These men and women saved the planet from aliens, behemoths, monsters, zombies, and other bloated, stumbling threats—in the movies, at least—and now they tell their stories.
Julie Adams, John Agar, Richard Anderson, John Archer, Jeanne Bates, Billy Benedict, Turhan Bey, Lloyd Bridges, Ricou Browning, Robert Cornthwaite, Louise Currie, Richard Denning, Anne Francis, Mark Goddard, June Lockhart, Eugene Lourie, Jeff Morrow, Lori Nelson, Rex Reason, William Schallert, Don Taylor, George Wallace and Jane Wyatt give behind-the-scenes insights into such classic movies as Creature from the Black Lagoon, Forbidden Planet, Destination Moon and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They also discuss the impact “monster-fighting” had on their careers and what they are now doing.

Tom Weaver lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and has been interviewing moviemakers since the early 1980s. The New York Times called him one of the leading scholars in the horror field and USA Today has described him as the king of the monster hunters. Classic Images called him “the best interviewer we have today.” He is a frequent contributor to numerous film magazines and has been featured in the prestigious Best American Movie Writing. A frequent DVD audio commentator, he is the author of numerous reference and other nonfiction books about American popular culture.

Tom Weaver
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 328
Bibliographic Info: 93 photos, filmography, index
Copyright Date: 2014 [1995]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9575-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1686-5
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments viii

Preface ix


Julie Adams 1

John Agar 13

Richard Anderson 25

John Archer 37

Jeanne Bates 51

Billy Benedict 61

Turhan Bey 73

Lloyd Bridges 85

Ricou Browning 97

Robert Cornthwaite 111

Louise Currie 131

Richard Denning 145

Anne Francis 161

Mark Goddard 173

June Lockhart 187

Eugene Lourie 201

Jeff Morrow 211

Lori Nelson 221

Rex Reason 233

William Schallert 245

Don Taylor 263

George Wallace 277

Jane Wyatt 289


Index 303

“irresistable reading…quite a bit of priceless first-hand Hollywood stories…fun, crucial material for film fans”—Classic Images; “Tom Weaver has enjoyed a lengthy career writing about the horror genre through his reference guides and countless magazine contributions. His interviews are thorough and informative but presented conversationally, as though he is simply visiting with an old friend. Weaver expertly guides the talk in a way that allows him to ask his questions in an informal manner, and likely he received a more detailed answer than if he had approached the subject as a journalist would”—horrortalk.com; “fascinating reading. With so many of these people no longer around, Tom Weaver’s interview books are probably the only way we’re going to get accounts of the time period and if you’re a fan of the 1940–50s movies then they add a depth that you’re not going to get anywhere else.”—SF Crowsnest; “Weaver is a writer you should be reading…smooth, highly readable narratives”—Big Reel; “most impressive…snappy, energetic…highly recommended”—Midnight Marquee; “fascinating, intriguing…Tom Weaver is the king of film historians”—Starlog; “a fun book for all SF film enthusiasts”—Interzone; “invaluable”—Samhain; “well written and interesting…fascinating and insightful interviews…fascinating…the interviews are all interesting and give many behind-the-scene looks at the film production…highly recommended”—WFOS-FM.