Customer Reviews

Trog [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Great/Bad grade Z junk. For fans of "Psychotronic" type films which feature bad science, horrible make-up, stupid dialogue, and unbelievable plots. Star, Joan Crawford, in her best bad role as a totally unbelievable female scientist who studies a fake looking ape man ("Trog")found in a local cave. Look for the Pepsi product placements (Joan was married to the chairman of Pepsi at the time). Trog hates rock music! When Joan's foolish assistant plays him some (on a cheap transistor radio) he goes nuts, beaks out of his fake looking cage, and hangs a local resident on a meat hook in anger! Poor Trog is just misunderstood. Its not easy being the missing link in the 1970's. The scenes where Joan interacts and tries to communicate with Trog are especially noteworthy for their utter stupidity. The slightly stuck up and "proper" British setting only magnifies the ridiculous aspects of the film. When you are tired of watching all those Discovery Channel documentaries on Java man, etc., give this film a viewing. You won't get them mixed up.

.....TROG is finally coming out on DVD! This is a sad yet funny movie, as it's really generally quite awful, but also Joan Crawford's final film roll. All the classics she starred in and it ends with her feeding a man in a bad prehistoric-ape costume 'fish and lizards'. Pour a glass of wine, pop this baby in, sit back and watch one of my favorite great-bad movies ever. Just like scientist Cliff, you'll keep repeating, "Like I have never seen......"

"Trog", the last film in the illustrous career of film legend Joan Crawford has gone done into cinematic history as one of the biggest and most embarrassing "monster", movies ever to be conceived. Joan Crawford of course nowadays is sadly fair game for any type of attack and "Trog", is a favourite target by her many detractors. Harsh summaries of it run to the fact that Crawford was supposedly drunk all the way through production, that it had one of the lowest budgets of any horror film made in England and that it made Crawford totally unemployable after its release thus becoming the sad final note in a brilliant career. Certainly no masterpiece, "Trog", despite some laughable moments is far from the worst horror film ever made and for Joan Crawford's as always totally committed performance despite the material she has to work with, alone is worth seeing. It marked the second time in two years that movie offers from producer Herman Cohen had brought Joan Crawford to England for filming, (Berserk! in 1968 being the other), and she fitted in excellently with the often gifted British performers, like Michael Gough, Diana Dors and Robert Hardy who supported her in these productions. Despite comments to the contrary Joan Crawford is well and truly in control of her character in this little horror effort and certainly makes "Trog", far more entertaining viewing than it probably deserves to be considering its budget.

Crawford plays Anthropologist Dr. Brockton who works at a rural research centre in England and is involved in the study of early man's development from the Apes. While hiking in the neighbouring moors some local students discover a fisher has opened up and they climb down to investigate the caverns below. Unfortunately they also disturb a very primitive form of life in the caves who is half man, half prehistoric ape. The creature attacks and kills one of the boys and drives one of the others into hysteria. Recuperating at the clinic after their ordeal the incident arouses the interest of Dr. Brockton who's student Malcolm Travers (David Griffin)was part of the group. Taken on board for the summer by Dr. Brockton as her assistant the two go back to investigate the caves and manage to photograph the creature which she believes could possibly be the missing link. However Dr. Brockton however has a hard time convincing the authorities about the significance of her find with local opinion fuelled by the hostile reaction in particular of local resident Sam Murdock (Michael Gough). He firmly advocates destroying the creature before it causes trouble in the community. Aroused from its liar by a camera crew the troglodite, or cave dweller comes to the surface and Dr. Brockton succeeds in tranquilising the creature long enough to get it safely back to the lab. Once there she begins a program with the assistance of Malcolm and her daughter Anne (Kim Braden), to "civilize" Trog and orient it with the present world. The publicity arouses the further anger of Sam Murdock who after an unsuccessful hearing to try and get the creature destroyed, decides to take matters into his own hands. One evening he breaks into the lab and releases Trog however he pays for the foolish action with his life. Trog then proceeds to go on a rampage in the local town, killing shopkeepers, overturning cars and abducting a small child from a playground and taking the unconsious child back to the caves. Now bent on the creatures destruction the police close in and against their orders Dr. Brockton climbs down into the cavern and manages to get Trog to surrender the child. However Trog's fate is sealed as the police despite Dr. Brockton's pleas for more time to calm him, move in and shoot him upon which Trog falls on a wooden stake and dies.

