1
I feel very sorry,
Seorita Winters,
but I cannot grant permission
to your party
to fly across
the Sierra Tarahumare.
It is against government orders.
Governor, for three years I have
waited and planned on this trip.
I won't give up.
It is very unfortunate
that your determination
clashes with my orders.
But I cannot help you.
After three long years,
you know that your fianc
could not be alive
under the best of circumstances.
I disagree with you.
Two months
after his plane crashed
you received radio calls
from him.
Why not let me try?
Three years after
your fianc disappeared,
you still are in love with him.
I envy him, seorita.
But let me ask you
a few questions.
Of course.
You arrived by propeller plane
with three men?
Yes.
Seor Lee Brand.
Who is he?
My pilot. I hired him
for the flight.
Russ Bradford.
Russ is a bacteriologist
at the New York Institute
of Toxicology.
Also on your pay?
No. He's Bruce's friend.
- Bruce?
- My fianc.
The man you want to find.
Yes.
Martin Melville.
He too is in our party.
He brought a precision
scintillator.
Do you know what a scintillator
is used for, seorita?
A very powerful instrument
that can detect
uranium deposits,
even from the air.
Obviously, Seor Melville
has an ulterior objective.
His goal does not seem to be
to help you
in your search for your fianc.
Mr. Melville financed
part of my trip.
I'm not rich enough myself.
My investigation does not give
Seor Melville a pleasant light.
He was involved in certain
stock transactions in Texas.
I know nothing
of his transactions.
Are you sure?
Every one of your expeditions
seems to have a motive
of his own.
What are you talking about?
The government does not want
Sierra Tarahumare explored
by any adventurers.
Adventurers?
A pilot who cannot find a job
in his country.
A bacteriologist
whose real objective
is very mysterious to me.
A stock manipulator
who wants to survey Tarahumare
for uranium.
And you, who's looking for a man
who died three years ago.
Then you don't believe me?
I do,
because I am a romantic man.
But still, I cannot help you.
No one ever return
from Tarahumare, seorita.
So don't do anything foolish.
Seorita,
I am placing one of my men
next to your pilot,
in case he should lose his way
on your return trip.
My plane has four seats
and we are four people.
Then one has to stay behind.
Of course, governor.
I, II see to it
that one stays behind.
Buenos Dias, seorita.
A magazine. A sports magazine.
Oh, how can I say magazine?
Oh, uh, like a book.
A libro. Read. Comprendo?
You don't understand me.
I want a sports magazine.
Uh, you said you spoke English.
Oh, Si, seor.
That's fine, then.
Give me a Sports Afield.
Si.
Well, come on, Sports Afield.
Guns, baseball...
No, no, no. Oh, like this.
American magazine.
Uh, no, no.
I want American magazine.
Understand? Americano.
Sports Afield.
Uh, yeah, Sports Afield.
Here you are.
Keep the change, seorita.
Gracias, seor.
Sports Afield.
You know, I'm going to study
Spanish when I get home.
I don't think you will.
Hey, I...
I wonder where Susan is.
She should've been back
a long time ago.
And will you knock off
with that stuff?
How are you going to run
the plane?
Don't worry about it.
That bothers me.
My drinking?
We should never have let Susan
go to see the governor alone.
I should've gone with her.
Or you, Lee, or you, Marty.
Oh, there are reasons for us.
For one, well, her legs
are prettier than yours are.
Yeah. Never underestimate
the powers of a woman.
Susan is determined.
I know.
Try and stop her.
You know, if I only had
half her drive...
Yeah? What would you be?
Yeah.
Yeah, what would I be?
Say,
do either one of you guys think
that Bruce Barton
is still alive?
Bruce?
Well, how could he be?
It's been three years
since his plane crashed
and no one's heard
a word from him.
Well, then why does she
keep on looking?
You know how it is.
No, how is it?
Well, Bruce was very much
in love with her
and she with him.
