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Beast of the Yellow Night

January 13, 2023

Beast of the Yellow Night is a 1971 Filipino/American horror film, directed by Eddie Romero and starring John Ashley, who co-produced the film with Romero. It was the first release for Roger Corman's distribution company New World Pictures.

Beast of the Yellow Night
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEddie Romero
Written byEddie Romero
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJusto Paulino
Edited byBen Barcelon
Music byNestor Robles
Production
companies
Distributed byNew World Pictures (U.S.)
Release date
  • 1971 (1971)
Running time
87 minutes
Countries
Languages
BudgetUS$200,000 or US$60,000[1]

After successfully distributing Beast of Blood in 1970, producer Kane W. Lynn (as Hemisphere Pictures) tried to get the distribution rights to Ashley's next horror film, titled Beast of the Yellow Night. Ashley and his production company Four Associates Ltd. put up the money to produce the film themselves in the Philippines, and instead of allowing Lynn to distribute it, he made a deal with Roger Corman's then-fledgling New World Pictures instead. Lynn's ex-business partner in Hemisphere Pictures, Eddie Romero, was hired to direct and co-produce, but Lynn was cut out of the deal. Ashley's Four Associates Ltd. went on to produce several other films in the Philippines, such as The Twilight People, The Woman Hunt and Ebony, Ivory & Jade, before disbanding.[2] Lynn invested in Sam Sherman's 1971 sci-fi film Brain of Blood, which did not fare well, and died soon after of cancer in 1975.

Plot

The film is set near the end of World War II in the Philippines. Satan (Vic Díaz) saves murderer Joseph Langdon (John Ashley) from death on condition that he become his disciple. Satan has Langdon inhabit the bodies of several people over the years, bringing out the latent evil of those around them and carrying out the devil's evil deeds for the next 25 years. Inhabiting the body of Phillip Rogers and with his face, Langdon tries to exert his own free will, but becomes a hairy, murderous beast — a werewolf on the rampage — and kills several people. His wife Julia (Mary Wilcox) tries to support and comfort him during the day, as does his brother Earl (Ken Metcalfe), but when he meets blind former bandit Sabasas Nan (Andres Centenera), he starts to find the strength to fight back. Inspector de Santos (Leopoldo Salcedo) recognizes Rogers as being Langdon, and takes him into custody, putting him under house arrest. Rogers attempts to make love to his wife, but changes again and escapes. When he and Nan try to leave the city, they encounter the police and military and Rogers changes again, battling against the combined forces. When a gravely wounded Sabasas Nan asks Rogers to pray for him, he does so, and at that moment, he is shot by Lt. Campos, dies and reverts to his true age, his soul now free.

Cast

Production

Ashley said that playing the role of the monster "was a lot of fun to do. I used a double in the long shots but the scenes where the beast was talking...was me."[3] Ashley later said that the film was among the better written of his Philippines films. "It certainly was the most cerebral, if you can call any of those pictures that", he said.[4] The success of the movie led Corman to make a series of films in the Philippines, including The Big Doll House.[5]

Release

Beast of the Yellow Night was released in 1971 in the US. "We really tried for quality", Romero said later. "I don't think it did very well. They [the audience] prefer out and out gore."[6]

Diabolique magazine wrote that "The film is a lot of fun, and Ashley's performance is good – he's not playing a stock leading man character this time, but a tormented killer redeemed by love for his new wife. It was a financial success and launched Ashley as a producer, while confirming his status as a draw in horror movies."[5]

Home video

Beast of the Yellow Night was released on DVD by Ventura Distribution on August 21, 2001. The film was reissued several times after its initial DVD release, usually as part of a multi-disc combo pack. It was last released by VCI Video as a part of a four-disc combo pack.[7]

Reception

Beast of the Yellow Night received mostly negative reviews upon its release. Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it a "confusing, implausible rather poorly made horror film", although she admitted it had "a nice twist" showing "two kinds of caring: that of a woman whose love implies expectations and that of a friend who wants nothing and is thereby able to give more."[8] Graeme Clark of The Spinning Image rated the film three out of 10 stars, criticizing the film's overly talky and confusing script.[9]

