Village of the Giants (1965)
80 mins | Science fiction | 20 October 1965
Director:
Bert I. GordonWriters:
Bert I. Gordon, Alan CaillouProducer:
Bert I. GordonCinematographer:
Paul C. VogelEditor:
John BushelmanProduction Designer:
Franz BachelinProduction Companies:
Berkeley Productions, Embassy Pictures Corp.The 12 Mar 1965 DV announced the project as the first of thirteen to be completed over the next three years by filmmaker Bert I. Gordon for Joseph E. Levine’s Embassy Pictures Corporation. A news item in the 19 May 1965 Var reported that actor Tommy Kirk joined the cast six months after an arrest in Cleveland, OH, which led to the cancellation of his contracts with the Walt Disney Company and American International Pictures. Various sources stated that Kirk was charged with possession of marijuana.
Principal photography began 30 Apr 1965, according to a 7 May 1965 DV production chart. Location shooting at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, CA, was scheduled for 3 May 1965, as stated in that day’s DV. On 23 Jun 1965, DV reported that filming had recently been completed. That same day, Var noted that the screenplay was inspired by an excerpt from the 1904 H. G. Wells novel, The Food of the Gods. Gordon was also planning a film based on the entire book; it was released in 1976 (see entry).
An article in the 28 Jun 1965 DV stated that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Production Code Administration ordered the editing of dance sequences featuring scantily-clad actresses Joy Harman and Tisha Sterling, and another in which actor Johnny Crawford removes a piece of Harman’s clothing. Nearly two months later, the 20 Aug 1965 DV reported that the excised footage had been stolen from an editing room at Paramount ...
The 12 Mar 1965 DV announced the project as the first of thirteen to be completed over the next three years by filmmaker Bert I. Gordon for Joseph E. Levine’s Embassy Pictures Corporation. A news item in the 19 May 1965 Var reported that actor Tommy Kirk joined the cast six months after an arrest in Cleveland, OH, which led to the cancellation of his contracts with the Walt Disney Company and American International Pictures. Various sources stated that Kirk was charged with possession of marijuana.
Principal photography began 30 Apr 1965, according to a 7 May 1965 DV production chart. Location shooting at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, CA, was scheduled for 3 May 1965, as stated in that day’s DV. On 23 Jun 1965, DV reported that filming had recently been completed. That same day, Var noted that the screenplay was inspired by an excerpt from the 1904 H. G. Wells novel, The Food of the Gods. Gordon was also planning a film based on the entire book; it was released in 1976 (see entry).
An article in the 28 Jun 1965 DV stated that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Production Code Administration ordered the editing of dance sequences featuring scantily-clad actresses Joy Harman and Tisha Sterling, and another in which actor Johnny Crawford removes a piece of Harman’s clothing. Nearly two months later, the 20 Aug 1965 DV reported that the excised footage had been stolen from an editing room at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, CA. The sequences were stored in a box labeled “censored cuts.”
Village of the Giants opened 20 Oct 1965 in Chicago, IL. The Los Angeles opening followed on 16 Dec 1965. Critics expected the science-fiction musical to attract a large teenaged audience.
Filmed in "Perceptovision."
Four teenaged couples arrive in a town after their car is wrecked in an avalanche. Young lovers Mike and Nancy are interrupted by Nancy's younger brother, Genius, an amateur scientist who announces he has discovered a food-like substance which causes those who eat it to grow to enormous size. Hearing about the substance, the eight teenagers steal some, try it out, and grow into giants. They take over the town, holding the sheriff's daughter hostage; but Genius discovers a vapor which acts as an antidote, and the invaders are chased from town after they return to normal ...
Four teenaged couples arrive in a town after their car is wrecked in an avalanche. Young lovers Mike and Nancy are interrupted by Nancy's younger brother, Genius, an amateur scientist who announces he has discovered a food-like substance which causes those who eat it to grow to enormous size. Hearing about the substance, the eight teenagers steal some, try it out, and grow into giants. They take over the town, holding the sheriff's daughter hostage; but Genius discovers a vapor which acts as an antidote, and the invaders are chased from town after they return to normal size.
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