Beast from Haunted Cave│Film Masters

 
 
Beast From Haunted Cave

Courtesy of Film Masters

by CHAD KENNERK

Film Masters resurrects another monster movie cult classic in their second release. A must-have for Cormon completionists, the boutique label’s latest Special Edition set boasts two early titles from former production and distribution company The Filmgroup, founded by filmmakers (and brothers) Gene and Roger Corman.

Filmgroup allowed Roger Corman to retain full control of his projects—and save money with non-union crews. Though the company eventually folded after nine years, Filmgroup produced over 25 films, including early feature work from accomplished directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich. Most of the films fell into public domain due to Roger Corman neglecting to copyright his films and they’ve appeared in varying quality across TV and home media ever since. In its first year (1959), Filmgroup released four films–the teen stories High School Big Shot and T-Bird Gang, and a double-bill of The Wasp Woman (directed by Roger Corman) and co-feature Beast from Haunted Cave. The later gave theatre director Monte Hellman his feature film debut and began a long collaboration with Corman. Hellman would later gain recognition for a pair of 1966 westerns starring Jack Nicholson (The Shooting, Ride in the Whirlwind). 

 
Beast from Haunted Cave 4

Sheila Noonan and Michael Forest in Beast from Haunted Cave. Image courtesy of Film Masters

 

Often more crime caper than creature feature, the film follows a group of rag-tag criminals who plot a bank robbery in Deadwood, South Dakota. As a diversion for the heist, they set off an explosion in a nearby gold mine and awaken something from deep within. Shot in just twelve days on location in the Black Hills and in Deadwood, South Dakota, Beast from Haunted Cave’s best assets are the shooting locations themselves, such as the atmospheric abandoned mine. The cast included Frank Sinatra’s cousin Richard Sinatra and Playboy Playmate Linné Ahlstrand. The man behind the beast was Chris Robinson, who Gene Corman hired on the spot after he turned up in monster make-up looking for a job. Using $29 from his advance, Robinson created the beast from plywood, chicken wire, sheets, muslin, angel hair, and some paint. Inspired by the ​​wingless hangingfly, the monster was supposedly referred to on set as ‘Humphrass’.

Though the source material here doesn’t have quite the same quality as Film Masters’ The Giant Gila Monster, it’s important to remember that Beast from Haunted Cave was originally the second feature in a double bill and was shot for just a fraction of Gila Monster’s budget ($138K vs. $33K). As a result of time and budget, there are plenty of goofs–especially in the TV edition which added 7mins to the running time (all of which was shot three years later in order to pad the runtime for syndication). Adding to the overall campiness are a number of rough edits and lost shots in the film, which provide for a few inexplicable jumps. As with a number of classics, there are also some elements that haven’t aged well, including a derogatory role for an indigenous woman, as well as dialogue that reinforces stereotypes surrounding indigenous people. When Beast from Haunted Cave wrapped, Roger ‘king of the low-budgets’ Corman directed the WWII drama Ski Troop Attack using the same location and much of the same cast and crew. Although it was the first film shot by Roger Corman for Filmgroup, Ski Troop Attack wouldn’t see release until 1960, in a double feature with another Filmgroup WWII film, Battle of Blood Island.

Beast from Haunted Cave is presented in its original theatrical 1.85:1, 65-minute format, as well as the extended 72-minute 4x3 TV version. Just in time for Halloween, the B movie receives an A+ release, arriving crisply restored in a 4K scan from 35mm archival materials, along with a bonus HD print of Ski Troop Attack in 4x3 aspect ratio. The Special Edition features include the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ documentary Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story Part One, a full-colour booklet with essays by authors C. Courtney Joyner and Tom Weaver—including an insightful archival interview with Chris Robinson, the man behind the haunted cave’s beast. The discs include commentary by author and film historian Tom Weaver and filmmaker Larry Blamire for Beast from Haunted Cave and commentary for Ski Troop Attack by author C. Courtney Joyner and filmmaker Howard S. Berger. For fans of Corman and cult classics, Film Masters has delivered the definitive version.

Psst! — Film Masters has added an Easter Egg to Beast from Haunted Cave. Keep scrolling right—if you dare—to encounter the beast…

Beast from Haunted Cave releases on Blu-ray 24 October from Film Masters.
Pre-order now at
: www.filmmasters.com/beast-from-haunted-cave

Courtesy of Film Masters

FILM MASTERS is a consortium of historians and enthusiasts who seek to celebrate the preservation and restoration of films. As archivists, Film Masters is committed to storing film elements for future generations and reviving films that have been sitting dormant for decades. By scanning in 2K and 4K, they give these lesser-known films the red-carpet treatment they deserve. Leveraging modern means of distribution to release forgotten films back into the world, Film Masters also produces original bonus materials—including feature-length documentaries, audio commentaries and historic articles—to contextualise and celebrate these works of art as they were meant to be.

 
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