Teenage Monster is a 1958 American independently made science fiction-horror Western film. It was produced and directed by Jacques R. Marquette, and stars Anne Gwynne and Stuart Wade. The film had a first screening on December 25, 1957, in Los Angeles. It went into general theatrical release in January 1958, in a double feature with The Brain from Planet Arous (1957).

Plot

In 1880, in a town in the Southwestern United States, young Charlie Cannon and his gold prospector father see a meteorite crash in the desert. At the crash site, Charlie's father is killed, and Charlie is exposed to mysterious rays emanating from the meteorite that cause him to begin aging rapidly. His mother, Ruth, hides him and the town believes him dead. Seven years later, Charlie has grown and aged abnormally, becoming a hairy, aggressive, man-beast. He sometimes escapes his confinement, and terrorizes the community. After his mother strikes gold, she purchases a house in town in the hopes that living in a real home will soothe her son's inner beast. However, he scares more people and kidnaps a young woman, Kathy, after killing her abusive boyfriend. Ruth pays Kathy to keep her silence, but Kathy begins to blackmail Ruth and to manipulate Charlie to kill for her. In the final showdown, Charlie understands Kathy's lies and hurls her off a cliff before being shot and killed himself.

Cast

The cast includes:

Production

Jacques R. Marquette made the feature because his company needed a cheap film to run as a double bill with The Brain from Planet Arous (1957). Jacques Marquette also helped develop the film's plot and handled some of the cinematography. Jack Pierce handled the make-up effects.

Release

Teenage Monster was released by Marquette Productions Limited. The film's working title was Monster on the Hill. When the film was released to television, the title was changed to Meteor Monster. The film – as Teenage Monster – was refused a United Kingdom rating certificate in 1959. In 1995, the film was finally released in the UK fully uncut and with a PG certificate rating.

Reception

Variety wrote: "This is a silly nonsense, an unworthy companion to the film with which it is being packaged (The Brain From Planet Arous)." Writing in DVD Savant, film critic Glenn Erickson reported that the "film is so primitive that none of the ugly subtext seems to matter," that "Marquette's action direction is terrible," and that "[i]mpossible characters defeat the actors."