thejimdoherty

Hey, I didn't want to go nuts and give this movie 10 stars, but for sheer entertainment value, I really could not help but give it 8 stars. No, it's not GONE WITH THE WIND, nor even a top contender in the sci-fi film category, but it's a REALLY well-made B-picture. The acting is quite good, the special effects easily match those of some of the bigger studios' sci-fi films of the era, and Albert Glasser's musical score is a bombastic sci-fi B-film classic. For those of you who like sci-fi B-pictures from the 1950s, this is a GREAT one.

Film fans will notice, that although this is an American International Picture, some of the outdoor town scenes were filmed on several parts of the Universal backlot, including the steps of the clock tower building on Universal's "Courthouse Square" outdoor set, which of course was a major focal point in 1983's BACK TO THE FUTURE.

THE CURSE OF BIGFOOT and TEENAGERS BATTLE THE THING are actually two different films. From what I can make out, TEENAGERS BATTLE THE THING was made in 1958. A VHS tape was released in 1997. It's in black and white and runs 60 minutes. I don't believe this version was ever released theatrically. THE CURSE OF BIGFOOT added newly-shot footage (some of it being needless padding) to the beginning and end of the film, leaving the TBTT footage basically intact in the middle. The new introductory scenes, shot over a decade later, use one of the actors from TBTT as a guest lecturer in a high school classroom. He recounts his amazing story of his encounter with Bigfoot. The TBTT scenes are then used as a flashback. Either version of the film is fun, although the new framing footage in BIGFOOT is a hilarious plus.