Back in a time when B-horror was black and white and real heroes and monsters battled, many fans were enchanted by a cheap but endearing flick entitled The Hideous Sun Demon.   Well, the star, writer, and director of that opus is still around and very willing to discuss low budgets and rubber suits.  So, sit back and relax (with plenty of sunblock) as...

By JOE ROMANO

Who's scaly and horrible and kills when the sun is high, but is a great guy when he's not wearing a monster suit?  It's Robert Clarke, star, writer, and producer of the 1959 cult classic, The Hideous Sun Demon.

Robert Clarke never tires of fan interest in The Hideous Sun Demon.  "We caught upon a story that has lasted for years," he said during a recent telephone interview, his booming baritone voice strong and powerful, reminiscent of the adventurous scientists and military pilots he has portrayed on screen.  "And I don't find that the least bit unacceptable," he added cheerily.

The Hideous Sun Demon gained an immediate audience after its release in 1959 and is still remembered among fans of early science fiction films as a cult favorite.  Not surprisingly, its quirky visual interpretation of man's dual nature has held up well over the past four decades, even as movie tastes and cultural norms have changed since the Sputnik era when it first emerged.

An affable man in his early eighties, Clarke is as eager to share his thoughts on the success of the Sun Demon, as on the difficulties of being an independent producer earlier in his life.  Since being spotted by a talent scout for RKO Studios at Hollywood's Geller Workshop Theater in 1944, Clarke has appeared in nearly one hundred movies, two of which he produced himself.  In a career spanning close to sixty years, he finds the continuing interest in his most well-known effort absolutely amazing.

Clarke not only starred in The Hideous Sun Demon, but also produced it, co-wrote the script, and co-directed.  He readily admits that The Hideous Sun Demon was based on childhood memories of the 1932 movie, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"My thought was that instead of ingesting a potion, as Henry Jekyll did in Robert Louis Stevenson's book and the wonderful black and white movie starring Fredric March as Dr. Jekyll, the leading character should be a modern scientist working on the development of nuclear fissionable material.  Through an accidental occurrence, the scientist is exposed to radiation and his chromosome structure is thrown out of balance.  The sun then becomes a catalytic agent which transforms the scientist into a reptilian creature."

Clarke believed so strongly in the story that he formed his own production company to film it.  While at the University of Southern California taking a course in film editing, Clarke handpicked the nucleus of his production crew from a group of young aspiring filmmakers he met there.  "In particular," said Clarke, "Robin Kirkman helped me finance the Sun Demon and was an extremely important part of the project."  Although Clarke continued his own film career, acting in many other movies until very recently, the Sun Demon was Kirkman's only film.

With initial financing of $25,000 in place, Clarke wasted no time on the project, taking only two months to film the entire movie.  Most important to staying on track, especially with such a limited budget, the crew and actors worked weekends to save money.

"We rented the camera and lighting each Friday afternoon so that we were only actually charged for Saturday.  The rental company was closed on Sunday, giving us a free day because we couldn't return the equipment until Monday morning."

When a friend of Clarke's brother offered to premier The Hideous Sun Demon at his drive-in, Clarke's sharp business sense was quick to seize the opportunity.  "Drive-ins were quite popular during the fifties and sixties and we filled the place every night for a solid week, grossing well over $5,000."

The fabulous success of the Sun Demon in that first week alone eventually led to several separate "states-rights" deals with a wide variety of independent distributors.   Most national film distributors were, according to Clarke, only interested in pictures on a higher budget scale, but the separate "states- rights" deals enabled the Sun Demon to reach a wide audience, too, and insured that people all over the country saw the movie.

After the success of the Sun Demon, Clarke was offered a contract with a relatively new film production company, Miler Consolidated Pictures, to produce three more movies.  His first project under his new contract was Beyond the Time Barrier (1960).  Clarke chose Edgar G. Ulmer, the low-budget master and cinematic genius, to direct the movie.  Naturally, he also cast himself in the principal role.

In Beyond the Time Barrier, Clarke stars as a rocket pilot who slips through a time portal during an experimental flight and arrives in a future world devastated by a nuclear plague.  "It was done on a completely different level than the Sun Demon," said Clarke, "with a full union crew, but it didn't have the appeal of the Sun Demon."  Most fans judged it too dreary, and consequently, Beyond the Time Barrier is seldom screened anymore.

