I'm pretty sure Joan Crawford could have safely called it a career without having to resort to this monstrosity; who knows what actors think after having reached a certain point in their life? I was absolutely stunned when she showed up in this one wearing a lab coat, heading up the Brockton Research Center as it's chief scientist, probably even more so than seeing the title character the first time it appeared on screen.
The half man, half-ape missing link concept gets a real workout in this one as the cave dwelling Trog emerges into the light of day under the tutelage and protection of Dr. Brockton, while mesmerizing the viewer with incomprehensible silliness regarding cryogenic suspension and the creature's evolutionary trail on the way to becoming a true Neanderthal. I usually delight in this kind of pseudo-scientific babble, but in this venue it seemed like reaching for the proverbial straw in order to justify the plot.
So with all the nonsense going on, I had a few thoughts that the picture could have explored to make it even more garish. Like what would Trog have used as a mouthwash, seeing as how his favored mealtime consisted of lizards and raw fish. And with Trog's rather effective use of the body slam technique he used in a number of situations, putting him in a wrestling ring might have been a pretty good idea. As I think about it now, I believe there actually was a wrestler at one time that went by The Missing Link. See, a groundbreaking idea if there ever was one.
But you know where this flick really missed the boat? A few years before this picture was released there was a hit song called "Wild Thing" that made it to the top of the charts. It would have been a blast if they used it here for the soundtrack. Not only would it have been a natural to describe the title character, but it was performed by a group calling themselves - The Troggs!
The half man, half-ape missing link concept gets a real workout in this one as the cave dwelling Trog emerges into the light of day under the tutelage and protection of Dr. Brockton, while mesmerizing the viewer with incomprehensible silliness regarding cryogenic suspension and the creature's evolutionary trail on the way to becoming a true Neanderthal. I usually delight in this kind of pseudo-scientific babble, but in this venue it seemed like reaching for the proverbial straw in order to justify the plot.
So with all the nonsense going on, I had a few thoughts that the picture could have explored to make it even more garish. Like what would Trog have used as a mouthwash, seeing as how his favored mealtime consisted of lizards and raw fish. And with Trog's rather effective use of the body slam technique he used in a number of situations, putting him in a wrestling ring might have been a pretty good idea. As I think about it now, I believe there actually was a wrestler at one time that went by The Missing Link. See, a groundbreaking idea if there ever was one.
But you know where this flick really missed the boat? A few years before this picture was released there was a hit song called "Wild Thing" that made it to the top of the charts. It would have been a blast if they used it here for the soundtrack. Not only would it have been a natural to describe the title character, but it was performed by a group calling themselves - The Troggs!