It’s Blacksploitation Bigfoot in “Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century”

The 1976 Dino De Laurentiis and John Guillermin remake of “King Kong” did more than just introduce movie goers to actress Jessica Lange it also inspired a whole slew of independent film makers around the globe to produce their own low-budget copies of it. For as much as the original “Kong” inspired some of the greatest names in fantasy cinema to take up the craft of monster movie making including, Ishiro Honda (Godzilla) and Ray Harryhausen (Sinbad, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) just to name two. Likewise the remake spawned a list of films, made by film makers you’ve probably never heard of, from all corners of the globe. There was “A.P.E.” produced in Korea by K.M. Yeung, “The Mighty Peking Man” produced in China by the Shaw Brothers, and the lesser known “Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century” which is a Italian/Canadian feature directed by Gianfranco Parolini.

On the surface the similarities between “Yeti” and “King Kong” are more than obvious. A giant ape-like creature is discovered in some remote location by researchers, the monster falls in love with the first pretty face it sees, it is subsequently captured, then brought back to civilization for exploitation where it breaks loose and does as much carnage as the special effects budget will allow. Monster climbs building with girl in paw, guns blaze, monster falls (Aaaaaarghhh … thud), the end.

However, “Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century” is more of a direct rip off of “The Mighty Peking Man”, “The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas” and oddly enough 70s blacksploitation films like “Black Belt Jones”.

They were originally going to call the film “Hair”, but they discovered there was already a muscial and a film being made with that name.

Professor Wassermann (John Stacy) is the industrialist Morgan Hunnicut (Eddie Faye) asked to lead an expedition to study the giant yeti -creature found frozen in a large block of ice at the Newfoundland coast. The professor does not know is that Hunnicut intends to use the prehistoric creature as a trademark for its multinational companies.

Professor thaw giant, hanging him up in a helicopter, supposedly to simulate the atmosphere of the home maker Yeti of the Himalayas. Yeti (Mimmo Craig) wakes irritated to live, escaping – and kidnaps Hunnicut granddaughter Jane (Phoenix Grant) and her mute brother Herbie (Jim Sullivan). Despite their fierce appearance shows the Yeti to be a sensitive, lonely soul in search of a partner. Meanwhile, not Hunnicut squandered time and have the record enabled a giant campaign yeti brand. Yeti headed back to Toronto, where he is being honored by a parade – before he gets stressed by flash light, creating panic. After some devastation in the city of the Yeti finally able to escape to safety into the wilderness.

There has never been a Bigfoot like this! Styled after the legendary 1976 King Kong remake, this little known import finds a group of scientists and explorers tinkering with mother nature when they stumble upon a centuries-old yeti in the frozen tundra. Of course, their first instinct is to thaw out the savage Sasquatch and profit from him in the name of research and entertainment. But this hairy giant has other plans, and like his cinematic cousin Kong, he’s looking to grab the girl, climb the tallest skyscraper and smash the city to shreds. This snowman is ready to kick major ice!

“And You Can Bet Your Last Money, It’s Gonna Be A Stone Gas, Honey!” -Don Cornelius

About Monster Island News
Founder of the popular monster and sci-fi blogs Monster Island News and Godzilla 3D News and Information. Ken Hulsey began his writing career in 2000 when he founded kensforce.com a popular site with fans of Japanese sci fi/monster movies (Godzilla, Gamera and the like) and other B movies. In 2008, he closed down his original site and created the blog "Monster Island News" a showcase for classic horror/monster films and independent/alternative cinema.

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