I was working in The Crypt the other day, cleaning and dusting and making room for new material. Suddenly, my phone rang and I answered it.
“Granny! This is Portia! The Killer Shrews is on TV tonight!” She exclaimed.
‘What? I said. Where? When?”
“On Channel 13 tonight on The Early Late Show! At nine o’clock!” she said.
“Well, come on over,” I said. We’ll watch it.”
Portia is my rather excitable niece, my brother Ambrose’s youngest daughter. Having her over was going to be an experience to say the least. I knew that The Killer Shrews is one of her favorite movies, as is mine, so it ought to be a hoot, two fans absorbing every minute of this “B movie” classic.
She arrived about 8:30 PM and together we cooked up some popcorn and got our drinks together. At nine I fired up the old Sylvania 19” black-and-white TV and we settled in. We had a ball!
The Killer Shrews has always been one of my guilty pleasures. It’s dark, moody, and really instills a sense of dread in the viewer. Imagine being stranded on an isolated island where ravenous Blarina shrews the size of dogs eat everything in sight, and the only food left is you, the trapped inhabitant.
We watched in horror as the helpless man, Rook, climbs a tree to escape the shrews only to fall into their midst when the branches give way; we screamed as a shrew breaks into the house; and we held our breath as the remaining three inhabitants make their escape to the beach and freedom. It was a fun night!
We discussed the movie until midnight. We liked the cast: James Best (of The Dukes of Hazzard fame), Ken Curtis (Festus on Gunsmoke), Ingrid Goude — Miss Sweden of 1956, Baruch Lumet, Judge Henry Dupree, Alfredo de Soto and a rather odd-acting Gordon McLendon, portraying a typical nerdy scientist who meets his end through a shrew bite. His over-the-top characterization of Dr. Radford Baines is in stark contrast to the marketing and innovative genius he was in real life.
McLendon co-produced The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster, released as a double bill, and produced the marketing campaigns for over 150 movies. He owned many now-classic radio stations and helped perfect the Top-Forty format. He implemented the concept of mobile news units, and developed the use of station jingles, traffic reports, all-news formats, easy-listening programming, and station editorials. He also owned a chain of movie theaters and drive-ins throughout the south. And…he even narrated the radio spots you will hear below! Look up “Gordon McLendon” on Wikipedia and read what an audio and visual visionary he was!
The night ended, and Portia went on home. I recalled the movie while in bed, reflecting on how a low-budget, regional film could be so well done when played seriously. The use of shrew hand puppets for close-ups and disguised coon dogs as giant shrews were pretty convincing. Suspend disbelief just a little and the movie works terrifyingly well.
And so, dear children, hear now the exciting radio spot campaign developed and narrated by Gordon McLendon, and you’ll see why listeners to their McLendon-owned Top-Forty radio station back in 1959 couldn’t wait to go see The Killer Shrews at their local theater!
20 and 60 second radio spots
