Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
A vacationing family looking for a lodge gets lost on back roads and stops at an isolated house tended by Torgo, a lurching caretaker with strangely swollen legs. The place belongs to a robed polygamist called the Master, who worships a god named Manos and, with his squabbling wives, means to add the family to his following.
Made on a bet by Harold P. Warren, an El Paso fertilizer and insurance salesman with no filmmaking experience, Manos: The Hands of Fate is routinely ranked among the worst films ever released. The print carried no copyright notice and so has always been in the public domain; a 1993 Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode turned it into a lasting cult object.
Background
Manos: The Hands of Fate was made by Harold P. Warren, an El Paso businessman with no previous filmmaking experience, who wrote, directed, produced and appeared in it. Warren, who worked as a fertilizer and insurance salesman, made the film after a wager with a friend. The amateur production, with non-professional cast members and a crew learning as it worked, is central to its reputation. It is widely ranked among the worst films ever released, and a 1993 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 turned it into a cult favorite.
What to watch for
The film follows a vacationing family who stop at an isolated house tended by Torgo, a lurching caretaker, and who meet the Master, a robed figure with his wives, who worships a god named Manos. Watch for the slow pacing and the long stretches of wandering that make up much of the running time. Its technical problems, including uneven lighting, stiff acting and repeated scenes, are widely noted, and they are the main reason the film is discussed as a case study in amateur filmmaking.
