''The Bride and the Beast'' is a 1958 American horror film produced
and directed by
Adrian Weiss
Adrian is a form of the Latin language, Latin given name Adrianus (given name), Adrianus or Hadrianus (disambiguation), Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria (river), Adria from the Venetic language, Venetic and ...
. The film's screenplay was written by
Ed Wood
Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist.
In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...
, based on a story by Weiss. Wood's original working title was ''Queen of the Gorillas''.
Plot
Dan Fuller, a big game hunter, is forced to kill his pet gorilla when it attempts to rape his new bride Laura. The woman starts to experience strange urgings following the encounter, and submits to hypnosis under the care of a psychiatrist. She reveals to her shocked husband that she was actually a gorilla in a previous life. Slowly she reverts to her former bestial self, and winds up eloping into the jungle with a male ape, with her cuckolded husband staring helplessly after them.
Cast
*
Charlotte Austin
Charlotte Austin (born Jean Charlotte Austin; November 2, 1933) is an American retired actress. She appeared in leading and supporting roles in the 1950s, mostly active in B-films.
Early years
Charlotte Austin was born on November 2, 1933, in ...
as Laura Carson Fuller
*
Lance Fuller
Lance Fuller (December 6, 1928 – December 22, 2001) was an American actor.
Biography
Born in Somerset, Kentucky, he worked as a contract actor for most of the 1950s with Universal-International. With many uncredited roles for the fir ...
as Dan Fuller
*
Johnny Roth as Taro, the houseboy
*
William Justine as Dr. Carl Reiner
*
Gil Frye
Gil or GIL may refer to:
Places
* Gil Island (disambiguation), one of several islands by that name
* Gil, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran
* Hil, Azerbaijan, also spelled ''Gil, a village in Azerbaijan
* Hiloba, also spelled ''Gi ...
as Captain Cameron
*
Jeanne Gerson as Marka, the cook
*
Trustin Howard as the soldier
*
Eve Brent as the stewardess
*
Bhogwan Singh as the native killed by tiger in a hut
Production
Ed Wood was inspired by the real-life
Bridey Murphy story currently in the headlines, and worked stock jungle animal footage from a
Sabu movie into the storyline.
Mark Thomas McGee said that Weiss told him that he considered the film "a minor classic", while lead actress Charlotte Austin commented on the incredible cheapness, using one of Weiss's relatives to physically turn the wheels of the stationary truck the actors were sitting in, to make it appear the vehicle was moving.
Release
''The Bride and the Beast'' opened in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
on January 29, 1958.
References
External links
*
The Bride and the Beasta
PizzaFLIXvia license from Kit Parker Films
1958 films
1950s English-language films
American supernatural horror films
Allied Artists films
Films about gorillas
1950s American films
1950s supernatural horror films
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