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during scenes in which firearms are used, the muzzles of the guns are usually out of shot when the weapons are fired. During scenes of gunplay, many characters appear at first to have suffered life-threatening bullet wounds, only to appear in later scenes fully recovered with no visible signs of having been wounded. Extensive narration is used in lieu of plot points being conveyed through dialogue. Film historian Bill Warren stated "The AFI catalog says (the film) may have been reissued in 1964 as
484:
495:. The murderer is dressed like Javorsky after the blast, but the murder is never mentioned during the actual film, nor is there any apparent time and/or place in the film where it could be said to occur. According to an interview with producer Cardoza by film historian Tom Weaver, the scene was added after the film was complete because director Francis liked
593:
released the film on June 7, 2005, and again on August 23 as a part of several multi-disc collections; Mill Creek
Entertainment released the film on July 5, 2005. In 2006, it was released by Digiview Entertainment and ST Clair Vision on May 9 and October 17, respectively. ST Clair Vision re-released
283:
Meanwhile, a vacationing family ventures along the same road. After stopping at a service station, the family's two young sons wander off into the surrounding desert where they eventually encounter and escape from the mutated
Javorsky. Their father searches for them but is mistaken for the killer by
460:
The movie was filmed without a soundtrack. Narration, voice-overs and some sound effects were added in post-production. To avoid having to synchronize the audio to the picture, characters speak only when their faces are either off-screen or not clearly visible due to darkness or distance. Likewise,
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assassins, who kill
Javorsky's contacts and bodyguards. Javorsky flees into the desert, walking for a great distance, and the searing heat causes him to discard much of his clothing. When he wanders in range of an American nuclear test, the bewildered Russian is transformed by it into a mindless
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awarded the film one star, or "BOMB", calling it "one of the worst films ever made". In his review, Maltin criticized the overuse of voiceover narration, and an opening sequence unrelated to the main story. Bruce Eder from
506:) were edited to show the woman clothed for the duration of the scene (running 81 seconds), with the only nudity being a brief flash of the breast as she towels herself in front of a mirror. The prints used for the 2000
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have a slightly longer version of the scene (running 98 seconds), where the woman is shown naked as she puts on a pair of underwear, with both breasts visible several times before she is shown walking out of the room.
472:, the film's closing scene in which Johnson's character, expressing a final bit of humanity, embraces a jackrabbit, was not planned; a wild rabbit entered the shot while the camera was rolling, and Johnson improvised.
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it on June 26, 2007. Releases by Direct Source and Mill Creek
Entertainment, as part of multi-film collections, also appeared in 2007. ST Clair Vision re-released the film one more time on May 20, 2008. In 2010,
435:, which has been called "the most irradiated, nuclear-blasted spot on the face of the earth". In 1970, nine years after the film was made, 86 workers were exposed to radiation during the Yucca Flat
556:
awarded the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "In an honest attempt to make a brief protest picture, the producers apparently didn't have enough money to accord this any sort of production value."
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The first scene in the film is the strangulation murder of a woman (played by Lanell Cado) who has just stepped out of a shower, by a man whose face is never shown; it is implied that the killer
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one of the police officers, who is searching for the murderer from the air in a small plane. The officer opens fire with a high-powered rifle on the innocent man, who manages to escape.
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panned the film, criticizing the film's "pretentious and obtuse narration" and further stating, "The most enjoyable aspect of this movie is its remarkably short running time".
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beast with an uncontrollable urge to kill. He proceeds to murder a couple in their car on a nearby road, prompting pursuit from police officers Jim Archer and Joe Dobson.
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identified the accident as one of the world's worst nuclear disasters. Actual shooting locations for the film were all in
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236:(in his last film role) as "the Beast". It stars Anthony Cardoza, Coleman Francis and Jim Oliphant in bit parts, as well as
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on
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in a very small role. Director
Francis cast his two sons (Ronald and Alan Francis) in the film as the two lost boys.
