Night of the Lepus (also known as Rabbits) is a 1972 American science fiction horror thriller film based on the science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit (1964) by Russell Braddon. It concerns an infestation of mutated rabbits.
Night of the Lepus | |
---|---|
Original theatrical poster | |
Directed by | William F. Claxton |
Produced by | A. C. Lyles |
Screenplay by | Don Holliday Gene R. Kearney |
Based on | The Year of the Angry Rabbit by Russell Braddon |
Starring | Stuart Whitman Janet Leigh Rory Calhoun |
Music by | Jimmie Haskell |
Cinematography | Ted Voigtlander |
Edited by | John McSweeney Jr. |
Production company | A.C. Lyles Productions |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Production was made in 1972 and released theatrically on July 26th in that year. The film was the first science fiction work for producer A. C. Lyles and for director William F. Claxton, both of whom came from Western film backgrounds. Character actors from Westerns the pair had worked on were brought in to star in the Night of the Lepus, including Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, and DeForest Kelley.
Shot in Arizona, Night of the Lepus used domestic rabbits filmed against miniature models and actors dressed in rabbit costumes for the attack scenes.
Before its release, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) renamed the film from its original name of Rabbits and avoided including rabbits in most promotional materials to try to keep the featured mutant creatures a secret. However, the studio itself broke the secret by issuing rabbit's foot-themed promotional materials before the release. Widely panned by critics for its premise, bad directing, stilted acting, and laughable special effects, the film's biggest failure was considered to be the inability to make the rabbits seem scary. Night of the Lepus has gained cult status for its poor quality. It was never released on VHS but was released on Region 1 DVD in October 2005 and on Blu-Ray in June of 2018.
Screenplay
Rancher Cole Hillman seeks the help of college president Elgin Clark to combat thousands of rabbits that have invaded the area after their natural predators, coyotes, were killed off. Elgin asks for the assistance of researchers Roy and Gerry Bennett because they respect Cole's wish to avoid using cyanide to poison the rabbits. Roy proposes using hormones to disrupt the rabbits' breeding cycle and takes some rabbits for experimentation. One is injected with a new serum believed to cause birth defects. However, the Bennett's daughter Amanda loves the injected rabbit, so she switches it with one from the control group. Amanda is then given the injected rabbit as a pet, but it soon escapes.
While inspecting the rabbits' old burrowing areas, Cole and the Bennets find a large, unusual animal track. Meanwhile, Cole's son Jackie and Amanda go to a gold mine to visit Jackie's friend Billy but find him missing. Jackie finds more of the animal tracks in Billy's shed, while Amanda goes into the mine and runs into an enormous rabbit with blood on its face. Screaming in terror, she runs from the mine.
Mutilated bodies begin to crop up around town, including Billy, a truck driver, and a family of four. Elgin, the Bennets, Cole, and Cole's two ranch hands, Frank and Jud, go to the mine to try to kill the rabbits with explosives. As Elgin and Cole set charges on top of the mine, Roy and Frank enter the shaft to get pictorial evidence. Outside, a rabbit surfaces and attacks Jud before Gerry can shoot it. Roy and Frank escape the rabbits in the mine and run outside as the explosives are detonated.
The explosives fail to kill the rabbits, and that night they attack Cole's ranch, killing Jud while Cole, Frank, Jackie, and Cole's housekeeper escape into the storm shelter. The rabbits make their way to the general store, killing housekeeper Mildred and eating everybody else in the small town of Galanos they find before taking refuge in the buildings for the day. In the morning, Gerry and Amanda leave to avoid the coming press but get stuck along a sandy stretch of road. Roy and Elgin update Sheriff Cody on the situation and, after realizing the rabbits have escaped the mine, call in the National Guard. As night falls, the rabbits leave Galanos to continue the rampage, making their way to the main town of Ajo and eating and killing everybody in their pathway. Cole proposes using a half-mile wide stretch of electrified railroad track as a fence to contain and kill the rabbits. They recruit a large group of people at a drive in theater to help herd the rabbits with their car lights, with assistance from the machine gun fire of the National Guard.
Thousands of rabbits make their way into the trap, where they are shot and electrocuted. At the film's ending, Cole tells Roy that normal rabbits, as well as coyotes, have returned to the ranch.
The ending shows Roy and Gerry running on a grassy field where a normal rabbit is shown sitting on the grass just before the ending credits roll.
