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Synopsis:
An anthropologist (Joan Crawford) discovers a “missing link” troglodyte (Joe Cornelius) living deep inside a cave, and tries her best to humanize him. Meanwhile, her efforts are sabotaged by an evil land developer (Michael Gough) who wants nothing more than to obliterate Trog.
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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Joan Crawford Films
- Primates
- Science Fiction
- Scientists
Review:
While Peary lists Berserk! (1967) — Joan Crawford’s tepid next-to-last picture — in the back of his book as “must see”, for some reason he fails to include its infinitely more notorious counterpart, Trog: a film so hideous it purportedly sent Joan herself scurrying away from Hollywood for good. (“If I weren’t a Christian Scientist, and I saw Trog advertised on a marquee across the street, I think I’d contemplate suicide”, she declared.) Indeed, Trog is one of the ultimate “bad movies” — a film so bad it’s campily good, with a nonsensical “scientific” basis, awful low-budget effects, and a cliched storyline. It’s Joan’s game participation which makes it worth a look: as always, she’s a consummately earnest and classy actress, voicing her lines like she’s in a high-brow melodrama rather than a Z-grade primate flick. Seeing her interact with Trog is priceless, and makes up for the rest of this truly lousy pic.
Note: Joan’s performance in Trog is so beloved that San Francisco’s LGBT Theatre Rhino produced a theatrical parody of the film back in 2006.
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See?
Yes, simply to see Joan Crawford in her final flick.
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