Mesa of Lost Women (1953)

User Rating:

2.0/10   

Directors:

Ron Ormond
Herbert Tevos

Writer:

Herbert Tevos (writer)

Release Date:

17 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A race of deadly spider-women luring men to their death!

Plot:

A mad scientist named Arana is creating giant spiders and dwarves in his lab on Zarpa Mesa in Mexico...

Plot Keywords:

Spider | Giant Spider | Mad Scientist | Narration | Airplane Accident

Cast

Jackie Coogan	...	Dr. Aranya
Allan Nixon	...	Dr. Tucker, camp physician
Richard Travis	...	Dan Mulcahey, foreman
Lyle Talbot	...	Narrator
Mary Hill	...	Doreen Culbertson
Robert Knapp	...	Grant Phillips
Tandra Quinn	...	Tarantella
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Pepe, the jeep driver
Harmon Stevens	...	Dr. Leland J. Masterson
Nico Lek	...	Jan van Croft
Kelly Drake	...	Lost Woman
John Martin	...	Frank, the surveyor
George Barrows	...	George, the male nurse
Candy Collins	...	Lost Woman
Dolores Fuller	...	Blonde 'Watcher in the Woods'

Also Known As:

Lost Women
Lost Women of Zarpa

Runtime:

70 min | France:67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated (2005 DVD release) | UK:PG (1995) | UK:X (1954) (cut) | USA:Approved (PCA #15557)

Company:

A.J. Frances White-Joy Houck

Trivia:

The film was originally begun by Herbert Tevos as "Lost Women of Zarpa", but a variety of factors--funds running out and neither the producers nor the cast being able to get along with Tevos--resulted in the production being shut down and then abandoned. A few years later Ron Ormond bought the film, shot some new footage and released it as "Mesa of Lost Women".

Quotes:

Doreen Culbertson: [surveying cantina] What a dump.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004) (V)

Mad scientists, giant spiders and a cult of weird women!

Director Ron Ormond has quite a reputation for his wild and wacky exploitation films before he had a near-death experience and made wild and wacky religious films. This is a film that will drive most people out of their skull because of one reason: the music score is made up of a short flamenco guitar piece that is repeated over and over and over. Surely an absurd plot can be accepted my most but the constant recurring flamenco motif is enough to send the feeble-minded into fits of madness. Besides the big spider, you won't forget Tandra Quinn's bizarre and exotic dance in a bar that whips one guy into such a frenzy that he shoots her. Image's DVD from Wade Williams isn't much better than VHS with a shaky picture, soft contrasts and muffled audio but it's nice to see cheap obscure B-movies like this being released on disc at all.