Bigfoot (1970 film)

Last updated
Bigfoot
Bigfoot1970.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert F. Slatzer
Written byRobert F. Slatzer
Produced by Anthony Cardoza
Starring John Carradine
John Mitchum
Christopher Mitchum
Joi Lansing
Doodles Weaver
Lindsay Crosby
CinematographyWilson S. Hong
Edited byHugo Grimaldi
Bud Hoffman
Music byRichard A. Podolor
Production
company
Gemini-American Productions
Distributed byEllman Enterprises
Release date
  • October 21, 1970 (1970-10-21)
Running time
84 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Bigfoot is a 1970 independently made American low budget science fiction film, produced by Anthony Cardoza and directed by Robert F. Slatzer. The film stars or co-stars a few well-known actors (and family namesakes): John Carradine, Chris Mitchum, Joi Lansing, Ken Maynard, Doodles Weaver, and Lindsay Crosby.

Contents

This exploitation film attempts to transform the Pacific Northwest Sasquatch man-beast into an old-fashioned movie monster, ala King Kong (as a quote on the original film poster proudly trumpets). A remake, of sorts, using the same title, Bigfoot , was made for and shown on basic cable's SyFy Channel in 2012.

Plot

Fast-talking Jasper B. Hawks drives through the forest in his car, along with his sidekick Elmer Briggs. At the same time, pilot Joi Landis pilots a single engine aircraft over the same area. Joi's engine conks out, and she is forced to parachute to safety. On the ground, she suddenly encounters a Bigfoot creature that emerges from the woods and attacks her.

Laconic biker Rick rolls into the woods with his girlfriend Chris. She stumbles onto a Bigfoot burial ground and is also attacked by a Bigfoot.

A skeptical Sheriff's department and the ranger's station are notified of the women's disappearance, but to no avail; the authorities make a half-hearted search for the missing women and give up. Rick seeks help elsewhere, but only Jasper B. Hawks believes his story, offering aid only because he plans on capturing a Bigfoot for later live exhibition in a freak show financed by an insane professor of biology, Professor Blackthorne.

Meanwhile, Peggy is also attacked and tied up to a tree next to Joi. The Bigfoot creatures, it turns out, are half-human and the offspring of a larger, 12-foot tall male Bigfoot and have only been guarding the woman for him. "Dad" Bigfoot finally shows up and fights a big bear menacing the captured women, while they scream in terror.

Jasper, Elmer, and Rick trek through the woods until they reach the Bigfoot lair. "Dad" Bigfoot is gassed by Rick's bikers, and as planned gets put on display in Jasper's previously mentioned freak show. As it turns out, he is able to escape captivity rather quickly, while in the process stepping on local drunk, "Lucky Bob", killing him. "Dad" Bigfoot goes on a rampage through the town before finally returning to his cave. There, he eventually gets blown up by one of Rick's dynamite-wielding bikers.

His freak show prize now lost to him, Jasper paraphrases a line of dialog from the original King Kong (1933): "It was beauty that did him in". With "Dad" Bigfoot now dead, everybody returns to their normal lives.

Cast

Production

Portions of Bigfoot were shot in mountain wilderness locations in northern California where some Sasquatch sightings have been reported over the years. Other outdoor scenes were shot at Tehachapi Mountains, California, while other scenes were shot indoors using sets on a sound stage. [1] Bigfoot was a typical example of the low-budget feature films that emerged in the 1970s. [2]

For both Joi Lansing and western star Ken Maynard, Bigfoot marked their final screen roles. [3]

Reception

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his film review: "The cast alone convinced me. Let me put it as simply as I can: If you have ever wanted to see a movie starring John Carradine, Joi Lansing, Lindsay Crosby, Chris Mitchum, and Ken Maynard, then Big Foot is almost certainly going to be your only chance. Not since Joan Crawford starred in Trog has there been such an opportunity". Ebert, however, was very much aware of how hopeless Bigfoot was as a film. [4] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar wrote, "It's got more than its share of dull, boring sequences, especially the endless scenes of the bikers tooling around, but I have to admit to finding this one a little irresistible". [5]

Every 70s movie, a blog which reviews movies of the 70s, noted: “Bigfoot is a truly awful movie, combining a doofus storyline with shoddy production values and terrible acting, but it’s arresting in a fever-dream sort of way … Bigfoot creatures get more screen time here than in virtually any other ‘70s Sasquatch movie, which is not a good thing—prolonged exposure highlights the bad costumes.” [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bigfoot</span> Alleged North American creature

Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forests of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims of sightings as well as alleged video and audio recordings, photographs, and casts of large footprints. Some of which are known or admitted hoaxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Mitchum</span> American actor; politician

Christopher Mitchum is an American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of film star Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Mitchum. He is the younger brother of actor James Mitchum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joi Lansing</span> American actress (1929–1972)

Joi Lansing was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous opening "tracking shot" in Orson Welles' 1958 crime drama Touch of Evil.

<i>El Dorado</i> (1966 film) 1966 film

El Dorado is a 1966 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Written by Leigh Brackett and loosely based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, the film is about a gunfighter who comes to the aid of an old friend who is a drunken sheriff struggling to defend a rancher and his family against another rancher trying to steal their water. The supporting cast features James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, R. G. Armstrong, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Adam Roarke and Jim Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Maynard</span> American actor

Kenneth Olin Maynard was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall of Great Western Performers</span> Hall of Fame for Cowboys

The Hall of Great Western Performers is a Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and sometimes referred to as the "Western Performers Hall of Fame". It is a 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) presentation that explores the various ways the west has been interpreted in literature and film. Every year the Museum inducts performers into the Hall of Fame at the same time the Western Heritage Awards are given out.