- Stuart Whitman as Roy Bennett
- Janet Leigh as Gerry Bennett
- Rory Calhoun as Cole Hillman
- DeForest Kelley as Elgin Clark
- Paul Fix as Sheriff Cody
- Melanie Fullerton as Amanda Bennett
- Chris Morrell as Jackie Hillman
- Chuck Hayward as Jud
- Henry Wills as Frank
- Francesca Jarvis as Mildred
- William Elliott as Dr. Leopold
- Robert Hardy as Professor Dirkson
- Richard Jacome as Deputy Jason
- Evans Thornton as Major White
- Robert Gooden as Leslie
- Don Starr as Cutler
Isaac Stanford Jolley makes an appearance as a dispatcher, while Jerry Dunphy has a cameo as a television newscaster.
The script for Night of the Lepus was based on Australian author Russell Braddon's science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit (1964). A. C. Lyles, known primarily for producing western films, would make Night of the Lepus his first and only science fiction production. To craft the film, he pulled together people he had worked with on other Westerns. Gene R. Kearney and Don Holliday were tasked with converting the novel to a screenplay. In doing so, they removed many aspects of the novel (the plot of which focused on Australia dominating the world with a superweapon inadvertently created through the rabbits), and moved its setting from Australia to Arizona. It was shot at the Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona, a site well known for its use in Western pictures. Filming began at the end of January 1972 and concluded in early March.
According to Turner Classic Movies' David Kalat, the film's director William F. Claxton also came from a Western film background. In directing Night of the Lepus, he applied the same techniques used in his other films and declined the use of "standard" horror effects that would have enhanced the atmosphere, such as "canted camera angles, dark shadows, eerie music." Rory Calhoun was cast as rancher Cole Hilman, whose ranch would be the start of the rabbit explosion. Well known for his western work, Night of the Lepus put him in unfamiliar territory as it was his first science fiction role, however, he found familiarity in the Western film trappings and his role as a rancher. Janet Leigh, who played Gerry Bennet, took the role because it was being filmed close to her own home, allowing her to travel home on weekends and allowing her family to visit her on the set. Though she felt the script "read well", she declined to allow her two children play minor roles as she did not want them to see or be part of any type of horror film. She would later state the film lacked an "ideal director" to bring the script to life, and the film failed, in part, because it was impossible to make a "bunny rabbit menacing." Fellow The Rifleman actor Paul Fix was given the role of the sheriff of the town under siege, while DeForest Kelley, who frequently guest starred in Westerns, was cast as Elgin Clark, the college president who asked researchers to try to stop the rabbits.
The domesticated rabbits used in the film differed greatly in appearance from the wild rabbits that were plaguing the southwest at the time. In Night of the Lepus, this was explained by stating that they were descended from recent rabbit farm escapees. To depict the rabbit attacks, a combination of techniques were used. For some scenes, the rabbits were filmed in close-up stomping on miniature structures in slow motion. For attack scenes, they had ketchup smeared on their faces. For other scenes, human actors were shown wearing rabbit costumes.
Originally titled Rabbits, production company MGM renamed the film, using the Latin name for "rabbit" in hopes of keeping the audience from presuming the animals would be non-menacing. To further prevent the audience from thinking of cuddly bunnies in relation to the film, the theatrical posters featured no rabbits, instead displaying only eyes and referencing unnamed "creatures". The trailers showed no critters, and the press releases only mentioned that the film had "mutants." The only clue given to the audience was the required acknowledgment on the poster to Braddon's novel. However, some Night of the Lepus promoters gave away the secret by sending out souvenirs decorated with rabbit's foot designs.
Night of the Lepus was released theatrically on July 26, 1972. Its home video release did not come until 33 years later, when Warner Home Video released an edited version to Region 1 DVD on October 4, 2005.
Contemporary
In a July 1972 issue of The New York Times Vincent Canby wrote it was not an "especially memorable movie", that it was typical for the genre of science fiction horror, and that it failed because the rabbits, despite attempts to make them "appear huge and scary, still look like Easter bunnies". In an October 1972 issue, fellow critic Roger Greenspun panned it for not "even reasonably try" to make the rabbits scary, its reliance on "tired clichés of monsterdom", "technical laziness" in its special effects, "stupid story", and "dumb direction that leaves the film in limbo" between a horror film and a fairy tale. In the Monthly Film Bulletin, Tom Milne felt Night of the Lepus had a promising beginning before moving into a "well-worn horror groove", such as the effort to trap Gerry and Amanda alone in a deserted area for a last-minute rescue. Noting that the film had "a certain overall charm and several striking sequences", he felt the film would have been more successful if it "had the courage of its convictions – and its realism". As an example, he points to the scene following the attack on the Calhoun ranch, in which Roy is walking into town, and tourists refuse to stop and pick him up because he has a gun. The tourists then go to the small town where the rabbits have killed everyone and are hiding in the buildings. Rather than becoming the next victims, the family call it a ghost town and leave. In the 1977 piece Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film, Charles Derry compared it to the earlier successful works The Birds and Willard, particularly the former, noting that both featured a "loveable creature". Though he felt the special effects were poor, he felt Night of the Lepus successfully tied into ongoing fears of throwing ecology out of balance, with the rabbits serving as an appropriate metaphor for human fears about overpopulation.