But love changes aspect
in her case.
Being in love with a dead man.
Rather morbid, isn't it?
There's a clinical name for it,
Lee.
It's called mania.
Oh, there she is now.
Well, the professor seems
to know all the answers.
Even about love.
I doubt that.
Don't sell him short, Marty.
You never know what's happening
behind that calm exterior
of his.
Well, how'd you come out?
Yeah, you don't look happy.
I couldn't do a thing
with the governor.
- No permit?
- No.
That's okay by me.
You got paid for the flight,
didn't you?
Well, sure, sure.
That's why I don't mind
flying back home to Texas.
I never could
get used to tequila.
Who says we're going back?
Well, if we can't fly east,
I guess we'll have to fly north.
Well, but, uh, why couldn't we
start north and then turn east?
Oh, we could, we could.
If they didn't send
a fighter after us.
Well, they wouldn't do that,
would they?
- Then we're all set.
- Uh, not quite.
The governor wants us
to take a security man along,
make sure we fly
in the right direction.
But we only have
a four-passenger plane.
Yeah, didn't you tell him that?
Of course I did.
So, someone will have to
stay behind.
Someone?
But who?
I don't think we'll have
any problems.
Ten-fifty-six, 10-56.
This is the tower, over.
Don't answer it.
Tower, 10-5-6.
Over.
Ten-fifty-six, this is the
tower. Return to the field.
Return to the field at once.
You are heading towards
a restricted area
of the mountains.
There are dangerous downdrafts.
I repeat, dangerous downdrafts.
He's just trying to scare us.
Don't pay any attention.
Keep going.
Miss Winters, you're the boss.
- Shall I turn back?
- No.
You are disobeying
official orders.
I repeat, you are disobeying
official orders.
This is your final warning.
You will be punished
to the full...
Well, that takes care of that.
Now we're on a one-way flight.
Sorry you came along?
Sorry? Why, of course not.
How could I have stayed behind?
Bruce was a friend of mine.
And you know how
I feel about you.
I realize
you have to look for him,
whether you find him or not.
Oh, Bruce is alive.
I'm sure of it.
It's important to both of us
if we find out.
He's alive.
You say you got
oil wells in Texas.
How come you're flying
a plane for dough?
Don't mix up the tenses.
I had oil wells.
The day the company wanted
to buy, they went dry.
Heh-heh. Well, maybe
that was lucky for you.
Yeah, how lucky can I get?
Well, you met me, didn't you?
How is that for compensation?
I'm gonna make you
a millionaire.
Okay, accepted.
Now how do we go about it?
There's uranium
behind those mountains.
The geological formation
is just perfect.
All we gotta do is find it.
And you think the government
will license you to take it out?
Heh-heh. Who wants
to take it out?
All we gotta do
is file the claims
and then float a stock issue.
That's what you have in mind?
Sure.
There's only two kind of people.
Those that get rich
and the suckers
that furnish the money.
And what side are you on?
Do I look like a sucker?
This scintillator
will find the stuff.
- What's that down there?
- What?
I saw something.
What did it look like?
Looked like an animal,
as big as an elephant.
There are no elephants
in Mexico.
It was probably
the plane's shadow.
Hey, get a load of this.
The meter's going crazy.
I'll switch it
to the other scale.
She's still on top!
Heh-heh-heh. Maybe your
needle's stuck.
No. The scintillator's
alright.
There's uranium down there!
Hey, what are you doing?
Don't fly so low.
According to my computation,
we're right near the spot
we're looking for.
Circle the area, Lee.
We've hit downdrafts.
I'll have to take
her up a few thousand feet
until the air smoothes out.
No better up here.
That Mexican captain
wasn't kidding
when he mentioned downdrafts.
Updrafts, downdrafts,
I don't like none of it.
Let's go lower.
See if we can find a clearing.
Put this thing down.
There must be a clearing
down there somewhere.
Now close your eyes and relax.