Legacy

Ashley later became a producer on The A Team television series. He made a cameo in an episode as a backer of a horror film called The Beast of the Yellow Night.[10]

In 2014, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of movie mocking commentary RiffTrax riffed the film as part of their repertoire.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cinefantastique Vol 01 No 4 (Fall 1971)". Cinefantastique. 1971. p. 43.
  2. ^ Fred Olen Ray (1 January 1991). The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-89950-628-9.
  3. ^ Weaver, pp. 42-43
  4. ^ Weaver, p. 43
  5. ^ a b Vagg, Stephen (December 2019). "A Hell of a Life: The Nine Lives of John Ashley". Diabolique Magazine.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Leavold, Andrew (2006). "Strong Coffee with a National Treasure: An Interview with Eddie Romero". Cashiers du Cinemart.
  7. ^ "Beast of the Yellow Night (1979) – Eddie Romero". AllMovie. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  8. ^ Gross, Linda (Dec 22, 1973). "MOVIE REVIEW". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Clark, Graeme. "Beast of the Yellow Night Review (1971)". The Spinning Image. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  10. ^ Kelley, B. (Mar 17, 1985). "ASHLEY FINALLY MAKES THE TEAM". Sun Sentinel. ProQuest 389734195.

External links

January 13, 2023
beast, yellow, night, this, article, missing, information, about, film, theatrical, release, please, expand, article, include, this, information, further, details, exist, talk, page, november, 2019, 1971, filipino, american, horror, film, directed, eddie, rome. This article is missing information about the film s theatrical release Please expand the article to include this information Further details may exist on the talk page November 2019 Beast of the Yellow Night is a 1971 Filipino American horror film directed by Eddie Romero and starring John Ashley who co produced the film with Romero It was the first release for Roger Corman s distribution company New World Pictures Beast of the Yellow NightTheatrical release posterDirected byEddie RomeroWritten byEddie RomeroProduced byEddie Romero John Ashley David J Cohen Roger Corman Beverly MillerStarringJohn AshleyVic DiazCinematographyJusto PaulinoEdited byBen BarcelonMusic byNestor RoblesProductioncompaniesFour Associates LtdCinema Projects InternationalDistributed byNew World Pictures U S Release date1971 1971 Running time87 minutesCountriesPhilippinesUnited StatesLanguagesFilipinoEnglishBudgetUS 200 000 or US 60 000 1 After successfully distributing Beast of Blood in 1970 producer Kane W Lynn as Hemisphere Pictures tried to get the distribution rights to Ashley s next horror film titled Beast of the Yellow Night Ashley and his production company Four Associates Ltd put up the money to produce the film themselves in the Philippines and instead of allowing Lynn to distribute it he made a deal with Roger Corman s then fledgling New World Pictures instead Lynn s ex business partner in Hemisphere Pictures Eddie Romero was hired to direct and co produce but Lynn was cut out of the deal Ashley s Four Associates Ltd went on to produce several other films in the Philippines such as The Twilight People The Woman Hunt and Ebony Ivory amp Jade before disbanding 2 Lynn invested in Sam Sherman s 1971 sci fi film Brain of Blood which did not fare well and died soon after of cancer in 1975 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 4 1 Home video 5 Reception 6 Legacy 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksPlot EditThe film is set near the end of World War II in the Philippines Satan Vic Diaz saves murderer Joseph Langdon John Ashley from death on condition that he become his disciple Satan has Langdon inhabit the bodies of several people over the years bringing out the latent evil of those around them and carrying out the devil s evil deeds for the next 25 years Inhabiting the body of Phillip Rogers and with his face Langdon tries to exert his own free will but becomes a hairy murderous beast a werewolf on the rampage and kills several people His wife Julia Mary Wilcox tries to support and comfort him during the day as does his brother Earl Ken Metcalfe but when he meets blind former bandit Sabasas Nan Andres Centenera he starts to find the strength to fight back Inspector de Santos Leopoldo Salcedo recognizes Rogers as being Langdon