''The Beasts Are on the Streets'' is a 1978 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

(although known as an animation studio, this was one of several live-action Hanna-Barbera productions), directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring

Carol Lynley Carol Lynley (born Carole Ann Jones; February 13, 1942 – September 3, 2019) was an American actress known for her roles in the films '' Blue Denim'' (1959) and '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972). Lynley was born in Manhattan to an Irish ...

Billy Green Bush William Warren Bush (born November 7, 1935) is an American actor, usually credited as Billy Green Bush and sometimes as Billy Greenbush. Typecast Bush is a character actor, typically projecting in his screen appearances the good-ol'-boy image. ...

and

Philip Michael Thomas Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...

. It was filmed on location in

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it ...

and Arlington, Texas and originally broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on May 18, 1978.

Plot

A careening

tanker truck Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tan ...

rips through the fence of a Texas wildlife preserve, unleashing an untamed force of wild animals on an unsuspecting community which includes bison, zebras, camels, antelopes, ostriches, elephants, lions, rhinos, tigers and bears. Dr. Claire McCauley, a dedicated veterinarian, works with Kevin Johnson, the head ranger of the wildlife park, to manage the situation. They are both joined by park rangers and local police officers as they desperately scramble to recapture the escaped animals while two trigger-happy hunters, Jim Scudder and Al Loring, decide to go big-game hunting amid this community chaos. The movie also stars David Little in his acting debut. David would go on to have a long career in motion pictures including a much celebrated cameo in a RUSH video.

Cast

– Dr. Claire McCauley * Dale Robinette – Kevin Johnson *

– Jim Scudder *

– Eddie Morgan *

Casey Biggs Casey Patrick Biggs (born April 4, 1955) is an American actor, best known throughout the '' Star Trek'' community for starring as the Cardassian Damar, on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. He has appeared in over eighty film and television and st ...

– Rick *

Burton Gilliam Burton Gilliam (born August 9, 1938) is an American actor. He is best known for memorable roles in several popular 1970s movies, such as ''Blazing Saddles'' and '' Paper Moon'', as well as comedic cameos in '' Back to the Future, Part III'' and ...

– Al Loring * Sharon Ullrick – Lucetta Gaynes *

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

– Mrs. Jackson *

Bill Thurman Bill Thurman (November 4, 1920 – April 13, 1995) was an American film and television actor. From the early 1960s until his death in 1995, he frequently appeared in B movies and independent films, often playing "redneck types" or sheriffs. He w ...

– Carl Evans * David Little - Child actor

DVD release

On July 22, 2013,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

released ''The Beasts Are on the Streets'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in Region 1 for the first time via their

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

References

External links

* * * 1978 television films 1978 films 1970s thriller films American horror thriller films NBC network original films Hanna-Barbera films Films directed by Peter R. Hunt American natural horror films Films about bears Films about birds Films about elephants Films about lions Films about rhinoceroses Films about tigers Films set in Texas Films shot in Texas Films scored by Gerald Fried American thriller television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub