Village of the Giants
| Village of the Giants | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Produced by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Written by | Bert I. Gordon Alan Caillou |
| Based on |
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth 1904 novel by H.G. Wells |
| Starring |
Tommy Kirk Johnny Crawford Beau Bridges Joy Harmon Robert Random Tisha Sterling |
| Music by |
Jack Nitzsche The Beau Brummels |
| Cinematography | Paul Vogel |
| Edited by | John A. Bushelman |
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Production
company |
Berkeley Productions
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| Distributed by |
Embassy Pictures (original release) Columbia Pictures (television syndication) MGM (Video and DVD release) |
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Release date
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Running time
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81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $750,000 |
Village of the Giants is a 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie with many elements of the beach party film genre. It was produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon, and based loosely on H.G. Wells's book The Food of the Gods. The story revolves mostly around a chemical substance called "Goo", which causes giant growth in living things, and what happens after a gang of rebellious youngsters get their hands on it. The cast was mostly teens, or young actors playing teens; The Beau Brummels, Freddy Cannon, and Mike Clifford make musical guest appearances.
The movie was a low-budget exploitation film and not a huge hit (released mostly to drive-ins as part of a double bill), but had some notable use of special effects and undoubted sex appeal, and went on to become a cult classic. The movie proved far more successful years later, when released on home video.
Village of the Giants takes place in fictional Hainesville, California. After crashing their car into a roadblock during a rainstorm, a group of partying, big-city teenagers (Fred, Pete, Rick, Harry, and their girlfriends Merrie, Elsa, Georgette and Jean) first indulge in a vigorous, playful mud-wrestling fight, then hike their way into town. Fred remembers meeting a girl from Hainesville named Nancy, and they decide to look her up.
Nancy, meanwhile, is with her boyfriend Mike, while her younger brother "Genius" plays with his chemistry set in the basement. Genius accidentally creates a substance he names "Goo", that, when consumed, causes animals, including a pair of ducks, to grow to gigantic size.
The out-of-town teens break into the local theater and clean up from the rain, then go to a nearby club where The Beau Brummels are performing. Shortly, the giant ducks turn up, followed by Mike and Nancy. Everyone is astounded by the size of the ducks, wondering how they got so big. Mike explains that it's a secret, but following a suggestion made by their friends Horsey and Red, they host a picnic in the town square the next day, roasting the ducks and feeding everybody. Freddy Cannon is featured singing a song in this scene.
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Wikipedia