Villain(s)  Mutated Gila monster

Actor(s):  Don Sullivan, Fred Graham, Lisa Simone, Shug Fisher

Brief Description  The Giant Gila Monster (1959) is a low-budget sci-fi B-movie directed by Ray Kellogg. Set in rural Texas, it follows a 70-foot reptile terrorizing a small community. Heroic hot-rod mechanic Chase Winstead teams up with the local sheriff to stop the creature before it crashes a teenage sock hop.

Plot:
The movie opens in the desolate backwoods of northern Texas. A young couple parked over a ravine is suddenly attacked when a massive claw pushes their car over the edge, killing them. When the teenagers go missing, the local sheriff is deeply puzzled. He asks for help from Chase Winstead (played by Don Sullivan), a charismatic local mechanic, hot rod enthusiast, and leader of a youth group. Chase uses his towing rig to search the area and eventually helps locate the wrecked vehicle, but the bodies are missing. As the film progresses, the giant, hungry lizard continues its rampage across the countryside. It derails a passenger train, attacks motorists, and destroys a localized home. Despite the growing body count, the town's adults remain largely oblivious or skeptical. Meanwhile, Chase balances his amateur detective work with working on his custom hot rod, looking after his disabled younger sister Missy, and romancing his French girlfriend, Lisa.

The monster finally descends directly upon the community during a local teen sock hop hosted by a radio DJ named "Steamroller" Smith. Just after Chase performs a couple of musical numbers on his banjo, the giant Gila monster crashes through the wall of the barn dance. Panic erupts. The sheriff attempts to shoot the beast with a shotgun, but it does little to stop it. Chase realizes the beast must be destroyed and forms a plan. He rushes back to his garage to retrieve four quarts of highly volatile nitroglycerin. While driving back, he spots the lizard threatening his little sister and her friends. In a heroic climax, Chase packs the nitroglycerin into his newly completed hot rod, points the car directly at the monster's head, presses the accelerator, and leaps out at the very last second. The car collides with the creature and explodes into a massive fireball, killing the beast instantly. °WT~N[‹[