Man Beast

1956 "Hair-raising excitement in the icy lair of man-like creatures roaming the roof of the world!"
4.2| 1h2m| en| More Info
Released: 05 December 1956 Released
Producted By: Jerry Warren Productions Inc.
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Connie Hayward mounts an expedition into the Himalayan Mountains looking for her brother, who has not returned from a previous trek trying to locate the Yeti, or "Abominable Snowman". Arriving at her brother's last-known camp Connie and her companions find only a strange old guide, Varga. They are soon attacked by gigantic Snowmen but are not half as surprised as when Vargas reveals his secret origin and the plans he has for Connie.

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Cast

Asa Maynor

Director

Producted By

Jerry Warren Productions Inc.

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Reviews

mark.waltz The search for the mysterious Yeti takes a group of scientists into an expedition they fear that they might not survive and an adventure that if they do, they'll never forget. Stranded in the middle of a freezing wilderness, a group of explorers are rescued by scientists searching for a link between pre-historic and modern man. Frozen in time, the Yeti suddenly appear out of nowhere. Are they friendly links to a long ago past or monsters? This gives the audience the chance to figure this out for themselves and see the humans both as monster and civilized man, while surprising revelations come out that among the science fiction nonsense might get the audience thinking. This is probably the best of the Jerry Warren no budget thrillers, certainly as far from a masterpiece as one can be, but at least with a minimum of imagination put into it. There's really hardly any acting involved; In fact, the cast are among the lousiest non reactors that I have ever seen. What makes this even more curious is the fact that even in the midst of this frigid cold, the men all wear hats with feathers in them as if they were climbing the Alps to yodel. When the Yeti does appear, you never really get to feel anything but sorry for them, because it is their space which is (once again) being invaded by "civilized" man. There are some truly horrific sequences where a few members of the traveling party fall what seems indefinitely off of the jagged, rocky cliffs. I guess since the other two on the DVD collection are either just pathetically bad or sleep-inducing boring that this one gets marks for simply becoming tolerable.
Darius Klein When I was a kid, "Man-Beast" was one of my favorite Saturday morning TV low-budget "shockers" - at 67 minutes, it's not hard on one's attention span, and there's a fair amount of footage of the eponymous monsters. I also liked the exotic Himalayan locales (brought to cinematic life via loads of stock footage - probably half of the film is stock footage, in fact - and a somewhat ridiculous looking "village" in the first scene).when view by an adult, "Man-Beast" is still fun for those reasons, even if one looks at it with more of a jaundiced eye. The acting ranges from laughable (the heroine) to surprisingly good (the villainous Varga), and the Yeti costume, while not exactly state-of-the-art, still delivers the requisite monster action. The stock footage of Alpine hikers is fairly seamlessly incorporated into the remainder of the film - it's no worse than the stock footage found in, say, "Lost Horizon", and better than the African safari stock footage of "Monster from Green Hell".*SPOILER* The climactic scene in which Varga reveals the nature of his parentage to the professor is likewise more effectively scary than one might expect, although I didn't quite know what to make of his "half-Yeti" costume - it looked like his torso was wrapped in cellophane. (But then, goofy moments like these are one of the reasons that "Man-Beast" and its ilk are still legitimate entertainment after all these years ...)***
BaronBl00d No illusions from me here. This movie is bad. Real bad. In fact, it's a stinker. A woman and a guy named "Hud"(wants to be her boyfriend I think) hire he-man/guide into the Himalayas Steve Cameron to find her brother. Turns out her brother is part of an expedition to find the famed yeti creatures. Well, along the journey we meet up with the lead professor of the mission and his native guide named Varga. Are there yeti creatures? Big surprise. Are they made up fairly interestingly? Not real bad. What is real bad is the acting. It is bad and everyone in the movie is bad. The woman playing Connie looks off to the side trying to feign interest while wearing enough make-up in the Himalayas to be mistaken for a hooker! The guy playing Steve is even worse. Catch the scene where he and Connie are talking at the fire near the beginning. He actually looks like he is looking directly into the camera lens with virtually no shame. The gentleman playing the rounded, bald professor fairs just a tinge better, and the best performance of all these bad ones goes to the guy playing Varga. He at least can ham it up a bit. The story makes no sense when you hear the resolution. It is in its favor a very short film and is mildly entertaining for all of its faults and flaws.
ubik-11 This was the unequaled Jerry Warren's first production. He didn't write it so it's not as goofy as, say, "The Wild World of Batwoman" or "Frankenstein Island". For a low-budget B-movie it does alright for itself. There are probably too many shots of people hiking in the mountains, but the dialogue seems realistic in most scenes and the story does build nicely to an unexpected climax. In fact, Varga's revelation is kind of creepy. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to find it, but if it came across my path I'd check it out.