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The Monster of Piedras Blancas

  • 1959
  • Approved
  • 1h 11m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Pete Dunn in The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
A doctor, a sheriff and a biologist pursue a creature hanging around a lighthouse.
Play trailer1:22
1 Video
43 Photos
HorrorSci-Fi

A monster that looks like a snarling "Creature from the Black Lagoon" invades a sleepy seaside town. The lighthouse keeper, widowed and estranged from the townfolk, has been secretly leaving... Read allA monster that looks like a snarling "Creature from the Black Lagoon" invades a sleepy seaside town. The lighthouse keeper, widowed and estranged from the townfolk, has been secretly leaving food out for the monster for years, unaware of its bloodlust. When the monster's appetite... Read allA monster that looks like a snarling "Creature from the Black Lagoon" invades a sleepy seaside town. The lighthouse keeper, widowed and estranged from the townfolk, has been secretly leaving food out for the monster for years, unaware of its bloodlust. When the monster's appetite outstrips the keeper's ability to serve it, bloodless decapitated corpses start to appear... Read all

  • Director
    • Irvin Berwick
  • Writer
    • H. Haile Chace
  • Stars
    • Les Tremayne
    • Forrest Lewis
    • John Harmon
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.3/10
    1.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Irvin Berwick
    • Writer
      • H. Haile Chace
    • Stars
      • Les Tremayne
      • Forrest Lewis
      • John Harmon
    • 50User reviews
    • 40Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:22
    Trailer

    Photos43

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    Top cast9

    Edit
    Les Tremayne
    Les Tremayne
    • Dr. Sam Jorgenson
    Forrest Lewis
    Forrest Lewis
    • Constable George Matson
    John Harmon
    • Sturges - the Lighthouse Keeper
    Frank Arvidson
    • Kochek - the Storekeeper
    Jeanne Carmen
    Jeanne Carmen
    • Lucille Sturges
    Don Sullivan
    Don Sullivan
    • Fred
    Pete Dunn
    Pete Dunn
    • Eddie…
    Joseph La Cava
    • Mike
    Wayne Berwick
    • Little Jimmy
    • Director
      • Irvin Berwick
    • Writer
      • H. Haile Chace
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews50

    5.31.2K
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    Featured reviews

    BaronBl00d

    Stay Away From the Lighthouse!

    John Harmon plays a crusty lighthouse keeper who lives with his daughter and secretly feeds a monster of a prehistoric fish-man heritage scraps and fish. One day he misses feeding the creature scraps and all hell breaks loose. The creature walks about unseen and walking in and out of stores neatly severing the heads off folks. This is vintage 50's bad sci-fi. It has all the cliches you would expect, yet it is a whole lot of fun. Obviously made on a shoestring budget, Monster of Piedras Blancas has a charm to it. The story is pretty straightforward with everything from one-dimensional characters to the obligatory romance between the lighthouse keeper's daughter and a serendipitous biochemist versed in prehistoric fish species(played by Do Sullivan who you may...or more likely may not...remember as Chase in The Giant Gila Monster...no singing in this one fortunately!). The monster looks decent. Sure, you know its a rubber suit, but at least its not crying out that it is. This film makes great Saturday or Sunday afternoon fare!
    Dethcharm

    "We Might Have A Lunatic On Our Hands!"...

    In THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS, a series of grisly decapitation deaths occur in a small seaside town. Suspiciously, the local lighthouse keeper has been feeding meat scraps to a certain big-clawed creature. Keeping his secret becomes increasingly difficult as the body count rises.

    Upon watching this movie again, it's interesting to notice the subtle influences it has had on other films, such as JAWS and THE FOG. It's also pretty grim and graphic for a monster movie from the late 1950's. Overall, the movie is very effective. The finale at the lighthouse is certainly memorable.

    Co-stars Don Sullivan (THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, TEENAGE ZOMBIES) as Fred and Les Tremayne (WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE SLIME PEOPLE) as Dr. Jorgenson.
    jamesbryanpitts

    scary

    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........
    6yonhope

    Meat at your doorstep will attract crocodiles

    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.
    6planktonrules

    Not terrible...despite the genre.

    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.

    Related interests

    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in L'Empire contre-attaque (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The feet and lower torso of the Monster suit were were recycled from the "Metaluna Mutant" in Les Survivants de l'infini (1955), with the claws being recycled from the creatures in Le peuple de l'enfer (1956).
    • Goofs
      At 1 hour 10 minutes the monster is knocked over the railing and plunges into the sea. Impossible. In the first minute of the movie there are various distance shots of the lighthouse that clearly show the lighthouse is not located at the water's edge.
    • Quotes

      Fred: There's been another murder.

      Sturges, the Lighthouse Keeper: Who?

      Fred: Kochek. We found his body this afternoon.

      Sturges, the Lighthouse Keeper: He talked too much.

    • Connections
      Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996)

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    FAQ12

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 14, 1959 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El monstruo de Piedras Blancas
    • Filming locations
      • Cayucos, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Vanwick Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $29,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 11m(71 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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