When your number's called
it's called.
Yeah, but if your number's
called, what about me?
Will you put this thing
down like I told you?
Let go! Let go!
Let go or you'll...
Unh! Let go!
Lee!
Let go or you'll...
Let go! Unh!
Uh, you were choking me.
You hurt my back.
Keep your hands
out of the controls.
Well, she's okay.
But how are we
gonna get out of here?
I don't care.
We're near Bruce.
A few feet one way or the other
and our troubles would
have been over for good.
Lee! Susan!
What is it?
What are you looking at?
- There.
- Where?
By those rocks.
Nothing. I guess
it's just my imagination.
Hey, look. Hey!
Eight-point-five!
What do you mean?
Eight-five. Here!
And here.
And over there.
I can't believe it.
We're standing on pure uranium.
It's worth millions.
Billions!
It's worth nothing
if you can't get it out.
And what I'd like to know
is how we're gonna
get out of here ourselves.
Way I got it figured,
we got a bigger strike
than that big one up in Canada.
Don't spend it.
This is where
Bruce's plane crashed.
It looks like canyon area,
similar to the one we're in now.
Yeah. Yeah,
we're getting close.
We'll have to go
through some brush country
and some jungle.
Let me see that.
Yeah. Shouldn't take us
more than a day to hike there.
Not me. I ain't
walking no place.
That's good.
Thanks.
There.
Ha. That thing
don't weigh nothing.
Not as much as your cad.
Say, you think she's gonna
get us over that mountain?
Lee, Marty, don't you think
we'd better go on
before the day gets too hot?
Not me. I told you,
I ain't walking no place.
I wanna go back.
We're going on, Marty.
- Is that what you say?
- She's the boss.
But that's ridiculous.
We found what
we came for, didn't we?
You found what you came for.
But we didn't just fly in here
to please you, Marty.
I paid my share, didn't I?
And the plane belongs to me.
I bought it for the trip.
Susan, we came here
to find uranium and we found it.
That isn't why I came,
Marty, and you know it.
But you'll be part owner
in the biggest uranium deposit
in the whole world.
Come on, let's fly back
and file our claims.
That makes better sense
than searching for a skeleton.
They're crazy.
Come on, let's be practical.
Let's sit down.
You know, if we all leave now,
we could be into town
before dark and file our claims.
Now, here's
where we are, right here.
Hey, pay attention, will you?
If we stake out
from here to here...
- Hey, I got an idea.
- What?
Why don't you fly me out?
I couldn't do that.
Why not?
And leave Russ
and the girl behind?
Oh, but two in a claim
is better than four.
One is even better
than two, Marty.
Oh, I didn't mean you should
leave 'em here for good.
Marty, she hired me
to fly her in here and out.
Okay, but she didn't say
when you had to fly her out.
You can come back and get her.
And besides, with two less
people in the plane,
we got a better chance
getting over that mountain.
Oh, Marty, you are
off your course.
No, no, I know
I'm right on the beam.
Let her go look
for her dead sweetheart.
She didn't hire you for that.
You're a pilot, not a guide
to lead a safari into nowhere.
He must've walked through here.
- Bruce?
- Yes.
A woman's intuition.
You still don't
believe me, do you?
Susan, you're
a level-headed woman,
but you must realize
it would be impossible
for Bruce to be alive
after three years
in this kind of terrain.
If you feel that way,
why did you come along?
Why did you encourage me?
Because I love you.
And because I'm tired
of competing with a dead man.
Russ, he isn't dead.
We know the exact spot
where his plane went down.
But wouldn't he have tried
to walk back to civilization?
How could he have crossed
those mountains?
What can I say to convince you?
What is that?
I don't know.
Sounds like the flutter
of a bird's wing.
There's an animal on that log.
It's a mouse.
A rodent of some kind.
Look, Susan, look!
Now I know I
wasn't imagining things
when I thought I saw
that giant lizard yesterday.
