Alligator (1980)

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writers:

John Sayles (screenplay)
John Sayles (story) ...

Release Date:

2 July 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

Beneath Those Manholes, A Man-Eater Is Waiting ...

Plot:

A giant alligator is on the loose in Chicago. Chicago? Yup, don't go down the sewers!

Plot Keywords:

Alligator | Sewer | Severed Arm | Beautiful Woman | Child Eaten

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Robert Forster	...	David
Robin Riker	...	Marisa
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Chief Clark (as Michael Gazzo)
Dean Jagger	...	Slade
Sydney Lassick	...	Gutchel (as Sidney Lassick)
Jack Carter	...	Mayor
Perry Lang	...	Kelly
Henry Silva	...	Brock
Bart Braverman	...	Kemp
John Lisbon Wood	...	Mad Bomber
James Ingersoll	...	Helms
Robert Doyle	...	Bill
Patti Jerome	...	Madeline
Angel Tompkins	...	Newswoman
Sue Lyon	...	ABC Newswoman

Runtime:

91 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12

Company:

Alligator Inc.

Trivia:

Robert Forster was recovering from a case of spinal meningitis when principal filming began.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the first shot of the alligators eye, the whole crew is reflected in it.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

A fun, entertaining film!

When this film turned up on T.V. I was prepared for the worst. Much to my surprise this was a good thrilling monster movie with just the right amount of tongue and cheek to make the far fetched premise acceptable; ie the idea that an alligator this big could slip in and out of the sewers with out being detected. Robert Forster as the detective out to track down the killer gator gives a good performance. ,real stand out is Henry Silva as the military man sent to destroy the monster gator. He plays him like a broad stereotype of a general from some Latin American dictatorship.

FYI: If you think the idea of a 36 foot plus alligator is impossible, there is a fossil skull on display in the American Museum of Natural History in New York of an extinct crocodile. The skull is over five feet long. Image that such monsters once did roam the earth!