The Slime People (1963)

Interesting facts

The Slime People is a 1963 horror film directed by Robert Hutton, who also starred in the film. The film was featured on the first season of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as the 1986 syndicated series The Canned Film Festival.

Production

Filming began in January 1962 at the KTTV television studio. The film ran out of money after nine days of shooting; the cast completed the film without pay. Additional sequences were shot at San Fernando airport (closed 1985) in San Fernando, California, in Mandeville Canyon (showing damage after a wildfire) and in Agoura Hills, California.

Joseph F. Robertson recalled that the filmmakers originally intended to feature dwarves as giant voles, who would serve as the advance guard of the invasion, but the sequence was so bad it was cut from the released film.

Robertson stated that the film was shot for around $80,000 and featured eight costumes worn by stuntmen, each costume costing $600. Vance Skarstedt was the original screenwriter, but his script was rewritten by Robertson's wife Blair.

In an interview with Hutton, he said that neither he nor the stuntmen were paid for their work in the film, and that the slime people costumes cost over half of the film's budget.

Richard Arlen was the original choice to play Prof. Galbraith, but Robert Burton took the role. Burton died of cancer shortly after filming. The Slime People was the only film directed by Hutton, who later wrote the script for the 1975 horror/drama film Persecution.

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