Evil Town

Evil Town (1987)

Where only the dead survive.

A mad scientist seeks eternal youth by developing a drug derived from human pituitary glands, aided by the local townsfolk, who help abduct visitors to their town for his experiments.

Date of release
1987-06-02
TMDB
3.8 / 10 (22)
Runtime
1h 22m
Genres
Horror
Director
Mardi Rustam, Larry Spiegel, Peter S. Traynor , Curtis Hanson

Casting

Interesting facts

Evil Town is a 1987 American horror film produced by William D. Sklar and Peter S. Traynor, and starring James Keach, Dean Jagger, Robert Walker, Michele Marsh and Lynda Wiesmeier. It is notable for its lengthy and troubled production, which began in 1973 and lasted until 1985, under four different directors: Curtis Hanson, Mardi Rustam, Larry Spiegel and Traynor. Producer Peter S. Traynor was convicted of fraud related to the film's financing in 1981, six years before its eventual release. This was also the final film for Dean Jagger.

Production

In 1973, director Curtis Hanson and producer Peter S. Traynor shot a film called And God Bless Grandma and Grandpa. The low-budget film was shot in Mendocino, California and starred James Keach, Robert Walker and Michele Marsh. Unsatisfied with the initial cut, Traynor fired Hanson and hired Dean Jagger to star in new scenes as a mad scientist named "Dr. Shagetz" (a minor Yiddish swear). The new scenes were shot at a studio in Hollywood.

Retitled God Bless Dr. Shagetz, the film was planned for a late 1974/early 1975 release and promoted under that title in several trade publications. A rough cut was screened for entertainment journalist James Bacon. Charles Bernstein was attached to write a film score, and is listed by the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, though he is uncredited in the final version.

In 1975, a litigation started between Traynor and the film's financial investors. Traynor, a San Francisco investment counselor by day, had bankrolled the film by convincing 19 physicians to invest in individual films (labeled "limited partnerships") as tax write-offs. The investors claimed that Traynor had failed to promote and distribute the film per their agreement.

It is rumored that the film had a limited release in 1977, though this has never been confirmed.

In 1979, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicted Traynor for fraud. He was found guilty, and sentenced to three years in prison in 1981. The cast is recorded as U.S. v. Leverage Funding Systems, Inc., Centaurfilms, Peter S. Traynor, William G. Mcdonald, Jr. (637 F.2d 645).

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