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In the 1950s and 60s, there were a bazillion cheap and shlocky monster films. They featured silly monsters in silly costumes and were mildly entertaining...but rather stupid. I thought "The Monster of Piedras Blancas" was one of these films but it turned out to be a touch better. Now I am not saying it's brilliant...but the story isn't bad and the monster costume isn't particularly dopey.

The film is set on the California coast. Someone or something is beheading folks and eventually people realize they have a monster on their hands...and it's up to them to defeat it. Oddly, after the killing spree began, no one ever thought to contact the state police or other authorities about the problem...even when a group of folks saw it was a monster!

So, the plot isn't perfect...but it is enjoyable and the monster costume is reasonably scary looking. A good film for afficianados of the genre.

A generally underrated monster flick from 1959, The Monster of Piedras Blancas is often compared to the undeniably similar Creature From the Black Lagoon, with this film invariably coming out second best. Certainly, Creature From the Black Lagoon is a true classic and The Monster of Piedras Blancas rarely equals its more famous cousin, but nonetheless this is a very good little film with a lot going for it on its own terms. The Monster, of course, is the star of the show, and the suit designed for him is impressive and scary, and must have seemed even more so in the 50s. As is typical of this sort of film, screen shots of the Monster are limited up until the climax, when he runs wild in all his visceral glory. The Monster's killings are quite brutal and rather bloody for the conservative 50s, and there are several decapitations in his wake. The coastal setting, where folk tales of the alleged Monster are whispered in the shadows, is evocative and the director uses the location to maximum effect. Acting is for the most part competent if unexceptional, highlighted by the dazzling Jeanne Carmen as the lovely Lucy, upon whom the Monster inevitably turns a ravenous gaze. Ms. Carmen is a luscious damsel in distress, and it's a shame she didn't do more sci-fi. Don Sullivan plays Lucy's boyfriend, Fred, and veteran b-movie actor Les Tremayne is a local doctor. John Harmon turns in a surprisingly effective performance as Lucy's father Sturges, the local lighthouse keeper, a man with many secrets and who knows more about the Monster than anyone suspects. The townsfolk of Piedras Blancas are developed with some attention to detail, and it means something when one of them dies. The only real weaknesses of the film are its obvious low budget and a somewhat lagging pace that does make the movie feel a bit longer than its short run time of 71 minutes. But overall, this is a pretty good monster movie that meets most of the genre requirements. Unfortunately, this is a difficult movie to find, but if you can track it down, the Monster From Piedras Blancas is a surprisingly effective chiller.

I had never heard of this movie until I met the object of aforesaid Monster at a fan convention here in the bay area a few years ago... she told me about it, perhaps somehow sensing my affinity for rubber-suited monsters. I told her I hadn't seen it, but I'd sure love to, and she said the guy who worked on "Creature from the Black Lagoon" had also done the monster suit for this movie. Now I had to see it, but I didn't really get a chance until last Thursday at the Parkway in Oakland.

Strangely enough, the producer of the film's daughter had shown up for the showing (I'd give you her name if I remembered it), which also coupled as a birthday celebration for bay area horror host "Dr. Ghoulfinger". Even stranger, she had shown up not to seize the print or anything vulgar of that nature, but rather to lend her support and enjoy the rare public viewing of her father's film. When asked about her father's career after "Monster from Piedras Blancas", she said he moved into other types of film, to which a vocal part of the audience shouted "PORN!!!"

OK, the film itself is a somewhat better than average exploitation horror flick. The monster suit, which allows for a great deal of animation and motion, is a wonder -- it easily blows away everything else in the movie, including the much cheaper gore type effects such as decapitated heads. Of course, depending on your own inclinations, Jeanne Carmen also steals the show with her luscious bod, appearing as a brunette (anyone know what Jeanne Carmen's natural hair color is, anyway?) showing more character than most victims of 50s rubber monsters. Her acting is not great, but adequate for the film's demands.

