Cyclops (1957)

66 mins | Science fiction | 28 July 1957

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writer:

Bert I. Gordon

Producer:

Bert I. Gordon

Cinematographer:

Ira Morgan

Editor:

Carlo Lodato

Production Company:

B & H Productions, Inc.
Full page view
HISTORY

Bert I. Gordon's title card reads: "Written, Produced and Directed by Bert I. Gordon." Although the copyright registration and the MPD review listed a running time of seventy-five minutes for the film, other contemporary trade reviews listed sixty-six minutes, which was the length of the print viewed. A 4 Oct 1956 DV news item reported that Cyclops would be released by RKO as part of a double bill with X the Unknown (see below). With the demise of RKO's distribution arm, the films were acquired by different distributors. ...

More Less

Bert I. Gordon's title card reads: "Written, Produced and Directed by Bert I. Gordon." Although the copyright registration and the MPD review listed a running time of seventy-five minutes for the film, other contemporary trade reviews listed sixty-six minutes, which was the length of the print viewed. A 4 Oct 1956 DV news item reported that Cyclops would be released by RKO as part of a double bill with X the Unknown (see below). With the demise of RKO's distribution arm, the films were acquired by different distributors.

Less

SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
24 Aug 1957
---
Daily Variety
4 Oct 1956
---
Daily Variety
19 Aug 1957
p. 4
Film Daily
19 Aug 1957
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
19 Aug 1957
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
24 Aug 1957
p. 507
Variety
21 Aug 1957
p. 6
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Harry O. Jones
Asst dir
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Assoc prod
Asst prod
WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY
Cine
FILM EDITOR
SET DECORATOR
Props
MUSIC
VISUAL EFFECTS
Tech eff created by
MAKEUP
Spec makeup created by
Carle Taylor
Makeup
PRODUCTION MISC
Prod mgr
Animal seq
Henry "Hank" Coffin
Aeronautical supv
Scr supv
DETAILS
Release Date:
28 July 1957
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
B & H Productions, Inc.
16 July 1957
LP8638
Physical Properties:
Sound
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
66
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
18269
SYNOPSIS

After Susan Winters’ fiancé, Bruce Burton, is reported missing in a plane crash in Mexico, she organizes a search party to fly into a mountainous area to look for him. In addition to Susan, the group includes Martin Melville, a stock speculator who believes there is uranium in the mountains and has partially financed the trip, Russ Bradford, a bacteriologist friend of Burton and hired pilot Lee Brand. After they land their light plane in Guayjorm, Susan is denied permission to proceed by the local governor, who is very suspicious of the group’s motives for being there. The governor orders them to leave and assigns an officer to accompany them out of Mexico. At the airstrip, however, Melville knocks out the officer and they take off for the area where Bruce’s small plane was known to have crashed. Melville becomes very excited when a meter he is carrying indicates large uranium deposits in the mountains. Suddenly the plane hits air pockets and Melville panics, knocks out Lee and takes over control of the plane. From the seat behind Melville, Russ tries to regain control as they hurtle toward the ground, but Lee recovers in time to land the plane safely. When Melville confirms that the rocks are rich in uranium, he wants to leave immediately to file a claim, but the others remind him of the true purpose of the search. The next day as Susan and Russ set off on foot to the site of Bruce’s crash, Russ tells her that he is in love with her and is tired of competing with a man who is probably dead. After coming upon a giant bird attacking a giant ...

More Less

After Susan Winters’ fiancé, Bruce Burton, is reported missing in a plane crash in Mexico, she organizes a search party to fly into a mountainous area to look for him. In addition to Susan, the group includes Martin Melville, a stock speculator who believes there is uranium in the mountains and has partially financed the trip, Russ Bradford, a bacteriologist friend of Burton and hired pilot Lee Brand. After they land their light plane in Guayjorm, Susan is denied permission to proceed by the local governor, who is very suspicious of the group’s motives for being there. The governor orders them to leave and assigns an officer to accompany them out of Mexico. At the airstrip, however, Melville knocks out the officer and they take off for the area where Bruce’s small plane was known to have crashed. Melville becomes very excited when a meter he is carrying indicates large uranium deposits in the mountains. Suddenly the plane hits air pockets and Melville panics, knocks out Lee and takes over control of the plane. From the seat behind Melville, Russ tries to regain control as they hurtle toward the ground, but Lee recovers in time to land the plane safely. When Melville confirms that the rocks are rich in uranium, he wants to leave immediately to file a claim, but the others remind him of the true purpose of the search. The next day as Susan and Russ set off on foot to the site of Bruce’s crash, Russ tells her that he is in love with her and is tired of competing with a man who is probably dead. After coming upon a giant bird attacking a giant rat, they return to the plane where Susan takes possession of the ignition keys as she fears Melville may bribe Lee to take off without them. When Russ and the others witness a fight between a giant iguana and a giant lizard, Melville becomes even more determined to leave, but Russ tells him they will all leave together once their mission is accomplished. In order to determine how the animals in the area have grown to be so enormous, Russ removes skin tissue from the dying iguana and, after examining it in a microscope, determines that there is no limit to the potential size of the animals as their cells, stimulated by radioactivity, are continuously subdividing. Russ then warns the others that they are in danger of being similarly affected and they should all leave as soon as possible. The next morning, Susan sets off alone and finds a wing section of Bruce’s plane, then is abducted. Her screams lead the others to a cave where they find more wreckage, Bruce’s flight jacket and watch and the hysterical Susan. Suddenly, a giant, twenty-five foot tall, male human, with a hideously deformed face and only one eye, blocks the exit from the cave and roars threateningly at the group. That night, when the Cyclops attempts to communicate with the group, Susan tells him her name, but Melville picks up a rifle and shoots at him. The Cyclops retaliates by killing Melville, then lifts Susan up and places her on a rock outside the cave. When a giant snake threatens Susan, the Cyclops rescues her, and in the chaos Russ and Lee escape from the cave. Suddenly realizing that the giant might once have been her fiancé, Susan becomes emotionally distraught. After the Cyclops falls asleep, Russ, Lee and Susan run back to the plane and are about to take off when the Cyclops reappears and they are forced to flee. Russ then creates a burning stake, which he launches into the Cyclops’ eye, mortally wounding him. Susan, Lee and Russ start the plane and manage to take off as the Cyclops once again approaches. Russ comforts Susan as she looks down on what was once her fiancé.

Less

Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

TOP SEARCHES

Blue Movie

The 25 Jun 1969 Var review noted that Blue Movie was shot in Sep 1968 in New York City. Along with several other contemporary sources, ... >>

Nobody Lives Forever

A 6 Aug 1941 HR news item notes that Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan were to star in the film, and a 25 Nov 1941 news item ... >>

Champion

A Jan 1949 NYT news item reported that producer Stanley Kramer had made Champion in twenty-four days for a modest $595,000 as a result of ... >>

Back to the Future

       According to production notes from AMPAS library files, writer-director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale began work on the screenplay in fall 1980, aiming to tell a story ... >>

Easy Rider

In an interview published in the 20 Jul 1969 NYT, Dennis Hopper recalled his first experience directing a scene in the 1967 picture, The Trip ... >>

The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.