"B" movie nonsense perhaps but there are far worse stories that have been turned into horror stories. "Trog", despite being such a small production boasts very worthy credits in direction by skilled Hammer horror veteran Freddie Francis and a writing team that includes Peter Bryan and John Gilling who was also a most capable director of horror with the celebrated "Plague of the Zombies", to his credit. "Trog", certainly has a number of laughable moments in particular the doctor's absurb "orientation" program involving Trog playing with wind up dolls and the long flashback sequence where through the wonders of technology Trog can see back to the dinosaur age. No reason is ever given for why these experiements on Trog are such breakthrough measures and especially funny is when all the world wide "experts" gather and marvel about Trog's progress and uttering of one word "blue". That aside the film is an enjoyable horror effort. Actor Joe Cornelius who played Trog had an original and interesting monster garb and Joan Crawford brings a seriousness and determination to her role as the crusading doctor that belies the films "B" story. Certainly it is not "Mildred Pierce", or even "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", but it is not a total disgrace either. Crawford's last scene in the movie which of course became her last moments on the cinematic screen after a 50 year career sees her walking away sadly from the camera into the distance and I feel that is in some ways a fitting end to a brilliant Hollywood career.

Laughed at by the critics and now a "cult" favourite with those that like camp movies "Trog", is worth a look. No great cinema art it has a basic story that depite some absurd moments is quite interesting and even with it's low budget like alot of "B" efforts still manages to have an outward polish to it that makes it fun to watch. As the last film in Joan Crawford's career it has it's own curiosity value and no collection of her work is complete without this infamous little horror effort. Enjoy!

It was a rather low-budget movie, made overseas. But, Miss Crawford being the consummate professional that she (always) was took this movie very seriously. To Joan, "Trog" was still a Hollywood masterpiece; and she gave just as much effort in "Trog" as she did in her Academy-Award winning defining film, "Mildred Pierce."

Joan plays Dr. Brockton, an anthropologist who is studying "Trog," the "missing link." As you already know, this is Joan's last picture. She is still stunning, looking and sounding amazing. The first time I watched this picture I was expecting it to be very poor (because of what I heard about it) but I was very surprised that it was not what I expected. The story is actually very decent and I really enjoyed Joan's character because Dr. Brockton was different from many of the other roles Joan played over the years.

My favorite part of the movie is when Joan dramatically screams "TROG!!!" It's such an over-the-top moment and so theatrical.

Although this is Joan's final "movie" she worked well into the '70s, her last major theatrical performance was on the anthology series "The Sixth Sense."

No, Joan wasn't proud of "Trog" (or of any of the movies she made during the last 10 years of her career). We have to remember that the girl still needed to work and we also have to remember that her cumulative contribution as a whole is not based on this movie. Do not judge Joan based on a b-picture that she made 40+++ years into her career because she took these roles to survive, thinking the storylines and scripts were unusual and unique.

Upon a reflective moment, once commenting on this movie specifically, Joan said that if she wasn't a devout Christian she would have "contemplated suicide" had she seen her name up on the "Trog" marquee. She knew exactly what "Trog" was but she gave it her best shot. Instead of tearing this movie apart and degrading Joan's name, let's celebrate all of the good that she did throughout her career. Joan was always a beautiful star (who was just as beautiful on the inside) and should not be looked down on now simply because she made a few b-pictures.

After reading many harsh reviews of Trog over the internet I came to the conclusion that I should avoid this movie no matter how much I like Joan Crawford. However last week I stumbled upon a brand-new copy of Trog at a flea market, and seeing Joan on the cover made me pick this up in an instant(true fans will buy anything, just see how many Bette Davis fans have bought Wicked Stepmother). I didn't think that Trog was that bad, sure their were some ludicrous scenes, even laughable ones, but overall I thought the film was enjoyable on a campy & nostalgic level, and of course because Joan was in it. However, people who watch this film that aren't Joan Crawford fans may find it a complete waste of time as it is often illogical and silly, whereas us Joan fans enjoy it for her. Crawford fans will be amazed to see that at one point in the film she is in Trog's cave on her hands and knees calling "Trog...Trog" and often shouts her lines while wearing bright coloured lab coats. If you love old campy films, don't care if they make any sense, enjoy a good old classic monster feature, and are a very undiscriminating film-watcher then Trog will be enjoyable for you. Joan Crawford fans will love it just because she's in it.

