Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
“Crawling terror 20 feet high rises from the depths!”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
A swamp-bound creature feature from the Roger and Gene Corman B-movie factory, Attack of the Giant Leeches runs a lean 62 minutes and wastes little of it. Game warden Steve Benton refuses to buy the official "alligator" story after a local turns up dead near the Everglades, and his hunch leads to a colony of intelligent, oversized leeches that herd their human prey into a flooded grotto and feed on them at leisure. Director Bernard L. Kowalski stages the picture as a stew of small-town jealousy, adultery and Cold War radiation paranoia, with the monsters themselves kept largely to the shadows until the climactic dynamite blast. Shot in eight days for around 70,000 dollars at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, it became a drive-in staple and remains a beloved slice of late-fifties schlock.
Cast
About the Director
Bernard L. Kowalski — Bernard L. Kowalski made this as one of a trio of quickies for the Corman brothers early in a career that later moved into television and bigger-budget genre work. With almost no money for effects, the leeches were improvised as stunt divers in stitched black raincoats or garbage bags, after Paul Blaisdell turned the job down for being underfunded. Kowalski leans into atmosphere and human melodrama to paper over the monster budget.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Attack of the Giant Leeches is in the public domain in the United States because its original copyright was never renewed; the U.S. Copyright Office shows no renewal record in the years renewal was due, so the copyright lapsed and the film entered the public domain.
Behind the Scenes
Produced by Gene Corman under the Balboa Productions banner and released by American International Pictures on October 1, 1959, the film went out on a double bill with A Bucket of Blood. It was retitled Demons of the Swamp for British release. Star Yvette Vickers had appeared as a Playboy Playmate months before the premiere.
Did You Know?
- The monster suits were reportedly built from black raincoats or plastic garbage bags after effects man Paul Blaisdell said the budget wouldn't even cover his materials.
- The whole picture was shot in roughly eight days, with the cave scenes filmed at the old Charlie Chaplin Studios.
- It was lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1992, cementing its cult status.
Reception & Legacy
Critics have always graded it on the curve of its budget: Leonard Maltin gave it a star and a half, calling it a "ludicrous hybrid," yet it is fondly remembered as a drive-in favorite with picturesque swamp locations.
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