and takes him into custody putting him under house arrest Rogers attempts to make love to his wife but changes again and escapes When he and Nan try to leave the city they encounter the police and military and Rogers changes again battling against the combined forces When a gravely wounded Sabasas Nan asks Rogers to pray for him he does so and at that moment he is shot by Lt Campos dies and reverts to his true age his soul now free Cast EditJohn Ashley as Joseph Langdon Philip Rogers Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Julia Rogers as Mary Wilcox Leopoldo Salcedo as Inspector Santos Eddie Garcia as Det Lt Campo Ken Metcalfe as Earl Rogers Vic Diaz as Satan Andres Centenera as blind man Ruben Rustia as hospital doctor Don Lipman as U S military attache Jose Garcia James Spencer Carpi Asturias as Langdon s jungle contact Jose Roy Jr Criselda Joonee Gamboa as Mateo Peter Magurean Nora Nunez Johnny LongProduction EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it November 2019 Ashley said that playing the role of the monster was a lot of fun to do I used a double in the long shots but the scenes where the beast was talking was me 3 Ashley later said that the film was among the better written of his Philippines films It certainly was the most cerebral if you can call any of those pictures that he said 4 The success of the movie led Corman to make a series of films in the Philippines including The Big Doll House 5 Release EditBeast of the Yellow Night was released in 1971 in the US We really tried for quality Romero said later I don t think it did very well They the audience prefer out and out gore 6 Diabolique magazine wrote that The film is a lot of fun and Ashley s performance is good he s not playing a stock leading man character this time but a tormented killer redeemed by love for his new wife It was a financial success and launched Ashley as a producer while confirming his status as a draw in horror movies 5 Home video Edit Beast of the Yellow Night was released on DVD by Ventura Distribution on August 21 2001 The film was reissued several times after its initial DVD release usually as part of a multi disc combo pack It was last released by VCI Video as a part of a four disc combo pack 7 Reception EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it August 2018 Beast of the Yellow Night received mostly negative reviews upon its release Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it a confusing implausible rather poorly made horror film although she admitted it had a nice twist showing two kinds of caring that of a woman whose love implies expectations and that of a friend who wants nothing and is thereby able to give more 8 Graeme Clark of The Spinning Image rated the film three out of 10 stars criticizing the film s overly talky and confusing script 9 Legacy EditAshley later became a producer on The A Team television series He made a cameo in an episode as a backer of a horror film called The Beast of the Yellow Night 10 In 2014 Michael J Nelson Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of movie mocking commentary RiffTrax riffed the film as part of their repertoire See also EditList of American films of 1971References Edit Cinefantastique Vol 01 No 4 Fall 1971 Cinefantastique 1971 p 43 Fred Olen Ray 1 January 1991 The New Poverty Row Independent Filmmakers as Distributors McFarland ISBN 978 0 89950 628 9 Weaver pp 42 43 Weaver p 43 a b Vagg Stephen December 2019 A Hell of a Life The Nine Lives of John Ashley Diabolique Magazine permanent dead link Leavold Andrew 2006 Strong Coffee with a National Treasure An Interview with Eddie Romero Cashiers du Cinemart Beast of the Yellow Night 1979 Eddie Romero AllMovie Retrieved 13 October 2015 Gross Linda Dec 22 1973 MOVIE REVIEW Los Angeles Times Clark Graeme Beast of the Yellow Night Review 1971 The Spinning Image Retrieved 19 November 2019 Kelley B Mar 17 1985 ASHLEY FINALLY MAKES THE TEAM Sun Sentinel ProQuest 389734195 External links EditBeast of the Yellow Night at the American Film Institute Catalog Beast of the Yellow Night at AllMovie Beast of the Yellow Night at IMDb Beast of the Yellow Night at Rotten Tomatoes Beast of the Yellow Night at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beast of the Yellow Night amp oldid 1106734074, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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