THE GIANT GILA MONSTER In Color / Hollywood Pictures - 1959

Welcome to Friday Night Drive-In here at the Dungeon! Our feature, THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, is the follow up to last Friday's post, THE KILLER SHREWS, and was originally double billed with it. Again, these two are the only movies Hollywood Pictures ever made. Also filmed in Tejas.

Great tagline!.. "Only Hell could breed such an enormous beast. Only God could destroy it!" What?.. God is nitroglycerin?!

The flick starts with this teaser scene, we're introduced to the Gila Monster as it takes advantage of teens making out to a swingin' tune on the radio, exactly like at the start of BEGINNING OF THE END two years earlier!

The music is by Jack Marshall, he only had a total of 22 composing credits, mostly TV, between 1958-69 but includes a few good titles like THUNDER ROAD, MUNSTER, GO HOME!, TAMMY AND THE MILLIONAIRE and KONA COAST!

Dungeon helper Ralphie the Tarantula sez he's pumped and ready to push the big red 'GO' button and start our show rolling, right off the cliff!.. THE GIANT GILA MONSTER!

Life used to be a lot simpler, and some would say, better... Like, Tabonga!!

Hey! Gimme a snort of that there... Sodi pop!!

Shug Fisher plays the booze hound Old Man Harris, Shug was a member of the Sons Of The Pioneers!! Other movies he can be seen in are THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, UTAH, MAN FROM OKLAHOMA, SONG OF ARIZONA, UNDER NEVADA SKIES and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE!

Desmond Doogh plays the hitchhiker in his only film role! Jeez, maybe the Giant Gila Monster really ate him!!!

"Hey man, you can't drive this car!" Chase informs disc jockey Horatio Alger 'Steamroller' Smith, played by Ken Knox. Ken had three acting credits that include MY DOG, BUDDY and BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER!

The gang go out looking for their missing friends in their hot rods, what else?

Come and give auntie a kiss!

They find the car, but no bodies! Chase's girlfriend, Lisa Simone, helps to get the car to the top of the ravine. Lisa was also in MISSILE TO THE MOON!!

Later that evening, our scaly fiend decimates a gas truck!

When you star in such fiftie's classics as TEENAGE ZOMBIES, THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS and CURSE OF THE UNDEAD, you're a Dungeon Hero like Don Sullivan here! Hey, the guy sings and he got to make out with Jeanne Carmen!!! Nu'f said!

Shug sees something very weird on his way home, the Gila Monster derailing a train, but he's not sure if it isn't just the booze!

'Steamroller' gets the party started, looks like everbloody's gonna have a good time!!

Chase is interrupted just as he's getting to the good part!

Chase grabs some nitroglycerin at the local storage shed. It's hard to believe that it doesn't blow when he leaves to find the monster, he gets scratch and then drives 90 mph down some back roads in Texas!.. C'MON!!!

Four... Three... Two... One... KA-EFFIN'-BLOOIE!!!

Sweet dreams, you Giant Gila Monster, you!!