The monster

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title The monster
Original title trough
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1970
length 93 minutes
Rod
Director Freddie Francis
script Aben Kandel ,
Peter Bryan ,
John Gilling
production Herman Cohen ,
Harry Woolveridge in rental from Warner Brothers
music John Scott
camera Desmond Dickinson
cut Oswald Hafenrichter
occupation

The monster (OT: Trog ) is a British feature film from 1970 with Joan Crawford . It was the last film appearance for Joan Crawford, who began her career in 1925.

action

Two students discover a cave in the middle of England that is home to an ape-like creature. The monster kills one of the students and is then captured and taken care of by Dr. Brockton, an anthropologist and the world's leading expert in monkey research. She examines the creature from a bygone era and gives it the name Trog. Soon, Dr. Brockton states that trough missing link represents the crucial link in human evolution from apes. Feelings of friendship quickly develop between man and monkey and Trog is soon able to express his inner thoughts through sign language. Everything could go harmoniously and Trog could become a valuable member of society, but one day he kills a dog. The event is exaggerated by the media and leads to a trial in which Dr. Brockton is sentenced to kill her protégé as he would pose a latent threat to the people. Before that happens, Trog is freed by conservationists, spreads fear and terror in a rampage, kidnaps a child and is finally blown up by the army with dynamite.

background

After several years of absence from the big screen, in which she had devoted herself full-time to the concerns of the beverage company Pepsi , Joan Crawford made a highly regarded comeback in 1962. Directed by Robert Aldrich and alongside Bette Davis , she starred in What Really Happened to Baby Jane? . Overall, however, the success permanently ruined her career in the long run. Neither the appearances in Women Who Are Not Allowed to Love nor in The Straitjacket in the following corresponded to the acting skills of Joan Crawford. After 1965, the actress' career in the USA was more or less over. The attempt to get the lead role in a television series failed, as did the hope of further film offers.

In the end she accepted for a small fee the offer of the English producer Herman Cohen to take on the lead role in England in the cheaply produced thriller Circus of Death . The film became a commercial success and Crawford accepted an offer to work for Cohen again in The Monster . At $ 2.5 million, the film had a higher budget than Circus of Death , although a large portion of the spending went into the hotel suite for Crawford and the limousine and driver that she requested. Therefore, the equipment had to be saved. The monkey costume came from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey . However, there was not enough money for a professional make-up artist who could have adapted the costume to the actor, so it ended up fitting badly and constantly slipping. Herman Cohen succeeded in persuading Crawford, who by her own admission had developed a massive drinking problem at the time, to stop drinking during filming. Despite the financial success of The Monster , Joan Crawford withdrew more and more and spent the next few years as a guest star in episodes of television series and on talk shows. The film had its world premiere in Germany on November 26, 1970.

The actress was always aware of the inferiority of the film. In retrospect, she told Roy Newquist:

"If I weren't a Christian Science believer and I saw an advertisement for 'The Monster' on the opposite side of the street, I think I would commit suicide."

Theatrical release

With revenues of $ 2,900,583 in its first week of rental alone, the film proved to be a financial success in the United States.

criticism

The film received almost unanimously devastating reviews. The film Dienst was one of the few reviews that wanted to see something positive .

"Formally insignificant, often involuntarily comical science fiction story that is spiritually located in Darwinism and acts like a protest against the overwhelming power of technology and civilization."

The New York Times was, the monster was indeed a debacle, and yet:

“At least there is something positive to report and […] that is Joan Crawford, who throws herself into her role with everything she has. Unfortunately, all that speaks for this determined lady, who looks very attractive in a parade of chicken pantsuits and dresses. "

The Protestant Film Observer remarks succinctly that the film is about

"The simplest science fiction entertainment."

"The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made" also lists Das Ungeheuer .

literature

  • Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus (New Jersey) 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus (New Jersey) 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography. University Press, Lexington (Kentucky) 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ If I weren't a Christian Scientist, and I saw Trog advertised on a marquee across the street, I think I'd contemplate suicide.
  2. ↑ There is, however, a rudimentary virtue in Trog … in that it proves that Joan Crawford is grimly working at her craft. Unfortunately, the determined lady, who is fetching in a variety of chic pants suits and dresses, has little else going for her. (movies.nytimes.com)
  3. ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 539/1970