Leela and Wayne drink the coffee and are drugged. However, Wayne hides the dynamite under the bed.
As they are trying to set off the dynamite after they broke out of their cell, Greely tracks them down and gives Leela one last chance to join him in the house and become his servant, or be fed to the monster.
Greely spots his pistol laying on the floor at the foot of the stairs, and shoots Wayne, but Wayne kicks Greely in the face and knocks him unconscious. Seeing the dynamite on the floor, Bella lights the fuse and explains to the now-recovered Greely that she plans to blow the place up in order to put an end to the monster and Greely. Greely grabs his pistol and shoots her in the chest. However, before she dies, the dynamite ignites, causing the cavern to collapse on the monster and Greely. The final shot shows Wayne and Leela implying that they will forget the whole thing ever happened as they walk to the car and drive off. It is hinted that they will have a relationship. The end card shows the words: The End?
Cast
- Tommy KirkTommy KirkThomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
as Wayne Thomas, the main hero of the film. He is Leela's love interest. - Shirley BonneShirley BonneShirley Bonne is a former actress who portrayed Eileen Sherwood in the CBS television situation comedy My Sister Eileen, which aired during the 1960-1961 season. Bonne played an aspiring actress in New York City sharing an apartment with her older sister, Ruth Sherwood, a magazine writer played by...
as Leilla Sterns, Norman's wife, she falls in love with Wayne after Norman is killed. She is the second survivor of the film. She is also the film's first heroine. - Bill Thurman as Greely, the mad farmer who discovered the monster and kept it in his cave. At first, he fed the monster cattle and coyotes, but soon he started feeding it people. The monster developed a taste for humans after that. As he is obviously crazy, he captures people and holds them captive and eventually feeds them to his monster. He is the film's primary villain besides the monster. He also plays the monster.
- Annabelle Weenick as Bella, a timid woman who was captured and forced to wed Greely and assist him to feed stranded motorists to his dinosaur. In the end, she succeeds in destroying the monster and Greely, although she too was killed. She is the second heroine of the film.
- Corveth Ousterhouse as Norman Sterns, Leela's whiny and controlling husband. He is eventually killed and eaten by the dinosaur.
External links
- http://www.monstershack.net/sp/index.php/its-alive-1969/
- http://www.obscurehorror.com/horror813.html