Retrospective
Allmovie's Jeremy Wheeler felt the film was "all good, unintentionally campy fun" and "silly to its core". Noting that the special effects were "obvious", he criticized the "truly heinous dialogue" and remarked that Leigh "slums it" by appearing in the film. In Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature, Susan E. Davis and Margo DeMello considered the film an "entertaining romp", praising the "alarmingly realistic" circumstances behind the rabbit mutations, while criticizing the "notoriously badly done" special effects and the rabbits being made to "roar" during their attacks. Calling it "one of worse career moves" for Kelley and Leigh, they criticized the ending in which all the rabbits were killed, calling them "unwitting victims...of human attempts to control nature". In his book Videohound's Horror Show: 999 Hair-Raising, Hellish, and Humorous Movies, critic Mike Mayo panned the film, calling the script "lame", the scenes of the rabbits "hopping around H0 scale sets in slow motion" humorous, and the rabbits just not scary. He also criticized the principal performers, stating that the film featured a "group of so-so character actors", except Leigh who he considered a "star", and that all gave "wooden performances".
John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com felt Night of the Lepus would have been better had it been an intentionally humorous horror spoof, r
Watch movie Night Of The Lepus online on Amazon
Watch movie Night Of The Lepus online
Watch The Movie On PrimeVeera Madakari Full HD Movie Download
Taal Full HD Movie Download
Marshal Full HD Movie Download
Papa Kahte Hain Full HD Movie Download
Sharda (1957) Full HD Movie Download
Prithviraj Chauhan Full HD Movie Download
Wake Up Sid Full HD Movie Download
Deewana Tere Naam Ka (1987) Full HD Movie Download
Chor Machaye Shor (1974) Full HD Movie Download
Bhookh (1978) Full HD Movie Download
Khap Full HD Movie Download
Allari Alludu Full HD Movie Download
1977 - The History Re-Written Full HD Movie Download
Gaam Ma Piyariyu Ne Gam Ma Sasriyu Full HD Movie Download
My Boss Bajranbali Full HD Movie Download
Sundarimare Sookshikkuka Full HD Movie Download
Anjaneyulu Full HD Movie Download
Dil Full HD Movie Download
Seetha Ramulu Full HD Movie Download
Neramu Siksha Full HD Movie Download
New York Full HD Movie Download
Download latest Movie from bollywood
- 1> baaghi 3
- 2> THE SKY IS PINK MOVIE FULL STORY AND REVIEW
- 3> Luka Chuppi
- 4> TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE
- 5> Kabir Singh
- 6> Street Dancer 3D
- 7> Simmba
- 8> Gone Girl
- 9> The Girl Who Lived
- 10> Ludo
- 11> DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE
- 12> GUILTY
- 13> The Godfather
- 14> Adventures of Rusty
- 15> Sooryavanshi
- 16> Satyameva Jayate 2
- 17> Thappad
- 18> Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
- 19> KGFChapter 2
- 20> Mardaani 2
- 21> Pinjar
- 22> Shivaji maharaj
- 23> Ek Villian 2
- 24> Hungama 2
- 25> Divergent
- 26> Mumbai Saga
- 27> The Internship
- 28> HIT (telugu)
- 29> Panga
- 30> The perfect date
- 31> 16 December
- 32> Gopala Gopala (Telugu)
- 33> Brahmastra
- 34> Gangubai Kathiawadi
- 35> Manmadhudu
- 36> Nenu local
- 37> Mahanati
- 38> Shatamanam bavathi
- 39> Lagaan
- 40> After
- 41> MOM
- 42> Shamshera
- 43> Raguvaran BTech
- 44> Khakee
- 45> The villain
- 46> OM
- 47> Mr. perfect
- 48> Bueatifull mind
- 49> Hichki
- 50> Gabbar Singh
- 51> Jogi
- 52> Before Sunrise
- 53> Before Sunset
- 54> Before Midnight
- 55> The Big Bull
- 56> Top Gun: Maverick
- 57> The Purge
- 58> The Sky is Pink
- 59> Laxmmi Bomb
- 60> Sadak 2
- 61> Sufna
- 62> Prithviraj
- 63> PK
- 64> Coolie No 1(2020)
- 65> Black Widow
- 66> Dear Zindagi
- 67> Dil Bechara
- 68> PHIR HERA PHERI
- 69> WAR
- 70> Dostana
- 71> RRR: Roudram Ranam Rudhiram
