# Eegah > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eegah > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eegah.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eegah > Source revision: 1339312946 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|1962 film by Arch Hall Sr. (as Nicholas Merriwether)}} {{distinguish|Eega}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = Eegah | image = Eegah-x.jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [Arch Hall Sr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Sr.)
(as Nicholas Merriwether) | producer = Arch Hall Sr.
(as Nicholas Merriwether) | screenplay = Bob Wehling | story = Arch Hall Sr.
(as Nicholas Merriwether) | starring = {{Plainlist| * [Arch Hall, Jr.](/source/Arch_Hall%2C_Jr.) * Marilyn Manning * [Richard Kiel](/source/Richard_Kiel) }} | music = André Brummer | cinematography = Vilis Lapenieks | editing = Don Schneider | color_process = [Eastman Color](/source/Eastmancolor) | studio = Fairway International Pictures | distributor = Fairway International Pictures | released = {{Film date|1962|06|08}} | runtime = 92 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $15,000 }} thumb|''Eegah'' (1962) by Arch Hall '''''Eegah''''' (sometimes stylized as '''''Eegah!'''''[https://web.archive.org/web/20220702234050/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/557884/eegah TCM.com] and also known as '''''Eegah: The Name Written in Blood''''') is a 1962 American [horror film](/source/horror_film) directed by [Arch Hall Sr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Sr.) (as Nicholas Merriwether) and starring [Arch Hall Jr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Jr.), [Marilyn Manning](/source/Marilyn_Manning) and [Richard Kiel](/source/Richard_Kiel).[https://www.offbeat.com/news/arch-hall-jr-inside-the-wild-guitar/ Arch Hall, Jr.: Inside the Wild Guitar - Off Beat Magazine] Often considered to be among [the worst films ever made](/source/list_of_films_considered_the_worst), ''Eegah'' was listed in the 1978 book ''[The Fifty Worst Films of All Time](/source/The_Fifty_Worst_Films_of_All_Time),'' and was featured in a 1993 episode of ''[Mystery Science Theater 3000](/source/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000)'' and a 2010 episode of ''[Elvira's Movie Macabre](/source/Elvira's_Movie_Macabre)''. ==Plot== One night after shopping, Roxy Miller (Marilyn Manning) is driving to a party through the California desert when she nearly crashes into Eegah (Richard Kiel), a giant prehistoric [caveman](/source/caveman). She tells her boyfriend Tom Nelson (Arch Hall Jr.) and her father Robert Miller (Arch Hall Sr.) about the giant. Her father, a writer of adventure books, decides to go into the desert to look for the creature and possibly photograph it. When his helicopter ride fails to show up at the designated pickup time, Tom and Roxy go looking for him in his [dune buggy](/source/dune_buggy). Roxy is soon kidnapped by Eegah and taken back to his cave while Tom searches for her. In Eegah's cave, Roxy is reunited with her father, who has been captured as well. He tells her that he has begun to communicate with the caveman and has developed a theory as to the creature's astounding longevity. Eegah begins to express what seems to be a romantic interest in Roxy. Her father, fearful that the creature may kill them both if he is rebuffed, suggests she endure as much of it as she can bear. Eegah remains relatively tame, however, and Roxy even ends up giving him a shave, which distracts him long enough until Tom arrives and helps the Millers escape. Enraged, Eegah follows them back to civilization to seek revenge. He goes on a rampage through the town until he finally locates Roxy, and attempts to kidnap her from a party. The police soon arrive and confront Eegah, who is shot and killed. ==Cast== * [Arch Hall Jr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Jr.) as Tom Nelson * Marilyn Manning as Roxy Miller * [Richard Kiel](/source/Richard_Kiel) as Eegah * [Arch Hall Sr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Sr.) as Robert Miller * Clay Stearns as Band Member * Bob Davis as George * [Deke Richards](/source/Deke_Richards) as Band Member * Ron Shane as Detective * Addalyn Pollitt as George's Wife * Lloyd Williams as Mr. Kruger, Helicopter Pilot * [Ray Dennis Steckler](/source/Ray_Dennis_Steckler) as Mr. Fishman * Bill Rice as Chef * Carolyn Brandt as Fishman's Girl == Production == [[File:Eegah-ArchHallJr.jpg|thumbnail|[Arch Hall Jr.](/source/Arch_Hall_Jr.) plays the main protagonist in this cult classic.]] Following the financial