Frogs (film)

1972 film by George McCowan

Frogs

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| George McCowan
Screenplay by| Robert Hutchison
Robert Blees
Story by| Robert Hutchison
Produced by| George Edwards
Peter Thomas
Starring| Ray Milland
Sam Elliott
Joan Van Ark
Adam Roarke
Judy Pace
Lynn Borden
Mae Mercer
David Gilliam
Cinematography| Mario Tosi
Edited by| Fred R. Feitshans Jr.
Music by| Les Baxter
Distributed by| American International Pictures

Release date

* March 23, 1972 (1972-03-23) (Florida)

Running time

| 90 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $1.9 million[1]

Frogs is a 1972 American horror film directed by George McCowan.[2] The film falls into the "eco-horror" category, telling the story of a wildlife photographer who meets an upper-class U.S. Southern family who are victimized by several different animal species, including snakes, birds, leeches, lizards, and butterflies. The movie suggests nature may be justified in exacting revenge on this family because of its patriarch's abuse of the local ecology.[3] The film was theatrically released on March 23, 1972.

## Plot

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Wildlife photographer Pickett Smith is taking photographs of the local flora and fauna as he canoes through a swamp surrounding the island mansion estate of the wealthy and influential Crockett family. Through the swamp are numerous indicators of pollution, which Smith believes are connected to pesticide use on the island plantation. After Clint Crockett accidentally tips over Smith's canoe while hot-rodding in his speedboat, he and his sister, Karen, escort Smith to a mansion where he meets the entire family. The family's grouchy, wheelchair-using patriarch, Jason, intends to spend the next day enjoying both the Fourth of July and his birthday celebrations uninterrupted. Smith tries to call out with the household phone, but it is now dead. Then, Jason sends Grover to eliminate the overpopulating frogs. Smith later discovers Grover's corpse covered in snake bites in a nearby swamp not far from Jason's house. Jason orders him not to mention it to anyone else.

Advertisement from 1972

Early the next morning, Jason's grandson, Michael Martindale, sets out to check on a downed power line. Distracted by an impromptu hunting session, he accidentally shoots himself in the calf and is rendered immobile by strange Spanish moss, which comes to life and strangles him. Tarantulas descend from branches and bite him to death.

Back at Jason's house, Jason's daughter and Michael's mother, Iris, sends her other son, Ken, into a greenhouse to collect white daisies for a centerpiece. As he gathers the flowers, dozens of tokay gecko and tegu enter and knock over poison, whose toxic gas asphyxiates Michael. Seeing the danger posed by the animals, Smith suggests that everyone leave the island, but Jason is adamant that nothing will ruin his birthday.

While chasing a butterfly, Iris is frightened by snakes and baby alligators, and in a panic, falls into a puddle, where leeches latch on to her. Exhausted and badly injured, she falls near a rattlesnake, which kills her instantly with its venomous bite. Husband Stuart searches for her and blunders in a mud pit, where two alligators eat him.

On Smith's advice, family butler Charles and maid Maybelle decide to leave, along with Kenneth's fiancée, Bella Garrington. Clint takes them across the lake in his speedboat. As Clint investigates the abandoned dock, a flock of golden eagles attack Charles, Maybelle, and Bella, forcing them to flee. Clint discovers his boat is adrift and swims to reach it, but a water moccasin bites him to death. His wife Jenny tries to rescue him but gets stuck in the river bank, only to be attacked and killed by an alligator snapping turtle.

Karen and Smith decide to leave with Clint and Jenny's children; Jason refuses to join them. They cross the lake in Smith's canoe, encountering an alligator and water moccasins, which Smith dispatches with a boat paddle and a shotgun. They make it to shore, where they discover Charles, Maybelle, and Bella's bloodied belongings. They reach the road and hitch a ride with a woman and her son, who tell their guests about the absence of highway traffic. As they head towards Jefferson City, the son shows them a huge frog he took from summer camp.

