I'm currently watching a creature feature called Snow Beast from 1977.
Snow Beasts have a long and dignified history in popular culture. From the classic Abominable Snowman black and white original with Peter Cushing, the Yeti has been a staple of popular culture.
In my bookshelf is a well-thumbed copy of Snow Man by Norman Bogner, one of those iconic New English Library paperbacks made for a summer holiday read. My copy is from 1979 like the one pictured but I think it was first published in 1977, a good year for Yeti's.
[pic: nastynels]
Snowbeast is also from 1977 and is a horror flick, which for a time in the 1980's courted the video nasties when Vipco released it on VHS. Its not a nasty at all and with the likes of Clint Walker and Bo Svenson and some decent sets is very watchable. I'm watching it on You Tube and with its large number of extras in the film's ski resort it reminded me of other holiday disaster films like Piranha and Jaws.
A much less able affair is a more modern Snow Beast movie I've seen on telly. From 2011, it has a cast of about five, three of whom are on the DVD cover [the beast ate the other and it makes five] who appear to sit around drinking coffee or driving SUV's most of the time. Avoidable.
Grab a coffee and watch the 1977 movie or read the NEL paperback.
Have you any Yeti's in the closet readers?
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ABOMINABLE TOYS
Brian's recommendation of this cool looking modern Yeti Playset by Animal Planet has prompted me to list a few Yeti toys.
Maybe the mother of all vintage Yeti toys, here's the Marx original from 1963
and video footage by Big Al of it on the Tube. Be warned, the mechanical Wampa shrieking is really unpleasant!
Then of course there is that rarity amongst Sasquatches, the Mego Six Million Dollar Man Big Foot as covered on the US TV show Toy Hunter.
There's also this 7m video on the Tube explaining the ins and outs of it as a collectable:
Although I don't own one, my own personal favourite, is this, the Snow Man from the legendary Tomland line of Monsters. He has to be the most handsome of all Yetis!
There are lots more Abominable Snowmen toys: Matchbox, GI Joe and so on. Anyone got any?
I did re-paint an Orangutan. There just do not seem to be that many Yeti toys around, compared to other types of monster. Even Bigfoot gets more attention.
ReplyDeleteDo you have mountain creatures in NZ Paul?
DeleteIf that’s the cover I don’t think it’s from 1977 as Jason London the actor would have been a child then
ReplyDeleteThats a modern film from 2011, not the 1977 one.
DeleteYeti toys - yet another obscure genre with some amazing examples! I think the 1977 Snowbeast movie was made for TV. SFZ
ReplyDeleteIt was SF. I tried to watch Scream of the Wolf yesterday, also with Clint Walker, but got distracted. Its on YouTube but is not a great quality print.
DeleteI remember the television premier of Snowbeast.I was 9 years old,and I was away doing something else that night,though I can't remember what.All I do remember is the next day at school when all my classmates were discussing it.It took me probably another ten years to finally view it via VHS.I thought it was good,atmospheric viewing for a cold, snowy night.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good creature feature. I had no idea that it was a film kids were talking about back then! Fascinating.
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