No one else in the cast really stands out, but the effort in general is solid, not slowing down too much like many of its kind do in the middle. The film's makers seem to have known they must show something worth seeing every reel or risk losing the audience. A lot of the stuff in the movie seems pretty goofy, and I doubt that anyone involved took the film too seriously; it almost comes off as a comedy, kind of like but not as much so as some of Corman's movies from the time (most notably "Not of This Earth").

All in all, a good show

This is one of those films that used to be shown on Creature Features on Saturday mornings. Its a rather dull film about a Black Lagoon-type creature who goes around killing people. Despite its dullness, it has a couple of the scariest scenes of any film made during this era. The first, when the monster comes bursting out of a door is a moment of shock and horror equal to the similar scene in "The Thing". And the second, at the lighthouse at the end of the film, is extremely terrifying and gave me recurrent nightmares as a child. Both scenes are still frightening to me as an adult. One also has to appreciate the amount of thought that went into the plot. The origins of the monster and the reasons he starts to kill are convoluted but, if you follow along carefully, everything is explained in a logical manner and there are no inconsistencies in the plot. In "Keep Watching the Skies", Bill Warren criticized the film as lacking a logical plot and explanation for the monster, but he is wrong! However dull, a lot of thought went into the plotting of this film and, had the script been better, this could have been a scare classic.

"The Monster of Piedras Blancas" was an independent production from Jack Kevan who was former makeup artist at Universal and was responsible for designing and building the Gill Man suit in "Creature from the Black Lagoon", as well as the alien Xenomorph from "It Came from Outer Space", and the Metaluna Mutant of "This Island, Earth".

The suit for the film's "diplovertebron" monster consisted of existing molds for the feet that were cast from those of the Metaluna Mutant from "This Island, Earth" along with over-sized hands originally designed for "The Mole People".

There's no mistaking the fact that the "Monster of Piedras Blancas," is somewhat of a knock-off of the "Creature from the Black Lagoon".

It is obvious that some thought had gone into the plot which was fairly consistent and had some logic to it such as the monster's origins and the reasons behind its murderous rampage. The theme of loneliness and of being an outcast and the kind of desperation it can produce are touched on quite nicely as well.

A couple of quite gruesome scenes for the time included the monster bursting in on the scene carrying a bloody severed human head and a shot of the same head with a crab crawling across the face. Even cute pooches and little girls are not spared from the murderous wrath of the monster!

The film was shot not at the actual Point Piedras Blancas, which is north of San Simeon on the California coast. The lighthouse locations were shot at the Point Conception lighthouse near Lompoc, and the film's "town" was in fact the seaside city of Cayucos, about 30 miles south of the real Piedras Blancas.

Don Sullivan who plays Fred we remember from his role as Chase in "The Giant Gila Monster". In this film, however we can breathe a sigh of relief as he refrains from singing! His girlfriend Lucy is played by pin-up girl Jeanne Carmen who is certainly easy on the eye in just a simple floral dress or blouse and skirt and sensible flat shoes. No need for clown make-up, outfits that leave nothing to the imagination or stiletto posture torturers!

To conclude, I must admit that I geared myself up to hate this movie. I really, really wanted to hate this movie but I found that I just couldn't, no matter how much I tried! I'm really not sure why? I even mildly enjoyed watching this low-budget affair. The acting was pretty ordinary but at least the actors were earnest enough and the pace of the story was OK right up to and including the thrilling and at the same time, quite funny climax.

Don Sullivan should be the star. He is the young handsome monster fighter. Others were better known at that time, perhaps. This is a good, but not great sci-fi B movie. It is entertaining and an obvious low budget quickie that might make back the investor's gamble. The monster is not totally ridiculous and the story is OK. The acting is better than most low budget films. Any of the main cast members, including the child actors could handle a Hollywood production. Camera work is better than adequate. This is not boring but sometimes it slips into comedy that is unintended.

