The Beast of Yucca Flats

The Beast of Yucca Flats – Tor Johnson at his cheesy best as a defecting Soviet scientist, driven mad by a nuclear explosion, murdering wildly

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) starring Tor Johnson

In short: The Beast of Yucca Flats is a bad, cheesy movie, mocked mercilessly by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew – and it’s well-deserved. It’s only redeeming quality is to mock it while watching with friends. Yes, it’s that bad.

Product Description 

Soviet scientist’s plans to defect are ruined when he is ambushed by KGB agents. The assassins pursue him across a desert wasteland where they are caught at ground zero of a nuclear test site. Although the scientist survives the bomb’s detonation, atomic radiation transforms him into a monster. Skin peeling off of his afflicted body, the beast embarks on a violent rampage, killing travelers and kidnapping women. A pair of rangers track the mutant through the corpse-strewn desert with one objective – destroy the killer and end his spree.

The distinctive style of Coleman Francis is perplexing, mind-numbing and yet often (though unintentionally) creepy. Due to budgetary limitations, The Beast of Yucca Flats was filmed without sound, with narration and occasional dialogue added afterwards. Tor Johnson’s trademark lumbering only adds to the absurdity and inadvertent humor.

Trivia

• According to Anthony Cardoza, the rabbit at the end was not scripted. A wild baby jackrabbit wandered into the shot.
• Shot without sound. To avoid having to sync a lot of sound in post-production, the actors turned away from the camera when speaking, and cupped their hands over their mouths when shouting.
• Tor Johnson’s final starring role. He had one more uncredited role in Head (1968).

Cast of characters

• Douglas Mellor … Hank Radcliffe
• Barbara Francis … Lois Radcliffe
• Bing Stafford … Jim Archer
• Larry Aten … Joe Dobson
• Linda Bielema … Wife on Vacation
• Ronald Francis … Lost Boy
• Alan Francis … Lost Boy
• Anthony Cardoza … KGB Driver / Helpful Neighbor (as Tony Cardoza)
• Bob Labansat … Javorsky’s Bodyguard
• Jim Oliphant … Husband on Vacation
• John Morrison … KGB Passenger
• Eric Tomlin … Driver Run Off Road
• Jim Miles … Javorsky’s Driver
• George Prince … Man Who Reports Murder (as George Principe)
• Conrad Brooks (Plan 9 from Outer Space) … Man at Airfield
• Graham Stafford … News Boy
• Tor Johnson (The Black Sleep; Bride of the Monster) … The Beast

Additional cast

• Coleman Francis … Narrator / Gas Station Attendant / Man Buying Newspaper (uncredited)
• Marcia Knight … Jim’s Woman (uncredited)
• Joseph Luis Rubin … Police Officer (uncredited)
• Mary Torres … Woman Strangled in Opening Scene (uncredited)