The Hideous Sun Demon
Directed by Robert Clarke and Tom Boutross
Written by E.S. Seeley Jr. and Doane R. Hoag from an original idea by Robert Clarke and Phil Hiner
1959/USA
Clarke-King Enterprises
Repeat viewing/YouTube
[box] Trudy Osborne: [playing the piano, and singing] Strange Pursuit, The pursuit of love, Is a strange compelling desire. Though you’re near, You’re not mine to hold, And I want the joy your lips inspire. / My heart is bare, You know I care, Will you take my love, or throw it away? Please let me know, Just “yes” or “no.” Why the great suspense in this game you play?
Strange Pursuit, The pursuit of love, Has me breathless with a burning fire. On and on, Goes the maddening chase. Never ending is love’s strange desire. / Oo-ooh oo-ooh, Strange Pursuit.[/box]
This spends too much on “singing” and fistfights and not enough on the monster.
Dr. Gil McCenna has a drinking problem despite being warned that “bourbon and Science don’t mix.” One day when he is hung over, he drops a new radioactive isotope at the lab where he works. When Gil is taken to the hospital roof top to sun himself, it starts a process of “reverse evolution” turning him into a lizard man. When Gil remains indoors and at night, he turns back into his normal studly self. However, Gil cannot lay off the sauce or resist the temptations of the buxom “singer/piano player” (and I use these terms advisedly) at the local bar, so he continues to menace society.
This was produced, directed, and starred in by monster-movie actor Robert Clarke on a tiny budget. It is kind of a cross between a film noir (with plenty of two-fisted action) and science-fiction. It is pretty bad but not bad enough to bring a smile to my face. Still, there are some unforgettable moments, mostly involving Clarke and the blonde, that made it worth watching. They must have the most schizoid relationship in movie history. Oh, and there’s that ultra-cool rubber mask.
The movie was re-dubbed and rereleased in 1983 as What’s Up, Hideous Sun Demon. That sounds like it has potential!
Trailer
Joe Dante on the film – Trailers from Hell
