The Alligator People [Blu-ray]

Director: Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth

Overview

A confused horror yarn set in the Deep South, Alligator People stars Richard Crane as a husband who becomes accidently separated from his new wife (Beverly Garland) during a train ride. She tracks him down to the swamplands surrounding his family mansion. Her reunion with her husband is tarnished by the fact that he's been partially transformed into an alligator! This is the handiwork of doctor George MacReady, who's been conducting curious experiments with gators and humans. Garland must figure out a way to save her mutated husband from both the scientist and a drunken alligator hunter (Lon Chaney Jr.). The story is told in flashback, as psychiatrists try to figure out what has driven Garland insane. The Alligator People was the last film directed by Roy Del Ruth, light years away from his glory days at Warner Bros.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2019
UPC:	0826663198249
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	NR
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:14:00
Sales rank:	17,548

Special Features

NEW audio commentary by The Monster Party Podcast hosts Matt Weinhold, Shawn Sheridan, Larry Strothe and James Gonis; Theatrical trailer; Still Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bruce Bennett	Dr. Erik Lorimer
George Macready	Dr. Mark Sinclair
Beverly Garland	Jane Marvin
Lon Chaney	Mannon,Mannon
Richard Crane	Paul Webster
Frieda Inescort	Mrs. Henry Hawthorne
Vince Townsend Jr.	Toby
Ruby Goodwin	Lou Ann
Douglas Kennedy	Dr. Wayne McGregor
Bill Bradley	Patient
Dudley Dickerson	Porter
Hal K. Dawson	Conductor
John Merrick	Nurse No. 1
Irving Gertz	Composer

Technical Credits

Orville Hampton

Roy Del Ruth	Director
Jack Leewood	Producer
Orville Hampton	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A bizarre late 1950s sci-fi/horror tale, The Alligator People seems like it should be either a humdinger of a flick or else the kind that is enjoyable for the unintended laughs it provokes. In fact, Alligator is a rather somber, rather serious affair, which makes it far less engaging than many worse films. Genre films, especially in the 1950s, were often surprisingly good vehicles for social messages about the era, whether intentional or not. Alligator, despite its rather obvious inspiration from the earlier The Fly, seems to want to make some sort of point about alienation, as well as perhaps about secrets between married couples and, on a larger scale, the feeling that larger manmade forces are somehow intruding into individual lives. But it deals with all these in a superficial manner; worse, Alligator takes both its thematic ideas and its dramatic ideas and portrays them both in a manner that is equally dull. Make-up artist Dick Smith does a very good job with the monsters before they turn all-alligator; unfortunately, once "totally" transformed, they spout a rubber head that is laughably fake. Roy Del Ruth makes great use of locale and atmosphere (aided by Karl Struss's moody cinematography), but he allows everything to move very sluggishly and kills a great deal of potential suspense. Richard Crane and George Macready are serviceable, but Lon Chaney, Jr. gives a strong, hammy performance that adds fire. And as the lead, Beverly Garland is terrific, turning in the kind of B-movie performance that is absolutely essential for this kind of flick.