Sam Panico Trog makes me sad. Beyond the fact that it feels a lot like King Kong or Son of Kong - a doomed monster from our past just can't survive in today's horrible modern world - it's also depressing at times to watch Joan Crawford act her heart out in a film where no one else can come close to her power.That's not to say this is a bad film. It's perfectly enjoyable and well directed by genre vet Freddie Francis (Tales from the Crypt and plenty of other wonderful Amicus portmanteau films). And it's a quick moving, interesting film.But it's still sad.A troglodyte (TROG!) is found alive in the caves of England. Dr. Brockton (Crawford) has some success commmunicating with him and sees him as the missing link. However, her neighbors are not fans of her having a monster in her house, particularly after it kills a dog when it steals his ball.Local businessman Sam Murdock (Michael Gough, who appeared in plenty of Hammer films, as well as Alfred in the 80's and 90's Batman films) worries that the creature will negatively impact local business. But really, he has an issue with a woman being in charge.Meanwhile, Trog goes through multiple surgeries which enable him to learn how to communicate and there's a trippy sequence where we see into his mind, which is filled with memories of the Ice Age and dinosaurs.The court upholds Dr. Brockton's goal of teaching Trog, so Murdock sneaks in and lets him loose. He kills several people, including the businessman, before taking a little girl and retreating to his cave. Dr. Brockton is able to communicate with Trog and the girl goes free. Meanwhile, soldiers open fire on our titular caveperson and he falls to his death, impaled on a stalagmite.As Dr. Brockton leaves in tears, a reporter tries to interview her. She has no comment as she wander away.See? Depressing.Due to the films low budget, Crawford used her own clothes. And it shows. She's a beacon of fashion in a grimy town. She stands out like no one else. And speaking of suits, the one for Trog was left over from 2001: A Space Odyssey!This was Crawford's final film, but don't believe the TV show Feud: Bettte and Joan. She'd continue to act afterward, appearing in an epsiode of TV's The Sixth Sense called Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death. If you've ever listened to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, that's where the sample on the song "A Daisy Chain for Satan Comes From." I'm glad I watched Trog. But the sad ending - and thinking of Joan changing in her car during the breaks in filming - make me a little misty eyed. That said, it's one of John Waters' favorite films, so there's that.

Hitchcoc Let's just keep Joan Crawford out of this for a minute. I just never cared for her as an actress anyway and Hollywood could be heartless to those that made a lot of money for them. This film is bad in nearly every respect. Beyond the obvious acting and special effects, is a messed up script, containing unnatural lines and plot malfunctions. When this was going to be on television one night, one of my college roommates said, "You've got to see this. It is such a great movie." I sat with him in silence, waiting. When I die, I am going to want that hour and a half back.

Scott LeBrun Some film fans may be understandably dismayed seeing screen legend Joan Crawford appearing in this kind of thing as her swan song. It also may be rather disconcerting seeing so many talented people - including director Freddie Francis and cinematographer Desmond Dickinson - wasting their time with such material. Admittedly, "Trog" is really for die hard fans of schlock (like this viewer) who can still have a good time provided that the material in question is laughable enough to be entertaining. And the movie does deliver in that regard.The actors are made to mouth some hilariously absurd lines in this yarn about noted anthropologist Dr. Brockton (Ms. Crawford), whose associates discover what could be the missing link in some British caves. Nicknamed "Trog" - short for troglodyte, of course - he's coddled and trained by Brockton and company. However, this doesn't sit well with everybody, including a skeptical police inspector (Bernard Kay) and especially a foul tempered local big shot, Sam Murdock (Michael Gough), who's convinced nothing good can come of playing host to this "monster".The rock solid cast play this junk with such admirably straight faces. Crawford doesn't seem to be embarrassed and gives a very sincere performance. Gough is great fun as the miserable jerk who sets the last act into motion. Kim Braden, David Griffin, John Hamill, Thorley Walters, Jack May, Robert Hutton, and David Warbeck co-star; the title part is played amusingly by Joe Cornelius, who's obliged to wear the so-so makeup that doesn't even cover that much of his body. Producer Herman Cohen, who specialized in these kinds of genre films, appears uncredited as a bartender.The sets are entertaining to look at, if not exactly convincing, and there's a fine score by John Scott.Overall, this is goofy fun for lovers of cinematic turkeys.Five out of 10.

utgard14 Trog, for those who don't know, is short for troglodyte. Trog is also a guy wearing a monkey mask who eats rubber lizards and dreams about dinosaur stock footage. Notorious for being Joan Crawford's final film, as well as for being one of the all-time great "so bad it's good" movies. Every scene with Trog will have you in stitches.Joan takes her role seriously, which must have been hard. For all of her character's talk about how Trog is more human than animal, she treats him like a dog ("Good boy, Trog"). Michael Gough plays to the rafters as the guy with a hard-on for killing poor Trog. It's an obsession with him. When we first meet him, he's yelling Trog is a hoax. When Trog's existence is proved, he immediately starts yelling to kill it. I can't remember the last time I saw such a cardboard antagonist as this. He exists solely to be a thorn in the side of Crawford and Trog. Surprisingly, this was directed by Freddie Francis, a director who made a lot of movies for Hammer and Amicus. Most of them pretty good. He also won two Oscars as a cinematographer.It's a bad movie on technical and artistic levels, to be sure. But it is also entertaining, which should be the ultimate goal of any movie of this type. I've seen far, far worse movies than this. If you enjoy cheesy Z-grade flicks you'll get a kick out of Trog.