RELEASE DATE: 1957
REVIEWED BY: The DarkSider - 12/15/08
We quickly join up with Ruth who calls in her boy Charles to breakfast. He joins his father Jim who is your standard working man trying to give a better life to his family. Jim heads out to the mines while Charles finishes his breakfast. They talk briefly how life will be so much better for them when they move to the city. Yeah, someone is about to get screwed on that dream royally.
Quicker than you can say �foreshadow�, a meteor (or in this case a flying sparkler) lands right next to the mine where Jim and Charles are working. Ruth, who apparently has a spider sense or something, runs to the far away mine. Charles is somewhat ok for now but Jim is a little worse for wear, at least according to Ruth�s �ohhhh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho� crying. Charles is scarred from the incident which prompts more horribly fake crying.
Fast forward seven years where Charles apparently grew a fur and donned the title role of this movie. He is out stalking some stock footage of sheep and looks ferocious while doing so. After assaulting a traveler he is scolded by an aged Ruth. Charles replies in a manner of speech resembling that of a fellow with a quarter sized hemorrhoid trying to pass a large bowel movement . They head back to the local mine where Ruth has Charles hidden. She scolds him again and proceeds to promise they will find gold in Jim�s mine.
Meanwhile local law enforcement, Sheriff Bob and Deputy Ed, happen to stumble upon the body. They make comments of how this has happened before. Back quickly to Ruth and Charles who find gold in the mine. Gee that was quick. Anyhow, Ruth heads into town and its apparent the flirty Sheriff Bob is trying to get up in her. He notes the chunk of gold and has a Mr. Fox come over to look at it. Fox promises to get back to her ASAP on the gold while Bob decides to continue his wooing at breakfast. During this, Deputy Ed comes in to report on another grizzly murder. Ruth and Bob part ways but its apparent Ruth is upset.
Ruth heads over to Fox�s place to get the low down on her gold. Apparently she has struck it rich and without hesitating she buys Fox�s place just outside of town. Gee I wonder if that will turn disastrous later in the plot. Well after a bit of chastising from Ruth, Charles and her move into their new digs. Charles spies on Bob, who comes by the house one day, and tells his mother of his dislike for him. Ruth calms him down and makes him promise not to do anything bad while she goes out. I have to admit that Ruth is kind of like a pit bull owner who lets their dog roam free in a child filled neighborhood. In other words, not too bright and begging for a lawsuit.
After Ruth leaves, Charles has a temper tantrum that would make a two year old proud. Later that evening he heads out for the usual mutant teenager activities. He kills an innocent bystander, scares some children and kidnaps a random woman. He proceeds to take the woman back to his pad and appears to put the moves on her. However, in a bout of foreplay gone wrong he ends up knocking her out by mistake.
Later that evening Ruth comes home to chastise Charles again. She warns him that he will be shot and killed if he keeps it up. She then goes on to discover the kidnapped woman in the closet. After disciplining Charles again, she takes the woman down to the living room to discuss a few things. The woman, who introduces herself as Kathy, accepts a bribe and a position in the house as companion. Charles later agrees fondly to this idea and calls it a night. Meanwhile, Kathy meets up with a shady fellow named Marv who I guess is her love interest. He finds the cash and presses her for answers which she doesn�t give.
Sheriff Bob and Deputy Ed stumble upon Marv�s body. I found it amazing after awhile how lucky the Sheriff department was in this movie. The two talk about Kathy being his girlfriend and they figure they should have a talk with her. Back to Ruth�s house where she is confronting Kathy on letting Charles out. She fully admits that she had Charles kill a man and there is nothing Ruth can do about it. That and Charles is completely under her control.. Basically she has Ruth by her non existent balls. Mu hahaha. Sheriff Bob arrives to confront Kathy as well but Ruth pines up as an alibi.
Kathy puts the move on Charles again this time with Bob as her potential target. She then proceeds downstairs where she drafts a will of sorts for Ruth guaranteeing her money upon her death. Bob, who apparently has nothing else better to do, pops by again. Kathy makes Ruth sign the will as Bob witnesses it. Bob tells the ladies that he will be hanging out near the house more at night. Bob also goes on again to smack lips with Ruth unknowingly in front of Charles who was led out by Kathy. After Bob leaves, Kathy makes the standard villain error of not shutting the f*ck up. Ruth admits she would do anything for Charles and Kathy admits she�d kill him if she were her son. Charles is rather saddened by this turn of events and sulks upstairs.
Where one could easily trash this film into cheese oblivion, I�ll have to take the road less traveled opinion wise. This flick is an interesting fusion of monster movies in a western town environment. There are people galloping in and out of a town where you�d expect to see John Wayne somewhere. This sets up an interesting situation for Ruth who has an anchor in her life in the form of Charles for whom she cares the world about. No matter how grotesque Charles is, she still loves him as if he were still a little boy. The more she tries to hide him, the more he acts up setting a somewhat dark humorous undertone. Kathy�s character adds a nice evil flavor to the tale as well.
The film is not without it�s flaws of course. Several scenes are repeated, the acting is forced at times and the Charles�s special effects makeup resembles that of any werewolf movie of the time. Still, in this case it�s the story the seems to shine, although a bit dimly, through in the end. The film ends up being a tragedy which I guess would be the only way to end it. An interesting side note is that the actress playing Ruth, the late scream queen Anne Gwynne, was once a popular pinup model for GI magazines. She is quite the vintage beauty and I can see why she was popular with the men in uniforms back in the day.
So in other words, yeah this film is classic cheese but there is something likable about it. It is a bit like that mangy cat who hangs around your house that you chase away. Yet when no one is looking, you hang out with it because you feel sorry for it.