Little known monster flick set in a small , seaside town where people start turning up minus their heads . A creepy lighthouse keeper , his attractive daughter , her boyfriend , useless sheriff , know it all doctor , a local legend , and a missing dog - what more do you want ? Like many of these films , it takes a while to get going . Our first sign of the monster is him stealing the leading lady's underwear , but when we do see him , it's not that bad . We don't see any of the kills till way in , and then we get a nice headshot ! Plus we get the obligatory monster carrying girl scene . Typical b - movie production values - the whole thing is shot on location , mostly amateur acting , day for night shots etc . , but there is one shot of people running that is obviously speeded up . The funniest bit is when two locals bring the corpses into the local store on a wheelbarrow , and the storekeeper says to put them in the freezer ! The lighthouse keeper storms off , and one of them says "What's up with him ? " The daughter also seems to think it would okay to leave the lighthouse light off for one night - what's the worst that could happen ? Oh , and what is a diploveradon ?

The monster, which looks like a nastier version of "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," invades a sleepy lighthouse town. The superstitious lighthouse keeper is worried for the safety of his beautiful teenage daughter, so he leaves food for the monster, who dwells in a nearby cave.

As stated, this was clearly inspired at least in part by the Creature. And, as I understand it, there was some overlap in the makeup and costume department, so that is not altogether shocking. But the interesting part is that this "knock off" is at least as good.

In fact, the entire film is just as good. Though not a celebrated classic, it is no worse than any other film of its era that is now considered a cult film. This really needs a new audience. Olive Films has released it, but only in a bare bones fashion... where is the love?

One of my favorite 50's monster movies! For some reason this priceless little gem is always overlooked in the lists of B-movie monster faves of the 1950s. You have one of the better amphibious creature costumes designed by Jack Kevan (No zipper!!), a great sea coast location, decapitations and gore, some very decent acting by A-list party girl and pin-up queen Jeanne Carmen, and last but not least, Les Tremayne - He is only in 85% of all classic B-horror/sci-fi films of the 1950s! What's a film without him?! All right guys, I know its formula, but this obscure little tale holds a special place in my heart since I was 9-years old! The film has drama, subtext, coastal atmosphere, sex, and about 5 or 6 headless corpses lying about! John Harmon as Sturges, the crusty lighthouse keeper who feeds the hungry cave-dwelling beast meat scraps from the local deli, does a credible job here as a man who has closed off all emotions to the world, including those of his fetching daughter Lucy (Carmen), in exchange for companionship with the hungry creature. Jeanne Carmen is a natural beauty equal to the Mara Cordays' and Allison Hayes' of her decade. Too bad the studios didn't use her a little more proficiently. Psuedo-teen heartthrob Don Sullivan is thrown in for some romantic interest and all that biology jazz and the musical score (which is never credited) is rich, layered and 'original.' So, sorry guys! The Monster of Piedras Blancas always wins with me!

I insisted on seeing this movie when it came out in the 1950's, I was 7 years old. I got to the theatre late and the movie had already started. As I opened the doors to enter the screening room a strange feeling came over me, could it have been that the room was pitch black and 500 people were screaming at the top of their lungs? Somehow I found my way to a seat trying not to look at the screen. In a few minutes the monster comes waltzing out of some industrial size refridgerator carrying some guys head in his hand.....that was all it took....as the blood rushed to my head I did the 50 yard dash to the doors in world record time and never looked back. Decades later (1990's) I had the chance to watch the movie again on cable. This time my girlfriend was with me so I was able to get through it........

Another b&w sci fi horror movie. This one was an ultra-low B movie made at a cost of only $30K. This movie departed from giant killer animals that we can relate to, to some sort of anthropomorphic killer reptilian monster, ala the 1954 "Creature from the Black Lagoon". In fact, the film was heavily influenced by the "Creature from the Black Lagoon".

Not a bad movie at all. Initially I rated it as a 5.0, but over several days it grew on me, and I now recognize it as a 6.0; which is the highest I have yet to award a movie of this horror subgenre. On IMDB it is currently rated 5.3.

