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The opening scenes of "Teenage Monster" (1957-58) might not seem like the start of a classic Fifties sci-fi flick, but hang in there – it all comes together. It's the late 19th century, and young Charlie Cannon is struck by a meteor that kills his father and disfigures him. Fast forward seven years and the small child has been transformed into a hideous, homicidal teen whose mom, Ruth, who hides him from the neighbors in a gold mine. When Ruth hires a local girl named Kathy to visit with Charles, she doesn't count on the girl having her own ideas about Charlie.
For fans of awful dubbing, this film presents the singular pleasure of Charlie's dialogue being dubbed over to make it less intelligible. Evidently, the original delivery by Gil Perkins, the middle-aged actor playing Charlie, was deemed too articulate for the developmentally delayed character. Also known as "The Monster On The Hill" and "The Meteor Monster", the film has garnered criticism from some viewers for presenting life with a disabled child as a horror story.
