The Giant Gila Monster

A giant lizard terrorizes a rural Texas community, and a hot-rod-building teenager becomes the town's unlikely hero when the adults fail to stop the creature. The Giant Gila Monster was shot in Texas on a tiny budget and released on a double bill with The Killer Shrews, produced by the same team. The monster is played by a real Gila monster filmed on a miniature set, which gives the film a different texture from the men-in-suits creature features of the era. Don Sullivan, as the singing, car-fixing hero, performs a couple of songs along the way. The film entered the public domain and became a television staple.