In a small California seaside town, the lighthouse keeper (excellently portrayed by John Harmon), has for ten years kept a dangerous secret. For ten years, he has been leaving meat scraps for a monster who lives in a shoreline cliff cave. Concerned for the safety of his only daughter, he had sent her off to boarding school for ten years. She is now 19 and back living in the lighthouse with her widower dad. Her boyfriend is a young marine scientist. The monster soon takes to the taste of human blood, starting a series of unexplained gruesome deaths. The townsfolk decide to take matters in their own hands. I won't spoil the movie for those who wish to watch it on YouTube.

This time around atomic radiation is not blamed for the monsters existence. He just appears. But, as in most of these movies, one sexy woman and a young handsome scientist are there to save the world. It's amazing how the scientist hero with the help of a microscope and a few chemicals, discovers what's going on and how to stop it, in a matter of hours.

One major flaw in the storyline is that the frightened residents of the town never call on State authorities after they actually see the monster and start mourning their dead.

A lighthouse keeper has been secretly feeding a humanoid, sea creature. However, the meat supply runs out and the monster starts decapitating locals and draining them of their blood. This is a very routine sci-fi/horror movie, typical of this period. The monster is played by a man in a 7 foot rubber suit, and looks very similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Some of the acting is very wooden, in particular the guy who plays the storekeeper. We do get to see a few decapitated heads, so some gore (it is in b&w). But what really lets the film down is its slow pace. Had it been shorter, less talky, them I am sure that it would have made better viewing.

In this obvious "Creature from the Black Lagoon" cash-in, the title beast terrorizes a small seaside community. The local lighthouse keeper, Mr. Sturges (John Harmon, "Malibu High"), makes a habit of leaving morsels of meat for It to eat, but soon it's clear that these morsels just aren't enough. So citizens are then found both decapitated and drained of blood. It's up to locals such as doctor / scientist / minister Sam Jorgenson (Les Tremayne, "The War of the Worlds"), his young associate Fred (Don Sullivan, "The Giant Gila Monster"), and grumpy town constable George Matson (Forrest Lewis, "The Todd Killings") to devise a means of neutralizing their nemesis.

This marked the directing debut for Irvin Berwick, a former employee of Universal-International who'd just started a production company with his partner, producer Jack Kevan. While it may do the trick for people who just can't get enough of 1950s creature features, it's mostly on the dull side. The screenplay by H. Haile Chace is overly talky, and doesn't have enough good Monster action. (The action is largely confined to the final dozen minutes.) The cast, also showcasing a young beauty named Jeanne Carmen ("Untamed Youth") as Sturges' daughter / Freds' girlfriend, is on the amateurish side. One notable exception is reliable Tremayne, a busy genre actor during this time. The movie does get some points for being willing to kill children and animals, and there's one great, show stopping moment when the Monster swaggers out of an ice room holding the severed head of one of its victims. The Monster is played by Pete Dunn ('Cimarron City'), who has a second role as townsman Eddie. It's a rather low rent creature suit (designed by Kevan), but it serves its purpose.

Although it makes good use of locations, and is gorgeously shot by future Oscar nominee Philip H. Lathrop, it just doesn't have a lot of atmosphere. A climactic confrontation is interestingly shot from overhead, but the ending is too abrupt and falls short of real satisfaction.

Six out of 10.

The story opens with the bodies of the Rinaldi brothers washing ashore. Both have been decapitated. In Jersey, this would not be a big deal. The town doctor, played by Les Tremayne, informs Constable Forrest Lewis that it was a clean job, and the bodies were drained of blood. This is what happens when you mess with the Internal Revenue Service. The town grocer, played by Frank Arvidson, immediately suspects it's the work of a monster - the Monster of Piedras Blancas. Arvidson blabs his theory to lighthouse keeper John Harmon, who is annoyed because Arvidson is out of meat scraps. Arvidson is so irritating you hope he will become a victim. Good things come to those who wait.

