THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959)

"You'll come out of that laboratory looking just fine, Paul!" Says Jane to her troubled husband.

Sometimes people say things in these movies that are just tempting fate, don't they?And it’s not longer after Jane has come out with that line, that Dr Mark Sinclair explains to Jane that the radiation experiment can’t go on for ONE SECOND longer than is planned. Or Paul will be in big trouble. ‘NOT ONE SECOND!’ he repeats, just in case we don’t get it.The fact that Paul is so keen to get a massive dose of radiation from the same Doc that basically turned him into a walking handbag is also a little silly – hasn’t he seen any sci-fi flicks? Radiation is bad, and so it proves in this case unfortunately.But I’m getting ahead of myself. The story, told in flashback, is a cracker – Jane’s wife Paul does a runner on their honeymoon. Her search takes her deep into swamp territory where she meets a manic Lon Chaney with a hook for a hand – worth the price of the DVD alone.The story that unfolds is probably THE most ridiculous even amongst the cheesiest of monster movies - and the ending is just the best. From the moment Jane and the Doc start tempting fate with the phrases I mentioned above, and a drunk Lon Chaney storms into the lab, the film becomes jaw-droppingly, awesomely, hilariously, erm, stupid. And completely unmissable.In summary, probably THE best alligator-themed monster movie featuring Lon Chaney available. It gets my thumbs up.