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Reptilicus (1961)

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Reptilicus
See alternate titles
The Danish poster for Reptilicus
Directed by Poul BangDK, Sidney PinkUS
Producer(s) Samuel Z. Arkoff, Sidney Pink
Written by Ib Melchior, Sidney Pink
Music by Sven Gyldmark
Distributor Saga StudioDK
American International PicturesUS
Rating Not Rated
Budget $100,000-133,000[1][2]
Box office $800,000[3]
Running time 96 minutesDK
(1 hour, 36 minutes)
81 minutesUS
(1 hour, 21 minutes)
Aspect ratio 1.66:1
Rate this film!
3.00
(14 votes)

Reptilicus is a 1961 Danish-American giant monster film co-produced by Cinemagic[4] and Saga Studio. Two versions of the film were made with largely the same cast, with Sidney Pink directing the U.S. version and Poul Bang directing the Danish version. United States distributor American International Pictures released a significantly altered version of Pink's U.S. version supervised by screenwriter Ib Melchior in 1962.[4]

Plot[edit | edit source]

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Part of a giant reptilian tail is dug up by Danish miners. The tail is brought to scientists and put in a freezer. The scientists examine a small piece of the tail under a microscope and discover that fragments of this prehistoric reptile have a trait that allows them to regrow the missing pieces of a severed body part, which means that the tail will regrow the rest of the body soon if it is not stopped. The rest of the body is regrown and the monster is called Reptilicus. Reptilicus goes on a rampage, destroying the Danish countryside before being destroyed by scientists and the military. However, the last shot is of a severed leg, underwater, setting the film up for a sequel that was never made.

Staff[edit | edit source]

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Sidney W. Pink, Poul Bang (Danish-language scenes)
  • Written by   Ib Melchior, Sidney W. Pink
  • Produced by   Samuel Z. Arkoff, Sidney W. Pink
  • Executive producing by   Johann Zalabery
  • Music by   Sven Gyldmark, Ronald Stein (additional cues, U.S. version)
  • Cinematography by   Aage Wiltrup
  • Edited by   Sven Methling, Edith Nisted Nielsen
  • Assistant directing by   Solveig Ersgaard, Gitte Müller
  • Special effects by   Kai Koed

Cast[edit | edit source]

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Carl Ottosen   as   General Mark Grayson
  • Ann Smyrner   as   Lise Martens
  • Mimi Heinrich   as   Karen Martens
  • Asbjørn Andersen   as   Professor Otto Martens
  • Bodil Miller   as   Connie Miller (Danish version)
  • Marla Behrens   as   Connie Miller (U.S. version)
  • Bent Mejding   as   Svend Viltorft
  • Povl Wøldike   as   Dr. Peter Dalby
  • Dirch Passer   as   Dirch Mikkelsen[a]
  • Ole Wisborg   as   Captain Einer Brandt

Ryder Sound English Looping[edit | edit source]

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Bob Cornthwaite   as   Professor Otto Martens
  • J. Edward McKinley   as   General Mark Grayson / Radio Operator / Firing Officer
  • Lee Millar   as   Svend Viltorft
  • Jim Boles   as   Dr. Peter Dalby / Henrik Klint / Farmer / HQ Voices / Observer
  • Janet Waldo   as   Lise Martens / Karen Martens
  • Athena Lorde   as   Connie Miller
  • Art Romans   as   Dirch Petersen / Captain Einer Brandt / Nielsen / P.A. Voice I
  • Ib Melchior   as   Olsen / Hassing / Newsman / Soldier / P.A. Voice II / Captain
  • Bonnie Hovet   as   Girl
  • Tony Carras   as   Alex / Radar Operator / Petty Officer / Non-Com
  • Chris Holmes   as   Reporter
  • Pat de Leone   as   B.G. Radio

Italian dub[edit | edit source]

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

Appearances[edit | edit source]

Monsters[edit | edit source]

Weapons, vehicles, and races[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Main article: Reptilicus (film)/Gallery.

