CALTIKI THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959) - 1 - Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda

"an unapologetic slab of concentrated cheese"
-1000misspenthours.com

"a neat and compelling science fiction/horror amalgam, squeezing cosmology together with archeology and myth to create a genuinely fascinating and original thriller"
-allmovie.com

"holds up to the better American camp films of the same period...a definite must-see for all blob monster fans" -imdb.com



Caltiki, the Immortal Monster
Caltiki, il mostro immortale
Caltiki the Undying Monster


Slimy Glob of Doom Engulfs The World!

Released in the U.S. on September 20, 1960

Starring:
Arturo Dominici
John Merivale
Didi Perego
Gerard Herter
Daniela Rocca
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart
Daniele Vargas
Vittorio Andre
Nerio Bernardi
Gail Pearl
Deirdre Sullivan
Tom Felleghy


Direction:
Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda

Cinematography:
Mario Bava

Special Effects:
Mario Bava

Editor:
Salvatore Billitteri

Producers:
Sam Schneider
Bruno Vailati
Climax Pictures

Music:
Roberto Nicolosi
Roman Vlad

Sound:
Lee Kresel
Maurice Rosenblum

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• caltiki
• black sunday
• mario bava
• cult classic

[CosmicFunkOSMOSIS]

I was looking at the cast and I saw Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He anglizcized his name as "John Stewart" for the American International TV issues of the GAMMA-ONE series. They used to edit them together as movies like "Snow Devils", "Battle Of The Worlds", etc. Man, I used to LOVE those when they aired on WDCA in DC back when. (and Count Gore DeVol let us in the the fact that these were an Italian sci-fi show--making it cool for us geeks!!)

[monster4josh]

@CosmicFunkOSMOSIS

I can't find "Snow Devils" anywhere. Are there any TV prints floating around? I'd love to get the whole GAMMA trilogy...

[sdblosom]

Dude,

I didn't know you were still posting videos! i thought you were nachovision from now on. Thanks for this movie! It rocks! You must be a MST3K fan to be able to love these like I do!

[monster4josh]

I'm also Nachtovision and LateNiteTeeVee, really. Thanks for your comment, I'm stoked you're groovin on these gems!

[forrykid]

@sdblosom This is NOT a "so bad its good"movie . There IS a child dubbed by an adult (very creepy), but other-wise the flesh-eating- blob-thing is disturbing if you just "go with it".

The beautiful, atmospheric photography elevates it to "good" status.

And yes, it's better than "The Blob"!

[monster4josh]

@forrykid You are right on about this film; it's been mishandled, as evidenced by some of the quotes I've posted in the description area. Others have done the same with DANGER DIABOLIK (1968), like the MST3K boys. Most people just are completely clueless about the degree of craftsmanship that went into making CALTIKI. Tim Lucas' book goes into great detail about this. :)

[WVAK47]

Thanks for sharing! I love 1950s sci fi!  Keep it coming!

[BadBunnyRides]

@monster4josh The Mysterians? Been looking for that one for a few years now.

[wardka]

I'm hoping this is a movie that frightened me when I was a kid, that I've been trying to find for decades. There weren't that many blob-like movies made, and I have already determined it wasn't X-the Unknown. I'll have to keep watching to find out for sure. So far it's not ringing a bell, but 40 years have passed! No matter. I know Bava made some of the scariest movies ever!

[lastrada52]

John Merivale -- lead actor in this film and co-star with Kirk Douglas in The List of Adrian Messenger -- which features many well-known actors in disguise throughout the film -- later became the caretaker of screen legend Vivian Leigh just before she died. That's quite a jump from Caltiki to Vivian Leigh.

[MystMoonstruck]

Thank you! This is much better than my very grainy videotape from back when our cable service was terrible. Plus, it has all of those commercial interruptions they would pile into movies shown in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks for this, "Kronos", "The Alien Factor", and other goodies I've spotted! They'll keep me occupied for quite a while!

[Mality]

"Concentrated cheese", my ass! This film is scary and brilliant. Incredible atmosphere!

[Robo1415]

@TheJomogogo Yes,that was the scary scene I remember from when I was a kid back in the '60s...Finally recorded it on vhs in the '90s...It was a fun,spooky movie...

[4everfrankenstein]

@monster4josh I own a decent home cooked DVD of SNOW DEVILS taken off the air from TBS some time ago, but I've had no luck posting it on YT because it's all been burned as one big file w/ only one chapter, and as you know no YT vids can be longer than 10 minutes. Such a pity because, SNOW DEVILS is big kooky fun. Bill Finger ( who, for years ghosted Batman comic book stories for Bob Kane), wrote the screenplay. The SNOW DEVILS theme is cool also, and reminiscent of the great spaghetti Westerns.