success of his first venture into the drive-in/juvenile delinquency genre, ''[The Choppers](/source/The_Choppers)'', Arch Hall Sr. was able to fund ''Eegah'', a starring vehicle for his son, Arch Hall Jr., who had some success with songwriter [Alan O'Day](/source/Alan_O'Day) on the [rock and roll](/source/rock_and_roll)/[surf rock](/source/surf_rock) scene in Los Angeles. Hall Sr. co-wrote the film with Bob Wehling, directed the picture under the pseudonym Nicholas Merriweather, and co-starred opposite his son under the name William Watters. While the library music used to underscore the picture was supplied by André Brummer (under the name Henri Price), an uncredited O'Day ended up being the music editor on ''Eegah''. Hall Sr. looked to create an [Elvis Presley](/source/Elvis_Presley)-style screen persona for his son and made sure that ''Eegah'' was peppered with various rock and roll songs (including two songs he wrote called "Vicky" and "Valerie"). The film attempts elements of traditional schlock-horror and youth-comedy genres and anticipates the 1960s "[beach party](/source/Beach_party_film)" [genre](/source/Film_genre). One of the members of the rock and roll band shown in the film was Deke Lussier, who, as [Deke Richards](/source/Deke_Richards), later became a highly respected songwriter and [record producer](/source/record_producer) at [Motown Records](/source/Motown_Records).{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kGLtcc_pJxQC&q=%22deke+richards%22&pg=PT186 |title=Earth vs. the sci-fi film makers |first=Tom |last=Weaver |page=176 |publisher=McFarland |year=2005 |isbn=0-7864-2210-6 }} Hall Sr.'s company, Fairway-International Pictures, located in Burbank, California, was also Hall's place of residence and doubled for a number of locations in the picture, including the Millers' apartment. Assistant cameraman [Ray Dennis Steckler](/source/Ray_Dennis_Steckler) appears in the picture as Mr. Fischer, the man at the hotel who is thrown into the pool near the end of the picture. Steckler, who had previously moved to Hollywood to become a cameraman, made his directing debut the next year in the Arch Hall Jr. vehicle ''[Wild Guitar](/source/Wild_Guitar)''. Steckler's first independent feature, ''[The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies](/source/The_Incredibly_Strange_Creatures_Who_Stopped_Living_and_Became_Mixed-Up_Zombies)'', was later distributed by Fairway-International. == Reception and legacy == Often considered to be [one of the worst films ever made](/source/List_of_films_considered_the_worst), the film has a rare [approval rating of 0%](/source/List_of_films_with_a_0%25_rating_on_Rotten_Tomatoes) on Rotten Tomatoes, with 8 critical reviews.[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eegah Rotten Tomatoes] The first real notoriety the film had past its initial release was being included in the 1978 book ''The Fifty Worst Films of All Time''. In his ''Classic Movie Guide'', film critic [Leonard Maltin](/source/Leonard_Maltin) awarded the film a "bomb," his lowest rating possible, calling it "A staple at 'All-Time Worst Film' festivals."{{cite book|author1=Leonard Maltin|author2=Spencer Green|author3=Rob Edelman|title=Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLtaAAAAYAAJ|date=January 2010|publisher=Plume|isbn=978-0-452-29577-3|pages=185–186}} Writing in [DVD Talk](/source/DVD_Talk), critic Ian Jane described the film as "terrible in all the right ways" and "about as bottom of the barrel as they come."{{cite web |last1=Jane |first1=Ian |title=Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Terror / Eegah! |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50140/elviras-movie-macabre-the-terror-eegah/ |website=DVD Talk |publisher=DVDTalk.com |access-date=2022-03-08}} The film is listed in [Golden Raspberry Award](/source/Golden_Raspberry_Award) founder [John Wilson](/source/John_J._B._Wilson)'s book ''[The Official Razzie Movie Guide](/source/The_Official_Razzie_Movie_Guide)'' as one of the "100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made."