cast: Anne Gwynne, Gloria Castillo, Stuart Wade, Gil Perkins, Stephen Parker, Charlews Courtney, Norman Leavitt, Jim McCullough, Gaybe Morradian and Arthur Berkeley. Produced and Directed by Jacques Marquette; Screenplay, Ray Buffum; Story idea, Jacques Marquette and Ray Buffum; Associate producer, Dale Tate; Make-up, Jack P. Pierce. Production began: Mid - late August 1957; Release date: January 1958 on a double bill with BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS; A Marquette Production and Distrubuted by Favorite Films in 1958; 65 minutes. Alternate Titles: METEOR MONSTER, "Monster On The Hill")

The Plot: Ruth and Jim Cannon and their nine year old son, Charles, live in a shack adjacent to an old gold mine. Jim is working the mine, barely making a living but it is a happy family. One morning Jim and his boy are about to enter the mine shaft when out of the sky, a weird ball of fire followed by an explosion rocks the country-side. Ruth runs from the house and finds her husband dead and her son transformed into a hideous little monster by the blast. Seven years have passed and a series of shocking events is terrorizing the community. Sheep and cattle are found with their throats torn out. An old sourdough is found dead with every bone in his body broken. Ruth, who has kept her monstrous son hidden from the world all these years is frantic. Charles, grown to a huge hairy imbecile is responsible for the atrocities. Ruth with a mother's love blinding her to everything else, tries to prevent Charles from going on these terrorizing raids. Charles, with the strength of many men, has the mind of a child, but distorted by the mysterious blast with an urge to kill. Ruth uncovers a rich vein at the mine and becomes a rich woman. She buys a house in town hoping to keep Charles locked up and away from the range, the scenes of his hideous crimes. Bob Lehman, Sheriff of the county, has been a family friend for many years. He loves Ruth and feels that she has been alone and a widow long enough. He, of course, does not know about Charles as he thinks the boy was killed with his father. One night when Ruth and Bob are out to dinner, Charles breaks out of the house, kills a man, frightens some children playing and runs into Kathy North, a pretty little waitress, on her way to work. Charles grabs her and muffles her scream with his hairy hand as Kathy faints from fright. Charles takes her home and hides her in a closet. Ruth senses something is wrong and searches the room and finds Kathy, presumably dead. After reviving her Ruth explains that Charles is her son and offers Kathy five hundred dollars to keep quiet. Kathy now over her fright and knowing that she and Ruth can control the monster agrees to everything and plans to blackmail Ruth who, of course, has no choice in the matter now that her secret is known. Later that night, Kathy keeps a date with Marv Howell, a pool hall dude. When Marv learns of the money she has, he takes it away from her which infuriates Kathy. The next day, she tells Charles of the man who took her money and the poor imbecile is only too glad to agree to murder anyone who was mean to the only girl he has ever known. That night he kills Marv with Kathy looking on. Kathy is somewhat of a monster herself and decides to hit the jackpot. She tells Charles that his mother is planning to marry the sheriff and turn him over to the law for his crimes. It is an easy matter for her to convince Charles that Ruth and Bob should be murdered. Kathy goes to Ruth to plan to get her and Bob together in the barn to set up a place for the killing. She tells Ruth she has been a sucker for putting up with Chalres all these years, and says she, Kathy, would have poisoned Charles long ago. She doesn't know that Charles is eavesdropping on the stairs. Charles realizing the truth, grabs Kathy and carries her up in the mountains where a pursuing posse shoots him on the edge of a precipice. He and Kathy fall to their death while Bob and a terrified Ruth look on. (Plot taken from the press book.)

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