Harmon's daughter, played by 1950s pinup queen Jeanne Carmen, is dating Don Sullivan, who plays some kind of marine biologist. Carmen and Sullivan sneak off for some kissy face by the water, and later, Carmen goes for a moonlight swim au naturel (but it's too dark to see anything). When she returns to shore, she hears heavy breathing (it was probably the camera crew). Her father is miffed that she swam alone; she admits she felt like someone was watching her (it was probably the camera crew).

Meanwhile, the monster develops an appetite, strolls into town, and removes Arvidson's head. Those are cheers you hear from the audience. The only clue is some kind of fishy scale found at the scene. Tremayne and Sullivan test it, and claim it is similar to some extinct species I can't pronounce. Later, they surprise the creature in Arvidson's icebox. Lewis is slashed across the chest, bleeds profusely, but miraculously recovers completely by the next scene. A few more bodies pile up before the authorities decide to act. In the climax, Sullivan, Harmon, Carmen, Monster, et al meet up at the lighthouse.

This film could have stunk badly, but it is rescued by the good character actors, a creepy-looking monster (imagine Porky Pig on steroids), and a gratuituous shot of Carmen in her underwear. Sullivan was always an easy-going actor in a short-lived career, starring in silly crap like "The Giant Gila Monster" and "Teenage Zombies." He should have had a better career. Carmen acts adequately, but who cares. The opening credits are the real oddity, as the actors are listed along with the parts they play; e.g., Don Sullivan as "The Boy," and Jeanne Carmen as "The Girl."

Mediocre acting. Great Man in a monster suit. A scaler version of the Creature from the Lost Lagoon. And some surprising for '59 gore featuring some.... yep decapitations with a little blood! In black and white.

Light house keeper puts out food for legendary monster. Most people thinks he's crazy and of course ignore his warnings. Then some surfers wind up losing their heads.

No real surprises. But if you're in the mood and want to see a pretty good man in a monster suit movie, this will fit the bill.

Blatant "Creature From The Black Lagoon" rip off.

This basically says; "Suppose the creature was a murderous savage instead of a love struck humanoid?" It's done pretty well actually. The monster is UGLY. That "Hellish, snarling face" (to quote Michael Weldon of 'Psychotronic Magazine') makes it 100% clear this beast is not dealing with internal amour. But instead kills, actually decapitates, anyone that comes near the lighthouse.

Some good fear moments when you see the creature from the distance at dusk. And while the suit wasn't all that convincing, the savagery made up for it.

This is a lot scarier than the usual 1950's monster flicks.

Someone or something is messily killing people near a lighthouse by the titular Californian point (although that is not where the film was shot) and the cranky lighthouse-keeper is clearly concealing a dark secret. Typical of the genre, the film attempts to build suspense by cranking up the sense of menace and offering teasing glimpses of the monster until the 'big reveal' leading up to the inevitable climactic showdown. There are a couple of 'shock shots' involving decapitated heads (the scene with the crab is pretty good) but for the most part, the film is just slow moving and dull. The monster suit, designed by Jack Kevan, who had worked on "The Creature from the Black Lagoon' (1954) and 'The Mole People' (1956), is neither convincingly amphibious-looking (unlike the iconic CBL 'gill man') nor particularly creepy. Inexplicably, victims are decapitated with almost surgical precision, which is unlikely given the monster's clumsy-looking clawed hands (recycled from mole-people suits) and there is detailed description about how they were systematically drained of blood, which makes no sense when the creature finally appears. Like many of its ilk, there is no consideration about how there can only be one survivor from prehistoric times (also typical, there is an associated 'legend' suggesting the beast has been around for a while). The script and acting are typical for a B-genre film although the 'big-word pseudo-science' used to explain what the townies are dealing with is slightly better than the usual nonsense (such as that in CBL and its sequels). For fans of 1950's quasi-science fiction 'boo movies' only.