That night, now alone in his mansion (with his dog, Colonel), Jason witnesses hundreds of frogs breaking into the house and staring at him. The phone rings, but the line is still dead when he answers it. As the atmosphere intensifies, he collapses and dies as the frogs swarm him. Every light in the mansion goes out.

In the ending credits, an animated frog appears with a human hand in its mouth. The frog swallows the hand before hopping away.

## Cast

[edit]

Actor | Role

|

Ray Milland | Jason Crockett
Sam Elliott | Pickett Smith
Joan Van Ark | Karen Crockett
Adam Roarke | Clint Crockett
Lynn Borden | Jenny Crockett
Dale Willingham | Tina Crockett
Hal Hodges | Jay Crockett
Judy Pace | Bella Garrington
Mae Mercer | Maybelle
David Gilliam | Michael Martindale
Nicholas Cortland | Kenneth Martindale
George Skaff | Stuart Martindale
Hollis Irving | Iris Martindale
Lance Taylor Sr. | Charles
Carolyn Fitzsimmons | Lady in car
Robert Sanders | Young boy in car

## Production notes

[edit]

The film was shot in Walton County, Florida, on the Emerald Coast in and around Wesley House, an old Southern mansion located in Eden Gardens State Park in the town of Point Washington, situated on Tucker Bayou off Choctawhatchee Bay.

In pre-release prints, Iris (Holly Irving) died by being pulled into quicksand by a giant butterfly, rather than by snakebite. The deleted scene can still be glimpsed in the trailer.

## Release

[edit]

The film had its world premiere at the Florida Theatre in Panama City, Florida on March 23, 1972.[4] After 17 days it had grossed $458,392 from 38 theatres.[5]

## Reception

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Frogs has a score of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews.[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on reviews from four critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[7]

A reviewer from HorrorNews.net found it odd for a horror film to be titled Frogs when all the killings in the film are done by animals other than frogs and discussed the acting: "Sam Elliott is good as always. He manages to feel like the outsider while also feeling like part of the group. It makes his role work in ways that it might not work in someone else's control. Ray Milland is also fairly good as the patriarch of the Crockett family. He personifies that bullheaded 'you listen to me because I'm always right' attitude in such a believable manner that you think he is that guy. The rest of the cast isn't as great as these two, but their lack of good performance only helps to make their deaths more fun to watch. They overact or underact in the perfect ways to make the movie priceless."[8]

Clyde Gilmour of The Toronto Star complained about the misleading advertisements showing a giant man-eating frog and was unimpressed with the sketchy supporting characters. But he was otherwise satisfied with the movie, finding strengths in its atmosphere, story, photography, direction and Milland's performance.[9]

Frogs was shown on the MeTV show Svengoolie on January 8, 2022, and September 3, 2022.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301\. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
2. ^ "Some of the Worst Horror Movie Taglines of All Time!". BloodyDisgusting. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-11-17. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
3. ^ "SomethingAwful review of Frogs" Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine. Somethingawful.com
4. ^ Frogs at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
5. ^ "Frogs Is Jumpin'...(advertisement)". Variety. May 3, 1972. p. 6.
6. ^ "Frogs" Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine. Rotten Tomatoes
7. ^ "Frogs". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
8. ^ "Frogs" Archived 2019-11-15 at the Wayback Machine. horrornews.net. Retrieved 26 August 2016
9. ^ "No monster in Frogs anti-pollution movie". The Toronto Star. April 24, 1972. p. 15.

## External links

[edit]

* Frogs at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Frogs at IMDb
* Frogs at the TCM Movie Database
* Frogs at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by George McCowan

* The Monk (1969)
* The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969)
* Carter's Army (1970)
* Run, Simon, Run (1970)
* The Challenge (1970)
* The Love War (1970)
* The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970)
* Love Hate Love (1971)
* If Tomorrow Comes (1971)
* Face-Off (1971)
* Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972)
* Frogs (1972)
* The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
* Murder on Flight 502 (1975)
* Shadow of the Hawk (1976)
* H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (1979)

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