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589:(1953). It was released as a part of a 12-disc "Horror Classics Collection" by Digital 1 Stop on January 20, 2004.
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awarded the film their lowest rating, calling it "A really cheap, quasi-nuclear protest film." On his website
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Some critics have characterized the film as one of the worst science fiction horror films made, and
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Keep
Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition
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later nuzzles his dying body, and using the last of his strength, he caresses it before dying.
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was universally panned by critics upon its release, with many considering it one of the
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Eventually, the family is reunited and the police shoot and mortally wound
Javorsky. A
602:. On August 20, 2013, Mill Creek released it as part of a 3-disc, 12-film collection,
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on
November 18, 2003, and by Image Entertainment on December 30, 2003, as a part of a
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Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc.
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Nuclear America: Military and Civilian Nuclear Power in the United States 1940–1980
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THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS / CONRAD BROOKS VS. THE WEREWOLF|Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
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The plot concerns a Soviet scientist named Joseph Jaworsky (Tor Johnson), who
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765:"The Grand Tor: Anthony Cardoza recalls the Fallout from Yucca Flats"
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The setting for the film, "Yucca Flats", was based on the real-life
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606:. The film was last released by Echo Bridge on September 1, 2015.
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Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema, 1951–1967
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Leonard Maltin; Spencer Green; Rob Edelman (January 2010).
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was released three separate times by TNT Media Group and
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A Year of Fear: A Day-by-Day Guide to 366 Horror Films
1022:"The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) - Coleman Francis"
475:The film's total budget was estimated at $ 34,000.
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1150:is available for free viewing and download at the
722:Gerald H. Clarfield and William M. Wiecek (1984).
1317:English-language science fiction horror films
8:
618:, even suggesting that it may be worse than
499:. Some prints (such as the one used for the
616:one of the all-time worst films of any kind
638:, helping the film develop a cult status.
487:A still shot from the opening murder scene
29:
20:
409:as Gas Station Attendant/Newspaper Patron
758:
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628:. In 1995, the television comedy series
211:Atomic Monster: The Beast of Yucca Flats
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232:The film stars Swedish former wrestler
946:. Gale/Cengage Learning. p. 116.
699:
687:
1247:American science fiction horror films
841:
787:"Anthony Cardoza's Tor of the Desert"
726:, Harper & Row, New York, p. 202.
550:Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
7:
1120:Horror and Science Fiction Films III
889:Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
943:VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
780:
778:
545:VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
1322:English-language independent films
1257:Crown International Pictures films
1242:1960s science fiction horror films
967:Sindelar, Dave (January 4, 2016).
653:List of films considered the worst
14:
1297:Films directed by Coleman Francis
1096:Warren, Bill (January 12, 2017).
995:"The Beast Of Yucca Flats Review"
969:"The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)"
914:"The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)"
331:Ronald Francis as Randy Radcliffe
229:, Roland Morin and Jim Oliphant.
604:The Best of the Worst Film Pack
1252:American black-and-white films
648:List of American films of 1961
600:Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
355:as KGB Driver/Helpful Neighbor
1:
1075:Bogue, Mike (July 20, 2017).
737:"The Worst Nuclear Disasters"
16:1961 film by Coleman Francies
1292:1961 directorial debut films
1262:1960s English-language films
1175:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
824:. McFarland & Co., Inc.
631:Mystery Science Theater 3000
502:Mystery Science Theater 3000
304:as Joseph Javorsky/The Beast
973:Fantastic Movie Musings.com
208:(released to television as
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1267:American independent films
1117:Willis, Donald C. (1984).
869:"The Beast of Yucca Flats"
457:(opening scene interior).
533:. Author and film critic
385:as Man Who Reports Murder
35:Theatrical release poster
28:
1215:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1204:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1193:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1182:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1169:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1158:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1051:The Beast of Yucca Flats
857:(DVD). AlphaVideo. 2003.
