The Crater Lake Monster

Intro:

This is a series on old dinosaur movies. Specifically, I am looking at anything released before 1990; before Jurassic Park revolutionized cinema with its CGI animation. I will not be covering anything "dinosaur-adjacent", such as kaiju monsters like Godzilla or the creature from The Giant Behemoth, which are perhaps inspired by dinosaurs, but clearly not meant to represent any real world genus. I will also be skipping over films that are heavily dependent on "borrowed" footage from other films, such as the Valley of the Dragons / Prehistoric Valley.

Also known as:

Runtime: 1 hr 25 minutes

Background:

The Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 film produced by Crown International Pictures. It was produced as a throwback to 1950s monster films and initially featured Bigfoot. This was changed to a prehistoric creature after a series of similar films featuring the hairy humanoid released around that time. According to the writers and directors, William R. Stromberg and Richard Cardella, they had a lot of problems with Crown International refusing to finance important scenes. Crown International also insisted on using sub-par music and handed editing "over to some hack" that didn't know how to use a fade or dissolve. There was also no post work done on the film, resulting in day and night scenes being just the day.

Plot Summary:

In Crater Lake, Northern California a series of cave drawings, including one of a plesiosaurus, are uncovered. Dr. Richard Calkins, his colleague Dan Turner, and his girlfriend Susan Patterson all find this discovery strange as it would imply ancient humans had seen a living plesiosaurus. A meteorite then crashes into the nearby lake which the three scientists, along with Sheriff Hanson, attempt to retrieve months later due to the meteorite being too hot to remove right away. As a result the entire lake gets warmer.

A local birdwatcher setting up equipment near the lake is killed suddenly by a plesiosaur that emerges from the water. Two friends, Arnie Chabot and Mitch Kowalski, decide to start a boat rental service. Their first customer is U.S. senator Jack Fuller, but when the boat isn't returned by the evening they discover it drifting in the middle of the lake and go out to retrieve it. To their horror it is filled with a large amount of blood, forcing them to contact the Sheriff.

A performer named Ross Conway and his wife Paula are driving to a show when their car breaks down. With repairs taking too long, the couple decides to take a boat across the lake when the monster attacks. The motor boat is faster than the plesiosaur, allowing the couple to reach land. The plesiosaur continues to pursue them on land, so the boat is set ablaze to keep the giant reptile at bay. That same day, Arnie and Mitch discover Fuller's severed head by the water, which the Sheriff collects as evidence. Realizing that the couple from earlier is probably in danger they head out to search for them. Arnie and Mitch find the charred boat along with the shaken couple, who are taken away in an ambulance.

An autopsy report comes in that states Fuller was killed by a large aquatic animal. While searching near the lake, Sheriff Hanson discovers large tracks and is attacked by the plesiosaur. He drives away to confer with Dr. Calkins and Turner, who both agree the animal is a plesiosaur. The scientists want to keep the monster alive for study while Arnie and Mitch want it for an attraction. A man named Ferguson becomes an additional victim of the monster, which starts leaving the water in search of prey. The Sheriff, Turner, Patterson, Arnie, and Mitch all head out on a bulldozer to confront the prehistoric creature. Arnie tries confronting the beast with a shotgun, but then panics and attempts to flee, getting snatched by the monster in the process. The Sheriff drives the bulldozer into the monster's neck, killing it. Arnie does not survive the encounter, leaving everyone to mourn.

Related Articles:

• Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)
• One Million B.C. (1940) / One Million Years B.C. (1966)
• Dinosaurus! (1960)
• Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)
  
• The Crater Lake Monster (1977)
• The Last Dinosaur (1977)
• Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds (1977)
• Planet of Dinosaurs (1977)
• Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)