The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

User Rating:

1.6/10   

Director:

Coleman Francis

Writer:

Coleman Francis (writer)

Release Date:

2 May 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Commies made him an atomic mutant!

Plot:

A defecting Russian scientist is transformed by an atomic test into a hulking monster, Tor Johnson, of course...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Rabbit | B Movie | Narration | Mutant

Cast

Douglas Mellor	...	Hank Radcliffe
Barbara Francis	...	Lois Radcliffe
Bing Stafford	...	Jim Archer
Larry Aten	...	Joe Dobson
Linda Bielema	...	Wife on Vacation
Ronald Francis	...	Randy Radcliffe
Alan Francis	...	Art Radcliffe
Anthony Cardoza	...	KGB Driver / Helpful Neighbor (as Tony Cardoza)
Bob Labansat	...	Javorsky's Bodyguard
Jim Oliphant	...	Husband on Vacation
John Morrison	...	KGB Passenger
Eric Tomlin	...	Driver Run off Road
Jim Miles	...	Javorsky's Driver
George Prince	...	Man who Reports Murder (as George Principe)
Conrad Brooks	...	Man at Airfield

Also Known As:

Girl Madness (USA) (reissue title)
The Atomic Monster: The Beast of Yucca Flats
The Violent Sun (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Saugus, California, USA

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Coleman Francis] [location]Yucca Flats airstrip

Goofs:

Continuity: During opening car chase, scenery changes from desert to forest to mountains repeatedly.

Quotes:

Narrator: Touch a button. Things happen. A scientist becomes a beast.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (#6.13)" (1993)

Truly Unbelievable

Older people tell us that as you age, time seems to speed up and fly quickly bye. Watch "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and you will observe a paradox – you will age rapidly, yet time will slow to a crawl, the 54 minute running time feeling like hours, or even days.

The plot of this movie may be summarized as follows. A scientist is converted into a monster when exposed to a nuclear test. He kills an unlucky (and very unobservant) couple whose car had broken down, and then chases two young boys around while their father is trying to fix a flat tire. Two lawmen on the trail of the beast shoot, first the father of the boys, and then the beast, after which a rabbit stumbles into the scene and nuzzles the beast causing it to grab and kiss the rabbit before succumbing at last to its wounds. Actually, this is not a plot summary, but rather the shooting script, with the exception of the rabbit, which was a wild rabbit that stumbled into the scene entirely by accident, and was left in. There are no outtakes in a Coleman Francis movie.

This was the first effort by then unknown filmmaker Coleman Francis. Francis was thus unexposed when the film was shot, though in a more perfect world, the film would have been unexposed and Coleman Francis shot. In this film, Francis pays homage to Hitchcock with a scene reminiscent of the cropduster sequence in North by Northwest, and to Ed Wood, by intercutting freely between day and night during a chase scene. Francis' talent as a filmmaker really shines, however, in his decision to dispense with synchronized sound as might have been utilized by a lesser filmmaker. He does this in several clever ways, such as having dialog (and gunshots) come from off screen, or by having the actors cover their mouths or turn their faces away from the camera when they speak. In one particularly inspired sequence, he simply frames the top of the camera view to the actors' shoulders, letting the dialog crackle back and forth between the headless bodies.

Kudos must also go to the cast. Conrad Brooks, of Plan 9 fame, appears in this film, which launched him into a long and illustrious career in such beloved classics as "Polish Vampire in Burbank," "Fart: the Movie," and "Zombiegeddon." Tor Johnson, who had similarly appeared in Plan 9, also experienced a career advancement after this film -- he never made another movie. Despite the notable work by these two, as well as several friends and relatives of the director, special mention must be made of the rabbit, which turned in by far the best performance of the movie, displaying great charisma and screen presence, while still seeming natural and unaffected. To achieve all of this while being unexpectedly kissed by Tor Johnson is no mean feat for a first-timer.

This film shames the recently popular movie "The Ring," in which everyone who watches a certain video all die horrible deaths within one week of the viewing. "The Beast of Yucca Flats" effortlessly achieves the same result in just 54 minutes.