Why are they so large?
I don't know,
but I intend to find out.
And give up searching?
If it's what I think it is,
it might not be safe
around here.
I can't quit now.
Susan, if anything
happened to you,
I'd never forgive myself.
You've got to face reality.
Alright, alright.
We'll continue the search,
but don't say anything
about this to Lee and Marty.
Marty's trouble enough.
What's the hurry?
Yeah, what's the matter?
You didn't think we were
going to leave you, did you?
We were just testing
the motor. It's okay.
Glad you found out.
That ain't no reason for Russ
to be pointing a rifle at me.
Now, you really don't
think we'd leave without you.
Of course not.
Would you give me the keys?
They're in the panel.
Get 'em for me, Russ.
Sure.
Hey, what's going on?
You don't act like you trust us.
I'll keep the keys.
Let's get started.
You and your bright ideas.
We'll take only
the necessary equipment along.
Are you leaving right now?
Marty, you needn't come with us.
It wasn't in our agreement,
so if you want to stay behind,
you can.
That goes for you, Lee.
I wouldn't think
of letting you two go alone.
Alright. I don't want
to stay here by myself,
but I think you're making
a big mistake.
We'll be lucky
if we get back alive.
Oh, come on, let's get our gear.
Aw...
Water.
I wouldn't even swim in it.
Boil it.
I'd rather lace it
with a shot of bourbon.
You know, the day
I run out of that stuff
is the day I go home.
You know, it's strange,
isn't it?
We haven't seen one animal
since we left the plane,
not even a fly.
Heh, heh. Believe me,
I don't miss 'em.
Oh, I'd like to get me
a nice wild turkey.
They're supposed to be
around here.
It's strange.
Everywhere we take this
scintillator, it registers.
This whole country must be
one huge bed of uranium.
It might not be uranium.
What else could it be?
Could be some other
radioactive ore,
like thorium, for instance.
It is uranium.
I should've hired my own plane.
What a wild goose chase.
What a waste of time.
Hey, did you hear that?
What do you think that was?
Meat, that's what it was.
Russ, give me that gun.
I'm going to get us
some camp meat.
- You better stay here.
- Why?
Susan and I saw
some strange animals.
What kind of animals?
It sounds unbelievable, but...
Well, what did you see?
Mammoths?
Dinosaurs?
In a way.
Heh. You must be dreaming.
What are you talking about?
Yes, it's true, Marty.
Susan and I saw...
Well, a rodent as big as a dog
and a hawk about 12 feet tall.
And you didn't tell us?
I am gonna have a look-see.
- Wait. I'll go with you.
- I'm going too.
What's the matter, Marty?
Don't you want to see
what it is?
No. I'm staying
right here.
Come on.
That doesn't sound
like wild turkey.
Maybe we'd better
go back to camp.
Don't worry. This is
a thirty-ought-six.
It'll kill anything
we'll run across.
Come on.
Don't shoot.
- Aah!
- Susan!
Shoot!
Come on.
Coffee?
- Oh, thanks.
- It's hot.
Now you ready to call it quits?
Marty, I told you
you could wait with the plane.
That's where we're going
right now, ain't it?
I'm not.
Maybe Lee wants to.
Hey, what's the matter
with that crazy girl?
She want to commit suicide?
Get us all killed?
I'm with you, Marty.
But I've got a contract
with the young lady.
You didn't have a contract
when you wanted to fly me out.
I just remembered.
You didn't get paid to get eaten
by prehistoric animals, did you?
That would be a novel death.
"Lee Brand Swallowed
By Dinosaur."
Oh... Hey, Russ.
Russ.
You got any sense left?
Ah, take it easy, Marty.
"Take it easy."
Take it easy!
Have some coffee.
How can you be so
calm when you know
if we don't get out now,
we may never get out of here?
Oh, look here, Marty.
We can't leave.
Not now. Susan never would.
Alright, leave her here.