- 72> Maidan
- 73> Dabbang 3
- 74> Chhalaang
- 75> life as we know it
- 76> SherShaah
- 77> Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar
- 78> Event Horizon
- 79> 83
- 80> Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai
- 81> Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
- 82> Mr India
- 83> Vivah
- 84> Anokha Bandhan
- 85> Ghost
- 86> Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship
- 87> Haseen Dilruba
- 88> Laal Singh Chaddha
- 89> Qismat
- 90> Rajput
- 91> Drive
- 92> Dil Chahta Hai
- 93> Dil Ki Baazi
- 94> Dil Ka Rishta
- 95> Teesri Manzil
- 96> Dil
- 97> Love Aaj Kal
- 98> Khaali Peeli
- 99> Bunty Aur Babli 2
- 100> Atrangi Re
- 101> Gulabo Sitabo
- 102> Jodi
- 103> Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari
- 104> Deewana
- 105> Attack
- 106> Sardar Udham Singh
- 107> Toofan
- 108> THE LOVEBIRDS
- 109> Jersey
- 110> Ginny Weds Sunny
- 111> Thalaivi
- 112> Shiddat
- 113> Angels vs Zombies
- 114> Koi Mil Gya
- 115> Thank God
- 116> Bhuj: The Pride of India
- 117> Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
- 118> The Platform
- 119> Bird Box
- 120> Roohi Afzana
- 121> Torbaaz
- 122> Nikamma
- 123> World War Z
- 124> Extraction
- 125> Train to Busan
- 126> Life of Pi
- 127> SHAADI MEIN JROOR AANA
- 128> Himmat Aur Mehnat
- 129> To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
- 130> Mimi
- 131> Good Newwz
- 132> Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
- 133> Raabta
- 134> Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 135> Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 136> Chhapaak
- 137> War of the Worlds
- 138> Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 139> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 140> MURDER MYSTERY
- 141> Shakuntala Devi
- 142> Bachchan Pandey
- 143> Jayeshbhai Jordar
- 144> Sheer Qorma
- 145> Saina
- 146> 'O' Pushpa I hate tears
- 147> Kedarnath
- 148> MS Dhoni The Untold Story
- 149> Chhichhore
- 150> Badhaai Ho
- 151> Unstoppable
- 152> Oz the Great And Powerful
- 153> The Girl on the Train
- 154> Haathi Mere Saathi 2020
- 155> The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
- 156> Gandhi Se Pehle Gandhi
- 157> The Song of Scorpions
- 158> Srimanthudu
- 159> Hello Guru Prema Kosame
- 160> Beauty and The Beast
- 161> Black Panther
- 162> Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 163> Bole Chudiyan
- 164> Fidaa
- 165> Duvvada Jagannadham
- 166> Bruce Lee: The Fighter
- 167> Hyper
- 168> Yaara
- 169> Red (2020)
- 170> Shivam
- 171> That Is Mahalakshmi
- 172> Nishabdham
- 173> Aashram 2020 web series
- 174> Laxmii
- 175> Mismatched
- 176> STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2
- 177> NAIL POLISH
- 178> Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
- 179> KAAGAZ
- 180> 12 o Clock
- 181> The Power
- 182> bolo hau
- 183> Tribhanga
- 184> JAMUN
- 185> Madam Chief Minister
- 186> Maasaab
- 187> Aadhaar
- 188> Tanhaji
- 189> Bhaagi 3
- 190> Bhootnath
- 191> MALANG
- 192> Jai Mummy Di
- 193> Haathi Mere Saathi 2021
- 194> Shakeela
- 195> Unpaused
- 196> Annayya
- 197> Vamsoddharakudu
- 198> Mrugaraju
- 199> Narasimha Naidu
- 200> Sankranti
- 201> Manasu Maata Vinadhu
- 202> Anjaane
- 203> Apaharan
- 204> Bachke Rehna Re Baba
- 205> Bewafaa
- 206> Roohi
- 207> Radhe
- 208> Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai
- 209> Yeh Mohabbat Hai
- 210> Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai?
- 211> The Tomorrow War
- 212> DehradunDiary
- 213> Meri Shaadi Karaoo
- 214> Matruu Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
- 215> No One Killed Jesica
- 216> Aag Ka Goola
- 217> Eight Million Dollars
- 218> Three Hundred
- 219> Cats and Dog
- 220> Decoy
- 221> Gold Rush
- 222> You Have Got Mail
- 223> Final Destination three
- 224> Tofan
- 225> Jungle