The Hideous Sun Demon

The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)

The Blaze Of The Sun Made Him A Monster!

After exposure to radiation, an atomic research scientist finds himself changing into a murderous, lizard-like creature every time he is exposed to sunlight.

Date of release
1958-08-28
TMDB
4.4 / 10 (25)
Runtime
1h 14m
Genres
Horror, Science Fiction
Director
Tom Boutross, Robert Clarke

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: California

The Hideous Sun Demon is a 1958 American science fiction horror film produced, directed, and cowritten by Robert Clarke, who also starred in the title role. It also stars Patricia Manning, Nan Peterson, Patrick Whyte, and Fred La Porta. The film focuses on a scientist who is exposed to a radioactive isotope and soon finds out that it comes with horrifying consequences.

Production

Development for The Hideous Sun Demon began after the 1957 release of The Astounding She-Monster, a science fiction film starring Clarke. In his contract for the film, Clarke was promised five percent of She-Monster's profits in addition to his salary. Although Clarke later admitted that the film was poorly made, it was a financial success, with Clarke receiving a sizable sum from the film's box office returns.

The film's crew consisted of students from the University of Southern California. Clarke pitched the story idea to Robin Kirkman, a student at USC, who liked the idea. The two men formed the production company Clarke-King Enterprises, and Kirkman worked as the film's associate producer.

E.S. Seely, who later directed the 1961 film Shangri-La, wrote the final draft of the film's screenplay, which was then rewritten by Doane R. Hoag who "polished the dialogue", according to Clarke. The film was initially budgeted at $10,000, but by the end of production, it had cost $50,000 in total. The film was Clarke's first and only effort as writer or director.

Clarke, the film's director, writer and producer, also starred in the lead role of Dr. Gilbert McKenna. A veteran actor, he wanted his character to seem realistic and multi-dimensional, with both bad and good qualities. "I acted the part as if I wouldn't let anything get in my way", Clarke later recalled.

Principal photography for The Hideous Sun Demon began in 1957, lasting over 12 consecutive weekends on rented equipment. At the time of production, Clarke was busy acting in other films during weekdays while the student film crew attended school. A decision to film during the weekends was made, since it was the only time that both Clarke and the crew were available. Shot on a low budget, cast and crew members were paid $25 per day.

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