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!!

THE OUTER LIMITS: 'The Invisibles' / Season 1 Episode 19 - 1964

Here we go with another classic episode from this great TV series. This time, some aliens plan to take over the US by recruiting disaffected loners adverse to a normal society. The Invisibles send crab-like parasites that attach themselves to human hosts (like in THE BRAIN EATERS and IT CONQUERED THE WORLD) in order to control them. The recruits are assigned low-level jobs with highly appointed government officials so they can get the parasite in close proximity to them. A US intelligence agent infiltrates the alien organization, but it may be too late!

It all starts here, in an old military barracks, three new recruits are taken to a room at the end of a long, dingy hallway!

In another room there though, something pretty damn interesting is about to happen...

The Invisibles recruiter takes a parasite out, pets it and puts it back in its cage. Then, he goes into an unearthly rant about The Invisibles taking over the world!

John (THE LOST WORLD) Graham Is the attachment supervisor, Don (THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS) Gordon plays Agent Spain and Walter (JACK THE GIANT KILLER) Burke plays the Invisibles recruiter.

At this point in the story, we find out that Spain is a government agent reporting in. He's trying to get to the bottom of what in the Hell's going on!

So, Agent Spain is given the job as a chauffeur for the Governor, but, the General (Neil Hamilton) and his helper, Oliver (Richard Dawson), suspect that Spain is an agent. But, the parasite dies and Spain has to wait for another one to arrive...

The General then goes into his emotional alien diatribe, welcome to Coo-Coo Ville!!

While waiting for the parasite to arrive, Oliver keeps an eye on Spain. Our hero tries to escape at night but his foot gets run over by the General's wife when she arrives at the house. During the confusion, Spain is barely able to speed away in the car...

Spain is to meet with another recruit he has befriended, he hobbles his way to the room.

But, his pal has agreed to set a parasite loose on him, hidden in a suitcase under the bed!

The thing is out and Spain crawls away as fast as he can, which ain't that fast, his foot is horribly damaged!.. Crawl you Mofo!!

The parasite, which growls, puts it into turbo drive and attacks Spain. Luckily, his pal comes to his aid and pulls the thing off and throws it as far away as he can. Then...

The cops shoot it full of lead, putting an end to the current nightmare. We also find out that the government is in hot pursuit of rooting out the Hellish creatures and the Invisibles' Earthly helpers! Phew, I was getting worried!!

Tune in again on Wednesday as we continue down the old Dungeon Trail...