Alternate titles[edit | edit source]

  • Invincible Monster: Reptilicus (Monstruo Invencible: Reptilicus; Argentina)
  • Reptilicus the Monster of the Seas (Reptilicus le Monstre des Mers; France)
  • Threat to the City (Apeili Stin Poli; Greece)
  • Against All Nations (Enantion Olon ton Ethnon; Greece)
  • The Dinosaur Is Avenged (O Deinosavros Ekdikeitai; Greece)
  • Reptilicus - The Destructive Monster (Reptilicus - Il Mostro Distruggitore; Italy)
  • Reptilicus - Terror in Copenhagen (Reptilicus - Terror em Copenhaga; Portugal)
  • Slaughter of Frozen Evil Beast (冷凍凶獣の惨殺; Japan)
  • Primitive Beast Reptilicus (原始獣レプティリカス; Japanese VHS title)
  • Slaughter of the Frozen Evil Primitive Beast Reptilicus (原始獣レプティリカス 冷凍凶獣の惨殺; Japanese DVD title)

Theatrical releases[edit | edit source]

  • Denmark - February 20, 1961  [view poster]Danish poster
  • United States - January 20, 1963  [view poster]American poster
  • Mexico - May 30, 1963
  • Italy - 1963  [view poster]Italian poster
  • Argentina - June 10, 1964

Reception[edit | edit source]

In spite of its cult status as Denmark's only giant monster film,[5] Reptilicus is regarded poorly by kaiju fans. IMDb gives the film a 3.6 out of 10, with over 3,800 reviews, and Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 25% score with 8 ratings and an average rating of 3.9/10.

Adaptations[edit | edit source]

Main article: Reptilicus (Novelization).

Monarch Books released a paperback novelization of the film, written by Dudley Dean McGaughy under the pseudonym Dean Owen, in 1961. Like the Monarch Books adaptation of Gorgo, the book includes sexual content not present in the film. The method used to kill Reptilicus is also depicted: after he is drugged, soldiers remove his scales with crowbars and pickaxes, allowing mobile flamethrowers to burn him to ashes.

A second adaptation was published by Charlton Comics in August 1961. The first issue simply retold the events of the film, while the second issue saw a piece of the monster (but not the severed leg shown at the end of the film) regenerate into another Reptilicus and terrorize North Africa. Though Charlton's rights to the character expired after that issue, the company continued the series by changing its name to Reptisaurus the Terrible and making the monster red. Its design remained unchanged until issue #7, when it sprouted legs and a nasal horn. Reptisaurus the Terrible ended with issue #8 in December 1961, though a one-shot issue called Reptisaurus Special Edition was published the following summer. Reptisaurus also made a brief appearance in Gorgo #12 (April 1963), attacking a squadron of Venusian flying saucers. Though they are shown together on the cover, Reptisaurus does not meet Gorgo and Ogra in the story itself.

In 2012, Scary Monsters Magazine reprinted the Reptisaurus the Terrible series as a black and white paperback collection called Scarysaurus the Scary.

Video releases[edit | edit source]

MGM (2001) [Midnite Movies]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English, French
  • Subtitles: French, Spanish
  • Special features: Theatrical trailer

Sandrew Metronome DVD (2002)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Danish
  • Subtitles: Danish
  • Special features: Theatrical trailer

Run Corporation DVD (2009)

  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English
  • Subtitles: Japanese

Shout! Factory DVD (2013)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special features: Stills gallery (8 minutes)
  • Notes: Packaged with The Amazing Transparent Man, The Neanderthal Man, and The Brain That Wouldn't Die.

Scream Factory Blu-ray (2015)

  • Region: A/1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (LPCM 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special features: Theatrical trailer, radio spot, photo gallery
  • Notes: Packaged with Tentacles.

Fabulous Films DVD (2016)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special features: None

Though the Danish version of Reptilicus is not available on Blu-ray, an HD version of the film can be rented or purchased on the Danish version of iTunes.

Videos[edit | edit source]

Danish Reptilicus trailer
U.S. Reptilicus trailer
U.S. Reptilicus trailer (without narration)
U.S. Reptilicus radio spot
Reptilicus in flight
Mikkelsen's song

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Reptilicus was featured on Season 11 of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
  • Producer Sidney Pink tried to get a sequel to Reptilicus off the ground in 2001, 40 years after the original film was released in Denmark in 1961. The project got as far as a demo created by Gary Dohanish, showing the new CG Reptilicus flying in the air, but the project was ultimately scrapped when Pink died in 2002. No story details are known.[citation needed]

External links[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Called "Petersen" in the U.S. version.

References[edit | edit source]

This is a list of references for Reptilicus (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. ↑ Mark Thomas McGee (1996). Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0786401370.
  2. ↑ Newsom, Ted. Book Feature: Reptilicus - The Screenplay. Archived from the original on 4 December 2005. Retrieved on 18 November 2021.
  3. ↑ Kip Doto (1999). Reptilicus the Screenplay. Bayou Publishing. p. 15.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Craig, Rob (2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 304. ISBN 9781476666310.
  5. ↑ Monsterfiasko blev kult. Dansk Filmskat. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved on 9 August 2021.

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