Killer Bunnies!

 

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS-1972-A rancher Cole Hillman (Rory Calhoun) is over run by rabbits. He asks a college prof. Elgin Clark (Deforest Kelly) to help. Clark calls in environment friendly husband and wife scientists Roy and Gerry Bennett (Stuart Whitman & Janet Leigh) who decide to do a hormone experiment on the bunnies. Unfortunately their little daughter Amanda (Melanie Fullerton) switches the test subject hare with a regular one which escapes literally down the rabbit hole. After a truck driver and a miner are mutilated by giant bloodthirsty rabbits they also terrorize the daughter. The old sheriff (Paul Fix) investigates after a family of campers is killed. They dynamite the mine the rabbits are hanging out in but that doesn't do much good. The hungry hares go on a rampage scaring horses and cattle and bloodily killing townspeople. 

Very strange Bert I. Gordon like horror film was produced by AC Lyles and is not as bad as it's been written about. It also features familiar character I. Stanford Jolley in his last feature role. Director William Claxton does an acceptable job of mixing real blown up rabbits with close-uos of fake ones while throwing in some bloody scenes to make you forget how ludicrous the plot is. It's based on a novel by Australian writer Richard Braddon. To read about the novel go here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_of_the_Angry_Rabbit

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

Two Kellys For the Price of One!

 

FEAR IN THE NIGHT-1947-Poor Vince Grayson (Deforest Kelley in his first feature film) is having weird nightmares that he killed a man. He finds several odd things (a key, a button, blood) that lead him to believe it might be true. His brother in law Cliff (Paul Kelly) tells him to forget about it. He's more concerned about his pregnant wife Lil (Ann Doran), Vince's sister. After they go to the house Vince saw in his dream, Cliff begins to suspect Vince is a murderer. A local deputy (Jeff York) fills them in on a double murder that took place a few days before. After Vince tries to commit suicide Cliff decides to help clear him. 

This little low budget film noir with a kind of long finale was written and directed by Maxwell Shane who later remade it as NIGHTMARE in 1956 (with Edward G. Robinson and Kevin McCarthy in the leads). It's based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich.

Thanks for reading!