Although Mr. Gordon’s work in the 1960s often involved the macabre, he was definitely straying from his giant monster work of the 1950s. The ‘60s saw a kiddie film, a ghost story, a TV pilot built around that ghost story, a kid-oriented sword and sorcery flick, another TV pilot ripping off My Favorite Martian, and a psycho thriller. The latter was 1966’s Picture Mommy Dead (and the last film of Mr. Gordon’s to star his daughter Susan). Then there was a four year break before he roared back in the ‘70s.
Picture Mommy Dead was a signal that Mr. Gordon was done with kiddie fare. The film right before that, though, is a sort of Bridge Picture. Village of the Giants is a very weird family comedy that, sort of, represents Mr. Gordon’s first whack at a film vaguely based on H. G. Wells’ The Food of the Gods. It’s also a counter-counter-culture movie that clearly expresses Mr. Gordon’s own spleen at the radicalized youth that were starting to be a national issue in the country. Even so, it remains kid friendly (although again you can feel Mr. Gordon’s burgeoning impatience at the restrictions that sort of thing entailed), albeit maybe more a teen movie. I guess I’d compare it in tone to the Frankie Avalon Beach Party sort of movies. Albeit starring a young Ron Howard—great casting—as basically the white Urkle of his day.
This the last film for over a decade wherein Mr. Gordon fell back on his expertise with gigantism-themed cinema. A bunch of nogoodnik kids (although we’re talking PG nogoodnicks at worse) who eat a compound created by daffy young super-genius Ron Howard that causes them to grow to Amazing Colossal Man heights. They then take over their small town as an act of revenge on the uncool adults who has always been harshing their mellow. The leader of the enormous delinquents was played by none other than a young Beau Bridges.
Seeking to keep the kids entertained (the teens were covered by the boob jokes and implied hot girl nudity), Mr. Gordon provided an embiggened comical duck, a huge spider, and even more terrifying-although I can’t remember if the film realizes it or not—enlarged housecat. That’s beyond frightening. Look, if your dog suddenly became a big as a horse, no problem, because he’s still your dog. The only danger might be getting crushed to death when it tries to climb in your lap. If your cat was suddenly as big as you are, though, you’d be screwed.