<i>Rio Lobo</i> 1970 film by Howard Hawks

Rio Lobo is a 1970 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, from a screenplay by Burton Wohl and Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Cuernavaca in the Mexican state of Morelos and in Tucson, Arizona. The musical score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It was the third Howard Hawks film varying the idea of a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaw elements in the town, after Rio Bravo (1959) and El Dorado (1966), both also starring John Wayne. Rio Lobo was the last film made by Hawks.

<i>Harry and the Hendersons</i> 1987 film by William Dear

Harry and the Hendersons is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed and produced by William Dear and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hall. Steven Spielberg served as its uncredited executive producer, while Rick Baker provided the makeup and the creature designs for Harry. The film tells the story of a Seattle family's encounter with the cryptozoological creature Bigfoot, partially inspired by the numerous claims of sightings in the Pacific Northwest, California, and other parts of both the United States and Canada over three centuries. In conjunction with the film's setting, shooting took place at several locations in the Cascade Range of Washington state near Interstate 90 and the town of Index near US 2, as well as Seattle's Wallingford, Ballard and Beacon Hill neighborhoods and other locations in or around Seattle.

<i>The Friends of Eddie Coyle</i> 1973 film directed by Peter Yates

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a 1973 American neo-noir crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle and directed by Peter Yates. The screenplay by Paul Monash was adapted from the 1970 novel The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins.

<i>The Astro-Zombies</i> 1968 film by Ted V. Mikels

The Astro-Zombies is a 1968 American science fiction horror film written, directed and produced by Ted V. Mikels and starring John Carradine, Wendell Corey, and Tura Satana.

<i>Massacre at Central High</i> 1976 American horror thriller film by Rene Daalder

Massacre at Central High is a 1976 American horror thriller film directed by Rene Daalder and starring Derrel Maury, Kimberly Beck, Robert Carradine, and Andrew Stevens. The plot follows a series of revenge killings at a fictional American high school, after which the oppressed students take on the role of their bully oppressors. Despite its title, it is not a slasher film but an unusual blend of political allegory, social commentary, and low-budget exploitation; with the exception of the final sequence, no "adult" characters are seen.

<i>The Giant Gila Monster</i> 1959 American film

The Giant Gila Monster is a 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis. This low-budget B-movie starred Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the French contestant for the 1957 Miss Universe, as well as comedic actor Shug Fisher and KLIF disc jockey Ken Knox. The effects included a live Mexican beaded lizard filmed on a scaled-down model landscape.

Bigfoot is an alleged ape-like creature said to inhabit North America. Since the mid-20th century, Bigfoot has become increasingly relevant in popular culture and is the subject of film, television, advertising, music, literature and more.

<i>Hillbillys in a Haunted House</i> 1967 film by Jean Yarbrough

Hillbillys in a Haunted House is a 1967 American musical horror comedy film starring Ferlin Husky and Joi Lansing, and directed by Jean Yarbrough. The film is a sequel to The Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966), with Joi Lansing replacing Mamie Van Doren in the role of "Boots Malone".

<i>Snowbeast</i> American TV series or program

Snowbeast is a 1977 American made-for-television horror film starring Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Logan and Clint Walker, and follows the story of a bloodthirsty Bigfoot-like monster terrorizing a ski resort in the Colorado Rockies. It was directed by Herb Wallerstein from a teleplay written by Joseph Stefano. The film originally premiered as the NBC Thursday Night Movie on NBC on April 28, 1977.

<i>The Wild Man of the Navidad</i> 2008 American film

The Wild Man of the Navidad is a 2008 Bigfoot horror film written and directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. It was picked up by IFC Films shortly after its world premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, and re-released in 2021 by MPI Media Group. Dread Central named it one of the "Top 10 Bigfoot Movies of the 21st Century."

<i>The Good Guys and the Bad Guys</i> 1969 film by Burt Kennedy

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys is a 1969 American comedy Western film directed by Burt Kennedy. It stars Robert Mitchum and George Kennedy.

<i>Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot</i> 1976 American film

Sasquatch, also known as Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot, is a 1976 American pseudo-documentary horror film directed by Ed Ragozzino and starring George Lauris, Steve Boergadine, and Jim Bradford. It follows a group of explorers on a summer-long search for the mythical Bigfoot creature. It was distributed by North American Film Productions, Oregon Ltd., at the height of public fascination with accounts and tales of Bigfoot sightings.

<i>Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend</i>

Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend is a non-fiction book written by Joshua Blu Buhs and published in 2009 by the University of Chicago Press. It explores the history of the concept of Bigfoot, discusses the exploits of its believers, as well as hoaxers, and examines the cultural influences that give the entity its staying power.

References

Notes

  1. "Original print information: 'Bigfoot' (1970)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 3, 2015.
  2. Ray 1991, p. 69.
  3. "Notes: 'Bigfoot' (1970)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 3, 2015.
  4. Ebert, Roger. "Bigfoot." rogerebert.com, January 1, 1971. Retrieved: February 3, 2015.
  5. Sindelar, Dave (22 April 2015). "Bigfoot (1970)". Fantastic Movie Musings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. "BIGFOOT (1970) Reviews and overview". MOVIES and MANIA. 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-11-28.

Bibliography

  • Ray, Fred Olen. The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1991. ISBN   978-0-8995-0628-9.