The Giant Gila Monster!

I've probably seen The Giant Gila Monster half a dozen times and it's just as entertaining now as it was when I saw it the first time when I was a kid.

It's one of those things that you'll either love or hate- hot rodding teenagers in rural Texas in 1959 versus... you guessed it a giant gila monster!

The kids are like the Archie gang, hanging out at the malt shop and working on their roadsters.  Chase, the Archie of the story, has a Polio stricken little sister and a French exchange student girlfriend.  Chase also sings and plays the ukulele.

The acting is... sort of there.  But with a movie like this, you're not looking  for  graduates of the Strasberg School, it's the monster.  He's an actual lizard on a small scale set, stoically plodding across fake scrub and desert, bringing a subtle dignity to a production where most of the performances are sustained with mostly youthful enthusiasm.

But don't take my word for it- The Giant Gila Monster is a public domain movie so you can watch it here: