A while back I had finally watched 1955’s Tarantula, loving every bit of it. Why not keep the momentum up and watch another 50s B-movie focusing on a giant misunderstood animal: The Giant Gila Monster!
Set at the time of its filming, a rural Texas town is threatened by a giant, mutated Gila monster. While townsfolk keep disappearing while travelling the roads in and out of the town, a group of teens gets together with the local sheriff to figure out the mystery. As they are slowly discovering what is causing all of the destruction, the Gila monster makes its move and attacks the town directly during a sock hop.
If you are a fan of 50s B-movies, this is a top contender here. Using a real Mexican Bearded Lizard and filming in such a way as to make it appear giant-sized, The Giant Gila Monster packs just as much of a punch as Tarantula. In the same vein as more modern monster movies like Jaws, the “Gila monster” in question isn’t shown actually doing damage all too much until it really matters for the plot line. We get shots of a stalking lizard dragging itself across the sandy Texan roads, then — WHAM! — a train derailment and massive explosion. This movie knows how to rev up some drama!
Speaking of revving up, The Giant Gila Monster did a few things that were pretty smart moves for attracting young, theater-going audiences: the movie was produced by a Dallas drive-in theater owner; hip songs (often sung by heartthrob lead Don Sullivan) and an actual local DJ were used multiple times throughout the movie; and hot rods were featured as a big plot point to the story. Even though this movie clearly wasn’t made with me in mind (me being born more than 30 years after its release), I can appreciate the care that went into making this film, unlike today where movie makers try to capture the widest possible audience instead of relying on loyal genre fans.
Character-wise, everyone was likeable and felt genuine. Though I thought it was just a bit too much, the main character, Chase (Sullivan), was made to be this incredibly thoughtful and good citizen with a bad boy streak, only needing contact with the right person to change his whole life and go off to do something great. It’s not impossible, but it was a little funny he was doing all of this good work but still somehow couldn’t leave his town without being “discovered.”
As I mentioned before, The Giant Gila Monster gives us some nice action shots and explosions. I’m super impressed with the effects here, blending in with the live lizard shots. These scenes are also paired with this sci-fi soundtrack that perfectly fits the movie: science gone wrong meets desert townscape. Give me a 50s soundtrack and miniature set pieces and I’m a very happy girl!
While I don’t think The Giant Gila Monster was anything super lifechanging, it really is a fun movie. Classic black and white but still holds the audience’s attention almost 70 years later. A B-movie icon, The Giant Gila Monster is a great pick for a movie night for all ages, and one I’d love to have the opportunity to see one day as it was originally intended: as part of a double feature at the drive-in.
What did you think of The Giant Gila Monster? Let us know in the comments!
The Giant Gila Monster is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video (black and white) and Tubi (colorized).
Oh I love this flick. This and Giant Shrews were filmed congruently for a double feature in Texas Drive-Ins by the same dudes.
Good eye for detail!