Trog (1970)

(On Cable TV, February 2022) If you’re building yourself a nice little filmography of” terrible horror films that Classic Hollywood actors did in their late careers,” then Trog is a mandatory entry. Featuring no less than Joan Crawford as a scientist who gets to care for a troglodyte having made it to the modern era, the film clearly means to be a low-budget creature feature. The special effects are ridiculous, the production values are threadbare and the script is a bizarre blend of exploitation with just enough drama to distinguish it from a run-of-the-mill creature feature. Crawford was not doing well in her career by the time she paid the bills with Trog, and the film’s production history is rife with stories of her on-set alcoholism. But the producers got what they paid for: Her on-screen performance is significantly better than the rest of the film. It helps that the lead role is more substantial than in most other monster films. Here, she plays the good angel to the troglodyte’s nature, trying to tell others that it’s a peaceful creature to be treated well. But, of course, audiences paid to see violence, horror and a rampaging creature so that’s where Trog goes for much of its third act, as a villain frees him and riles him up enough to get him on a murderous rampage before the ending. Despite loftier aims, the script itself is an unpolished, atonal piece of work that fits well with the scattershot nature of the film’s execution. Some will like it because it’s so ridiculous: Trog has become something of a cult classic since its release. But if you’re not a fan of the so-bad-it’s-good school (and why should anyone, considering the sheer number of so-good-it’s-good films?), then Trog may boil down to an illustration of what a gifted actress can do even in the middle of terrible material and an even worse production.