{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=John|title=The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst |year=2005|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=0-446-69334-0}} thumbnail|A still from the infamous scene where Eegah licks shaving cream In 1993, ''Eegah'' was featured on [Comedy Central's](/source/Comedy_Central) cult television series ''[Mystery Science Theater 3000](/source/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000)'' (MST3K) and became a fan favorite. In the published episode guide to the series, ''The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide'' ({{ISBN|0-553-37783-3}}), the cast considers the shaving scene—in which Eegah lolls his tongue around and laps up shaving cream—to be one of the most disgusting things they have witnessed during their time on the show. The writers also speculate that some kind of romantic relationship existed between Arch Hall Sr. and his on-screen daughter Marilyn Manning, due to the uncomfortably non-familial chemistry in their scenes together. One of the film's more inept moments became a running joke on the show: Hall Sr.'s line "Watch out for snakes!" is blurted out despite a lack of visual source for the dialog. In 2009, ''Eegah'' was featured in a season five episode of the television series ''[Cinema Insomnia](/source/Cinema_Insomnia)''.{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/show.php#episode |title=Cinema Insomnia |publisher=Cinema Insomnia |accessdate=20 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328140102/http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/show.php#episode |archivedate=March 28, 2010 |df=mdy }} === Home media === The film is in the public domain and has been released on home video a number of times, both as stand-alone versions and as part of multi-film collections.[https://www.oldies.com/product-view/4058D.html Eegah DVD-R (1962) - Alpha Video] The ''MST3K'' version of the movie was released on DVD in March 2000 by [Rhino Home Video](/source/Rhino_Home_Video). It was reissued on DVD by [Shout Factory](/source/Shout_Factory) on May 22, 2018, as part of ''The Singles Collection''.[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/mst3k-the-singles-collection?product_id=6707 MST3K: The Singles Collection - DVD|Shout Factory] "The Gizmoplex" was launched to the public on May 8, 2022, a new headquarters for all things ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'', with the ''Eegah'' episode being made available for purchase in digital streaming format directly from gizmoplex.com.[https://www.gizmoplex.com/products/eegah MST3K Gizmoplex.com "Eegah"] As of 2024, it is available to watch for free (with ads) on YouTube.{{Citation |title=MST3K: Eegah |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy_CtjzEKWI |access-date=2024-01-12 |language=en}} The ''Cinema Insomnia'' episode featuring the film was released on DVD by [Apprehensive Films](/source/Apprehensive_Films) on April 13, 2009.[https://www.amazon.com/Eegah-Cinema-Insomnia-Mr-Lobo/dp/B0026OE1BC/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=cinema+insomnia+eegah&qid=1556515471&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull Amazon.com: Eegah! Cinema Insomnia Edition]{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrippledmasters.com/cieegahdvd.html |title=Eegah! DVD |publisher=Apprehensive Films |accessdate=20 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419021630/http://www.thecrippledmasters.com/cieegahdvd.html |archivedate=April 19, 2010 |df=mdy }} On November 1, 2019, [The Film Detective](/source/The_Film_Detective) announced a new 4K restoration of ''Eegah'' would be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 26, 2019, with the Blu-ray being a limited edition of only 1,500 copies in collaboration with Shout Factory, Something Weird Video, and Cinema Preservation Alliance. Special features included subtitles, the complete ''MST3K'' version of the movie, an interview with ''MST3K'' creator [Joel Hodgson](/source/Joel_Hodgson), and an interview with star Arch Hall Jr.[https://trailersfromhell.com/eegah/ Trailers From Hell] ==See also== * [List of American films of 1962](/source/List_of_American_films_of_1962) ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{commons category}} * {{IMDb title|id=0055946|title=Eegah}} * {{TCMDb title|id=557884}} * {{AFI film|id=19865|title=Eegah}} * {{Internet Archive film|id=Eegah|name=Eegah}} Category:1962 films Category:1962 horror films Category:1962 independent films Category:1962 English-language films Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:American independent films Category:1960s monster movies Category:Films about cavemen Category:Films about father–daughter relationships Category:1962 American films Category:English-language independent films Category:English-language horror films Category:English-language science fiction horror films --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eegah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eegah) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eegah?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.