Alligator

**Alligator** is a 1980 American-produced monster-horror film. As its name suggests, the film centers around a monstrous alligator that lurks in the sewers of Chicago, Illinois.

## Summary

The creature's story is chronicled from its humble beginning as a baby alligator bought a by little girl and reptile enthusiast. However, her father disposes of the alligator by simply and with no regret, flushing it down the toilet. The reptile ends up in the city sewers and survives on feeding off improperly disposed pet animal carcasses that have been experimented on by a young and ambitious scientist funded by a shady tycoon.

Twelve years later, the pet alligator once named Ramon has grown to colossal size as a result of the experiment animals it has fed on regularly (the animals were given growth treatments in the hope of increasing the size of livestock for an improved food supply). The creature then begins feeding on people in the form of sewer workers. This draws the attention of the police and a cop named David Madison is assigned to the case. He has a reputation for losing partners on the job (cited in a press conference that he loss a partner while he was stationed in St. Louis). Madison meets the girl who previously owned Ramon, who now works as a herpetologist named Marisa Kendall. He also meets his new partner a young cop named Kelly. The two cops explore the sewers for clues in solving the case of missing and murdered city workers.

During the investigation of the sewers, the two encounter the monstrous alligator, resulting in Kelly being killed. Madison is then on believed to be crazy as there was no trace of the alligator or Kelly. There is no further proof until a nosey reporter visits the sewers for the first and last time as he too is caught and killed by Ramon the alligator. However, his camera survives and is recovered by authorities who see that now there is a killer alligator. This prompts an all-out hunt-and-destroy mission involving the entire city police force. The initial attempts fail and police seemingly give up at that time. Ramon however, surprises everyone when he in fact had simply moved out of the sewers, relocating elsewhere. He made his stunning return to the public when he exploded out of a city sidewalk during a neighborhood street ball game. The kids flee and soon havoc follows including the killing of a cop and a little boy during a pool party (Ramon had taken refuge in the swimming pool after leaving the sewers earlier during the police's hunt).

Soon, a big game hunter named Col. Brock is recruited to track down and kill Ramon. However, the arrogance of Brock led to his demise and during a visit to a diner where a now-fired Detective Madison was brooding, two cops informed him that they found the remains of Brock in an alleyway where Ramon had been lurking in.

Eventually, Madison and his new friend Dr. Kendall track the alligator down to a wedding party where the beast crashes the party, killing a maid, the groom, the mayor and even the tycoon after smashing his limousine in with only his tail.

Madison and Kendall track Ramon back down into the sewers and Madison plants a powerful explosive, luring Ramon to the location before the timer went off, killing Ramon. However, from another sewer pipe fell another alligator, thus hinting to an obvious repeat of the previous horror.

## Cast

* Robert Forster ... David Madison

* Robin Riker ... Marisa Kendall

* Michael V. Gazzo ... Chief Clark (as Michael Gazzo)

* Dean Jagger ... Slade

* Sydney Lassick ... Gutchel (as Sidney Lassick)

* Jack Carter ... Mayor

* Perry Lang ... Kelly

* Henry Silva ... Col. Brock

* Bart Braverman ... Kemp

* John Lisbon Wood ... Mad Bomber

* James Ingersoll ... Helms

* Robert Doyle ... Bill

* Patti Jerome ... Madeline

* Angel Tompkins ... Newswoman

* Sue Lyon ... ABC Newswoman

## External links

* Alligator on *Internet Movie Database*
* Alligator on *Wikipedia*