The Alligator People

With a crazy title like "The Alligator People" this late '50s shocker is much too vulnerable to jokes and attacks, and that's unfortunate because it's actually much better than you might think, and the subject matter is taken quite seriously. Beverly Garland plays a newlywed wife named Joyce who despairs when her husband (Richard Crane) ducks off the train they're honeymooning on to make an urgent phone call, and then is never heard from again. Desperate, she tries without success to locate him until she eventually gets a lead that he could be at a house secluded off in the swamplands of the Louisiana bayou. Once there she is made aware of unusual experiments gone awry which involved her husband, and faces the horror that he is gradually turning into a scaly reptilian creature. His mother (Frieda Inescort, who's pretty bad in this) tries to discourage Joyce in her search and at first does not give her a welcome reception.

Miss Garland is quite believable and sincere in her part, and this is a nice-looking black and white film shot in the cinemascope process, showing off some nice imagery in the land of alligators and snakes. Also adding to the experience is Lon Chaney, one of the uncouth local Cajun men who sports a hook in place of his left hand, having been a victim himself of an alligator attack. He never lets these "dirty, stinking gators" forget it either, as he constantly gets drunk and fires his gun at them, and tries to run them down with his jeep when they cross the road. One of the best lines in '50s schlock cinema may be when Lon yells to the human victim of the story: "I'll KILL you, Alligator Man... just like I'd kill any four legged gator!!". Chaney is also involved in a violent rape sequence, which is pretty shocking for those times.

The scaly makeup for Richard Crane in its early stages is pretty effective, but when he emerges in full alligator-headed form later on, the first instinct is usually to laugh. But this is a '50s monster movie, after all, and many creatures of this era have been bizarre. Once you get past the initial sight of the Alligator Man, the result actually comes off not too bad at all. This is an enjoyable movie of its type for the period, and also comfortably short at only 75 minutes. *** out of ****

Joyce Webster (Beverly Garland) is a nurse who has repressed memories that come forth under the influence of sodium pentathol. The resident doctor, who has heard this tale before, attaches Joyce to a polygraph so he can know if she believes she is telling the truth.

Joyce tells a tale of horror that begins on the train after her marriage to Paul Webster. Paul gets a telegram, looks crestfallen, gives no explanation to Joyce, and gets off at the next stop, never to return. Joyce then pores through Paul's things looking for some clue as to where he was originally from. She finally finds an old address in a swampy part of Louisiana and goes there.

Why does Paul's own wife not know where he is from? The pair met in Europe where Paul was a soldier, so they had not had a chance to meet each other's family yet. The other odd thing is - Joyce came back to America before Paul was discharged, and at one point she was told by doctors who said they were treating Paul that he had been mangled horribly in an accident and was not expected to live. Yet months later he appears in great health, rather evading Joyce about the whole accident issue. When Joyce arrives at the "old dark house" that was supposed to be Paul's childhood home, she is obviously not wanted, and the woman who owns the house claims no knowledge of any Paul Webster but locks Joyce in her room for the night as though she had something to hide. What goes on here? Watch and find out.

This horror film has it all - old dark house, a damsel in distress, a mentally unstable hired hand who desires said damsel, a doctor who is more sad than mad, the mystery of a person who disappeared in thin air, and last but not least costumes that are so bad they are good. For the thinking person there are a few things to chew on. Why would anybody build a big expensive home in a swamp? Do doctors in 1959 not know that a polygraph is not actually a lie detector? And then there is the debate brought up in so many 50s horror/scifi films about science going too far, reflecting on the horror of the nuclear age. I'd recommend it, but do understand that the trick to enjoying these 50s horror films is to not think too hard about plot holes and inconsistencies. The cheese is part of the charm.

I heartily agree with the comments provided by reptilicus from Vancouver, Canada (and I appreciate the "high heels" heads-up, and the various actors' cross-refs).

I recommend this movie for its creative application of pre-60s sci-fi/horror canon: eerie melodrama, sympathetic characters, strictly implied gore, rough & toothless scientific explanation, and absolutely no pretensions to credibility, 'cause we're all just here to have fun anyway. Great use of bookends, and of ominous bayou atmosphere.

Note that the synopsis on the DVD case (20th Century Fox, released September 7, 2004) incorrectly lists "Lon Chaney" as our heroine's husband. Mr. Chaney actually plays the drunken Cajun, and Richard Crane plays the husband.

This is actually a pretty good horror flick from the late 50's when it seems that all of God's creatures were being mutated somehow by radiation. This movie differs from that premise and that's what makes is unique and fun to watch. Beverly Garland plays a young woman on her honeymoon when her new groom suddenly disappears from a train. She desperately tries to find him and her search leads her to his home in the Louisiana Bayou where she confronts terror from all different levels. The movie is fast paced and the storyline good, I really enjoyed it. Lon Chaney, Jr. is a hoot as a drunken cajun who tries to rape the young bride. The ending is a surprise as well. Enjoy!!!!