Most Dangerous Man Alive

Most Dangerous Man Alive
Directed by Allan Dwan
Produced by Benedict Bogeaus
Screenplay by James Leicester
Phillip Rock
Based on The Steel Monster by Phillip Rock
Michael Pate
Leo Gordon
Starring Ron Randell
Debra Paget
Elaine Stewart
Music by Louis Forbes
Cinematography Carl Carvahal
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
 1961
Running time
 82 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Most Dangerous Man Alive is a 1961 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Benedict Bogeaus, directed by Allan Dwan (the final film of his long career), that stars Ron Randell, Debra Paget, and Elaine Stewart. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by James Leicester, and Phillip Rock and is based on The Steel Monster by Phillip Rock, Michael Pate, Leo Gordon. Michael Pate also co-wrote the script.

Plot

A gangster, Eddie Candell, is framed for a crime he didn't commit. He flees to the desert, only to stumble into a nuclear energy testing site. Eddie is contaminated by radiation and his body begins to transform in remarkable ways. In his new mental and physical condition, he sets out to gain revenge against all those who betrayed him.

Cast

Production

The film began as a story by Leo Gordon called The Atomic Man. Gordon went to fellow actor Michael Pate to rewrite the story. Needing money, Gordon sold his rights to Pate who took the story to his brother-in-law, screenwriter Phillip Rock.[1]

Producer Benedict Bogeaus had the idea of shooting the film as a television pilot with it being able to be shown on TV as three episodes, should it picked up for syndication; this was a common creative practice of the time. Traveling to Mexico in 1960 to begin shooting, film syndicates in Mexico decided that it was actually a feature film and demanded Bogeaus make it with a full crew, which would have to be paid at feature film rates.[2] With the budget tripled, director Allen Dwan claimed he had to shoot The Most Dangerous Man Alive in one week instead of five; some members of the cast disputed this statement. [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ pp. 202-3 Weaver, Tom Michael Pate Interviewe in It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition McFarland, 26 Oct. 2004
  2. ↑ Warren, Bill Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition McFarland, 12 Jan 2017
  3. ↑ p.310 Lombardi, Frederic Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios McFarland, 4 Apr 2013

Bibliography

  • Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. ISBN 978-0-89950-032-4.


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