Let her go on and look for that
guy that's been dead for years.
You really would leave her,
wouldn't you?
Okay, you be a hero.
But you can't force me
to stay here.
She can tell Lee to fly me out.
Oh, no. When we leave,
we'll all leave together.
Oh,
if I'd known what a bunch of idiots
I was getting tied up with.
Marty, those were no
prehistoric creatures we saw.
They're animals of our time,
only grown to enormous size.
Alright, then write about them
when you get
back to civilization.
I'm not going to leave
until I found out
why they never stop growing.
It could be the most important
discovery of the century.
Crazy.
Insane.
They're all crazy.
That thing's dead.
Not yet. It's still breathing.
Yeah...
That's fairly obvious, isn't it?
Hold this please.
What are you going to do?
There's no danger now.
I must have a section
of the skin tissue.
Skin tissue?
Yes, I must have it.
Why, you...
Hold the light closer, will you?
Is it possible?
What are you looking at, doc?
Skin tissue of the lizard.
The cells seem to multiply
like bacteria.
They split every 22 seconds.
Look for yourself.
What does it mean, they split?
It means that there's no limit
to the potential size
of the animal.
It grows continuously.
What, it's life?
Well, there must be some limit.
The secret of continuous,
limitless multiplication
of living cells
in ordinary animals.
Russ, what controls our growth?
Huh?
Oh, the pituitary gland.
Then if the gland
gets out of whack...
Well, if that should happen,
then the gland becomes
over-productive,
the body just keeps enlarging.
Like the animals we saw.
There must be something here
that stimulates them.
Some radioactive substance.
In the soil.
Or the water.
I-if what you say is true,
then we might grow bigger
and bigger.
Heh. That's
a pleasant thought.
"Lee Brand returns home
18 feet tall." Heh.
That's even big for Texas.
Is that what could happen to us?
Marty, what was the
scintillator's highest reading?
Oh, I don't know,
it's... uh...
8.5.
8.5... Then there's
no danger. Not yet.
The body can absorb
about 5 milirankin
within a period of one week
before it reaches
a critical stage.
One week and we've
been out three days.
Yeah, but we still got time
to get out of here.
But we're so close
to Bruce's plane.
Now, look, we're gonna
put this to a vote.
You got no right
to endanger the lives
of all three of us any longer.
I think Marty has a point.
- There'll be no voting.
- What do you mean?
Susan, we'd better go back.
When are we gonna get
out of here?
At daybreak.
But that's too late,
let's leave tonight!
Susan. What is it?
I have the feeling
something's watching me.
Watching you?
I don't know.
Susan!
Russ, a bent twig.
Told ya I was part Indian.
Russ.
Wing section.
Probably Bruce's plane.
Come on.
Well, you said
you was part Indian, Lee.
Where are we?
This must be the other canyon
indicated on the map.
Susan was right.
This is where he crashed.
There's another part
of his plane.
Well, I can't understand it.
Why are the plane parts
scattered all over the place?
Must have blown up in midair.
If it did, how can you account
for the engine being
in this cave?
It would take
three good men to lift it.
Susan. Susan. Susan!
- Susan, it's me, Russ!
- It stared at me.
What happened?
How did you get here?
It bit at me
and then it came towards me.
What came towards you?
The eye!
Susan. Susan!
Susan, it's Russ!
Hey, what's wrong with her?
She's hysterical.
Look. Somebody's been
living here.
There's been a fire.
There's a flying suit.
And a watch.
But...
- A watch?
- Yeah.
It's Bruce's watch.
I told you he was alive.
He might be.
Hey, what's that?
Watch out.
Back up slowly.
- Get down!
- Unh!
Look out.
Look out, Marty.
He must be 25 feet tall.
He lives here.
His growth will never stop.
I've studied the effects of
radiation on living organisms.
Cells react very promptly
from radiation.
Yeah. Doctor Geiser,
and four to one, working
on a wavelength of 1800...