This 1970 British flick mingles elements of "Planet of the Apes," "Frankenstein" and various Sasquatch tales: The scenes where Joan studies Trog are like a flipped around version of the scenes in "Planet of the Apes" where the female doctor chimp analyzes Charlton Heston. "Frankenstein" comes to mind because of the fairly sympathetic portrayal of the half-man/half-ape and his gentle treatment of a little girl.

Some refer to this as "campy" but I don't get this; the story is played completely straight. There's no silliness to be seen.

The ape make-up is similar to that of "Planet of the Apes," albeit with a more protruding maw. In fact, it looks like someone dug the ape-ish mask out of the trash for the set of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

This was Joan Crawford's final film and was/is heavily panned. I don't understand this because it's not really THAT bad. The biggest problem is that it seems very half-hearted; like the writer/director/cast all knew this was going to be a mediocre flick and so just went through the motions, not giving it their all. The ending is a prime example: It just awkwardly ends with no oomph or style.

What makes "Trog" an essential purchase is the stunningly beautiful Kim Braden, who plays Joan's daughter/assistant "Anne." Kim is fully clothed at all times, usually wearing cute short-skirted outfits, proving that attractiveness is WAY more than a mere matter of showing skin. Trust me, if you're a red-blooded male it's very difficult to take your eyes off her -- MAN is she a CUTIE! I'm surprised other reviewers haven't noted this. Interestingly, Kim went on to play Captain Picard's wife in the Nexus in the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations."

If you want to find out about the real-life tragedies and troubles behind the making of Trog, check out Curse of the Silver Screen - Tragedy & Disaster Behind the Movies by John W. Law in the book section.

For ardent Joan Crawford fans it was distressing when it was announced that Warner Brothers would be releasing "Trog" on DVD because at the time of the DVD release there were many better Crawford films that had yet to be released in this manner. Buy this film only if you are a true Crawford fan, not because the movie is good or a classic. Even Joan Crawford hated the film once saying after its release, "if I had seen Trog advertised on a marquee and if I wasn't a Christian Scientist I would have contemplated suicide". Joan did the film because at this time in her life Hollywood had turned its back on her. The film was shot in England during the summer of 1969 and it was the second film she did for Herman Cohen (the first being "Berserk!"). Crawford even supplied her own wardrobe often getting ready for scenes in the back seat of her car. Like Joan stated "any films that I did after "Baby Jane" were terrible. I did them for the money or because I was bored or broke or both. I hope they have all been withdrawn and are never heard from again". Joan played a scientist who befriends an ape-like man who goes on a killing rampage. Even at 65, though, Crawford looked impeccable and she acted as though she were filming "Grand Hotel". She gave this film her all although she probably knew it was the end of her acting career. The saddest part about this movie is not just the fact that it was Crawford's last film performance but the fact that Crawford's role as a wonderful Hollywood actress had come to an end because she was older. It saddens me to think how an industry that made millions off Crawford had turned its back on her. Joan would continue to have a few roles in TV shows up until 1972 then she fully retired becoming a recluse. "Trog" does contain the trailer that accompanied the film's release but there are no bonus features. God Bless you Joan.

For trashy "B" movie lovers - Trog Rules! It has all the elements one looks for in campy movies, with the infamous Joan Crawford center stage. As scientist Dr. Brockton, Crawford delivers a credible performance with all the poise of a legendary film star. The Trog creature is enjoyable to watch and actor Joe Cornelius does a fine job displaying a variety of emotions. The movie is of the Hammer Horror genre with some great scares (Trog jumping out of the screen at you several times), some skin (young British cave explorers strip down to their underwear), and blood (several gruesome Trog killings, especially the meat hook scene).

With a veteran movie actress like Joan Crawford, a classic villain in actor Michael Gough, and a sympathetic monster - what more could you ask for??

Really a 1 star movie, if that, if you're looking for "good movies." This is a CLASSIC bad movie starring one of the greatest actresses ever if you're looking for a great BAD movie, though. Hits DVD on 6/26. Without a douybt one omf the worst movies ever made. Already pre-ordered from Amazon!!!!!