The production side of the business was hard work on top of acting, especially for an independent producer like Clarke.  "It was always very difficult to get the support, the financial backing, the trust, and the willingness of people to join in on a project."

Still, Clarke enjoyed producing as much as acting and was looking forward to making two more films to complete his contract.   "Unfortunately, the company went out of business, and the other two movies were never made."

When asked if it's still possible for an independent producer to succeed in Hollywood today, Clarke hesitated at first, thought about the question, then responded with the assurance of a seasoned veteran.   "Anyone with the drive, and the ambition, and the willingness to go forward with very little assistance could sell his project to one of the major studios.  Of course, even for a young entrepreneur with a lot of ambition, it helps to have a devoted and helpful crew and cast to make a picture."

The Man from Planet X (1951) is another movie Clarke was proud to be in.  Clarke played a newspaper reporter sent to Scotland to interview a reclusive scientist who believes aliens will soon arrive on Earth from outer space.   But there's treachery around, and the first alien to land is captured and tortured by another Earthman.

 Clarke believes Planet X is a movie that most science fiction film buffs also should find very interesting.  "It is entirely different from the Sun Demon," he emphasized, realizing that not all genre fans like monster movies, "but Planet X has gained quite a bit of attention over the years, too.  And rightfully so, it was a good picture!"

 Not only was Man from Planet X Clarke's first science fiction movie, it was one of the first "alien contact" movies to hit the silver screen and stands shoulder to shoulder with other early science fiction classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and When Worlds Collide.   It rightfully claims the honor of being the prototype for many of the big-budget science fiction movies that would hit theaters twenty or thirty years later.   "Any fan who has missed it, should see it," said Clarke.  "It is a very, very interesting movie."

Asked for his thoughts on today's science fiction and horror movies, Clarke responded immediately, "No picture could eclipse Frankenstein.   Boris Karloff did an amazing job in that movie, in a role with no lines!   Karloff was an actor at the top of his form, and Frankenstein became a picture that will long be remembered as the finest horror film ever made.  Current horror pictures may be more appealing to today's audiences because of their special effects, but the classics, such as Frankenstein,  and the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi, cannot be replaced.  They will always be revered for what they gave the movie-going public."

 With a small role in The Body Snatcher (1945), Clarke was fortunate to have worked with both Karloff and Lugosi at the same time.   Clarke fondly remembers Karloff as an extremely warm and friendly man who urged all young actors to continue honing their craft.  As filming for The Body Snatcher wrapped up, Clarke was very flattered to receive an autographed photo of the star.

The photograph was inscribed: "To Bob Clarke, Be as lucky as I am, Boris Karloff." Recognizing the difficulties actors face in landing juicy roles, Clarke interprets the personal message as the most thoughtful way Karloff could encourage an up and coming actor.

 On the other hand, recalls Clarke without any animosity, Lugosi kept his distance from the other cast members of The Body Snatcher.   But in his defense, Clarke insists, Lugosi was suffering from a back ailment during filming and was in a great deal of pain on the set.  "He spent most of his time resting in his dressing room when not in front of the camera."

 Of the two, Clarke had a stronger acquaintance with Karloff, having worked with him in both Bedlam (1946) and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) as well as The Body Snatcher.  At the thought of the Dick Tracy movie, though, Clarke chuckled and added, "it was not a very good picture."

 Although he is not currently working on any film projects, Robert Clarke is quick to point out that he enjoyed the film business tremendously.  "I had a lot of energy then... a lot more than now," he said, laughing again, his warm personality shining through the speaker phone.   "And the Sun Demon had a particular place, a niche, you might say, in the imagination of the movie- going public of the time, and for those who have come along later."

(Joe Romano is the writer of HORROR-WOOD's monthly horror news column, "The HORROR-WOOD Reporter."   Autographed copies of Robert Clarke's book, To "B" or Not to "B": A Film Actor's Odyssey, are available online here.)

Thanks, Joe!  It's such a treat to hear from an actor who worked with Karloff and Lugosi, who once traveled the mean streets of B-movie horror, and has emerged as such a nice guy.  Thanks to him, there will never be a sundown for the Sun Demon.

Article copyright © Joe Romano

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