How can you be so coldblooded?
You sound like
you're enjoying this.
I am.
As a scientist.
But we've got to figure
some way to get out of here.
There's only one thing
to do. Let's shoot him!
No!
Russ is right. That rifle
would never kill him.
He's wounded, he might kill us.
He showed some intelligence.
Intelligence makes him
more dangerous,
That's true.
But still, we might be able
to communicate with him.
Communicate?
You alright, Susan?
Well, we're all alive.
Hey, Lee.
You got a drink?
I need a drink.
Yeah.
Ugh. Empty.
Didn't I say that would be
the time to go home?
Huh. Let's get out of here.
I can't stand it.
Take it easy, Marty.
Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Marty!
Marty!
Marty, come back!
We're safer in here!
I don't care!
I wanna get out of here!
Or we're all gonna...
Well, there he is.
Let's try to talk to him.
Think he understands English?
Well, that isn't the idea.
A voice might calm him.
Okay.
Talk to him.
Susan, you try it,
a woman's voice.
What should I say to him?
Say anything.
My name?
Yes, that's it.
Go on, your name.
My name is Susan.
Susan Winters.
He's looking at her.
Can you hear me?
We're friends.
We're looking for a man.
His name is Bruce.
Have you seen this man?
I must find him.
Go on, talk some more.
Try to understand.
Please?
The airplane parts.
Do you know how they got here?
He reacted.
Do you know about the
flying suit?
And the watch?
They belong to the pilot, my...
fianc.
You do understand, don't you?
You know where he is, please?
Help us find him, please.
Wait!
Wait?
He'll kill her.
He might let her go.
What makes you think so?
Just wait.
Look. He's trying
to remember something.
Remember?
Uh-huh.
Susan!
Where's Marty?
He's dead.
Get the food and water.
Get down! Over there.
You two stay here.
I'm gonna have a look around.
He might see you.
Don't worry. I'm
one-sixteenth Indian.
Hungry?
Well, what is it?
Something else.
Tell me.
Well, I can't express it.
Something about that giant
makes me terribly sad.
Yes, I know.
But that's not the right word.
No. It isn't.
I feel sorry for him.
I pity him.
And I don't know why.
It's as though I were
involved. Personally.
Well can't you figure it out?
No. I tried, but...
That left side. It's not
completely mutilated...
makes me feel so sorry for him.
Susan, you came here
to find Bruce.
What do you mean?
A man of ordinary size...
would grow to be a
giant in this place.
You can't dismiss the idea,
that the giant and
the parts of the plane,
that he had in
the cave with him,
are somehow connected.
He must have found Bruce's
plane after it crashed.
He might.
Or he might not.
He could've been a
man of ordinary size?
With a scar over his left eye.
A scar?
The radioactive substances
in the soil...
started to work on his glands.
And over a period of 3 years...
Bruce! Bruce!
- I lied to you.
- Lied?
Yeah. I'm a
half Indian.
He's out there.
Did you see him?
Yeah.
He's asleep.
We better get going
while the going's good.
I've got to take a look at him.
- No, Russ.
- Susan, I must!
Come on.
Susan, wish us luck.
Luck?
Yeah. If we have to
walk right by him.
What if he wakes up?
That's what I said.
Wish us luck.
Ah, c'mon.
This doesn't look right to me.
This way.
Now, I'm a full-blooded Indian.
The keys. Russ,
you've got them.
How about these?
An extra set.
Hurry up.
Hurry up, Lee.
Forget the plane.
Let's try to make
it up the hill.
C'mon!
Hurry!
He remembers.
Remembers what?
His past.
The plane.
What did he fly?
A boxcar?
He's gonna wreck it.
If I can I'm gonna attract
his attention,
and get him away from there.
Hey! Here I am
over here. Hey!
C'mon!
Pull her up, Lee.
Come on, Lee, pull her up.
His arms!
We'll never make it!