Eegah
| Eegah | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Nicholas Merriwether |
| Produced by | Nicholas Merriwether |
| Screenplay by | Bob Wehling |
| Story by | Nicholas Merriwether |
| Starring |
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| Music by | André Brummer |
| Cinematography | Vilis Lapenieks |
| Edited by | Don Schneider |
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Production
company |
Fairway International Pictures
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| Distributed by | Fairway International Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000 |
Eegah (also known as Eegah: The Name Written in Blood) is a 1962 American horror film directed and produced by Arch Hall, Sr. (credited as Nicholas Merriwether), written by Bob Wehling based on a story by Hall Sr., and starring Hall Sr., Hall Jr., Marilyn Manning and Richard Kiel in the title role.
The film's notoriety was enhanced as a result of being featured on episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Elvira's Movie Macabre, and was said by many to be an all-time worst film and one of the films listed in Michael Medved's book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.
One night after shopping, Roxy Miller (Marilyn Manning) is driving to a party through the California desert when she nearly runs her car into Eegah (Richard Kiel), a giant caveman. She tells her boyfriend Tom Nelson (Arch Hall, Jr.) and her father Robert Miller (Arch Hall, Sr.) about the giant. Her father, a writer of adventure books, decides to go into the desert to look for the creature and possibly take a photograph of it. When his helicopter ride fails to show up at his designated pickup time, Tom and Roxy go looking for him.
Roxy is soon kidnapped by Eegah and taken back to his cave while Tom searches for her. In Eegah's cave, Roxy is reunited with her father, who tells her that he has begun to communicate with the caveman and has developed a theory as to the creature's astounding longevity. When a frisky Eegah expresses what seems to be romantic interest in Roxy, her father, fearful that the creature may kill them both if he is rebuffed, suggests she put up with as much of it as she can bear. Eegah never tries anything too explicit, though, and Roxy even ends up giving him a shave before Tom arrives and helps the Millers escape. Crushed, Eegah follows them back to civilization, a final confrontation ensues, and Eegah is killed.
Following the financial success of his first venture into the drive-in/juvenile delinquency genre, The Choppers, Arch Hall, Sr. was able to fund Eegah, a starring vehicle for his son, Arch Hall, Jr., who had some success with songwriter Alan O'Day on the rock and roll/surf rock scene in Los Angeles. Hall, Sr. both co-wrote the film with Bob Wehling, directed the picture under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriweather, and co-starred opposite his son under the name William Watters. While the library music used to underscore the picture was supplied by André Brummer (under the name Henri Price), an uncredited O'Day ended up being the music editor on Eegah.
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