855:The Beast of Yucca Flats
791:The Astounding B Monster
769:The Astounding B Monster
636:The Beast of Yucca Flats
596:The Beast of Yucca Flats
565:The Beast of Yucca Flats
527:The Beast of Yucca Flats
379:as Motorist Run Off Road
221:written and directed by
205:The Beast of Yucca Flats
24:The Beast of Yucca Flats
1287:American monster movies
1217:at Movie-Censorship.com
625:Plan 9 from Outer Space
361:as Javorsky's Bodyguard
1312:1961 independent films
567:was first released on
488:
468:According to producer
453:(airplane scenes) and
343:as Vacationing Husband
1147:Beast Of Yucca Flats
940:Jim Craddock (2011).
892:. Plume. p. 43.
531:worst films ever made
486:
225:. It was produced by
153:May 2, 1961
1307:1960s American films
1277:Films set in deserts
1272:1960s monster movies
873:Movie-Censorship.com
820:Senn, Bryan (2007).
479:Opening murder scene
373:as Javorsky's Driver
257:omniscient narration
1282:Films set in Nevada
1123:. Scarecrow Press.
622:'s notoriously bad
573:Image Entertainment
349:as Vacationing Wife
1209:TCM Movie Database
749:on March 30, 2009.
586:Mesa of Lost Women
489:
403:as Strangled Woman
391:as Man at Airfield
1237:1961 horror films
1130:978-0-8108-1723-4
1109:978-1-4766-2505-8
1088:978-1-4766-6841-3
1059:on July 18, 2011.
953:978-1-4144-4878-7
899:978-0-452-29577-3
830:978-0-7864-3196-0
677:The Annotated MST
510:DVD and the 2003
449:(desert scenes),
439:. In March 2009,
421:as Police Officer
419:Joseph Luis Rubin
328:as Lois Radcliffe
322:as Hank Radcliffe
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140:Cinema Associates
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353:Anthony Cardoza
326:Barbara Francis
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227:Anthony Cardoza
223:Coleman Francis
197:$ 34,000 (est.)
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146:Release date
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70:Jim Oliphant
68:Roland Morin
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1047:Begg, Ken.
1006:November 5,
925:November 5,
700:Willis 1984
688:Warren 2017
577:Alpha Video
512:Alpha Video
497:nude scenes
401:Lanell Cado
397:as News Boy
377:Eric Tomlin
302:Tor Johnson
253:Yucca Flats
234:Tor Johnson
219:horror film
83:Tor Johnson
59:Produced by
41:Directed by
1232:1961 films
1226:Categories
1028:. AllMovie
842:Bogue 2017
832:. Page 280
811:. Page 733
664:References
658:Yucca Flat
560:Home media
433:Yucca Flat
427:Production
314:Larry Aten
289:jackrabbit
173:54 minutes
157:1961-05-02
128:Gene Kauer
102:John Cagle
72:Larry Aten
51:Written by
634:featured
522:Reception
371:Jim Miles
109:Edited by
1163:AllMovie
1000:TV Guide
919:AllMovie
642:See also
554:TV Guide
540:AllMovie
455:Van Nuys
186:Language
125:Music by
79:Starring
1207:at the
1172:at the
1068:Sources
620:Ed Wood
504:episode
251:called
245:defects
216:B-movie
189:English
178:Country
155: (
1127:
1106:
1085:
950:
896:
828:
807:
610:Legacy
451:Saugus
269:Nevada
194:Budget
583:with
1187:IMDb
1125:ISBN
1104:ISBN
1083:ISBN
1034:2018
1008:2014
981:2018
948:ISBN
927:2014
894:ISBN
826:ISBN
805:ISBN
742:Time
442:Time
295:Cast
263:Plot
1196:at
1185:at
1161:at
571:by
569:DVD
515:DVD
277:KGB
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