704 - THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN
(1977; R; 86m)

Ad: "The First New Horror Creature...Come Prepared!"

Plot: Upon his return to Earth, an astronaut has melting skin and cannibalistic tendencies.

Exec: Max J. Rosenberg
(905-The Deadly Bees; Cat People)
Prod: Samuel W. Gelfman
(also cameo; Cannonball)
Dir/Scr: William Sachs
(Galaxina; South of Hell Mountain)
Assoc Prod: Peter Cornberg (actor/Cannonball)
Assoc Prod: Robert L. Fenton (Fyre)
Cin: Willy Curtis
Ed: James Beshears (prod/dir/Homework)
SFX: Rick Baker*
SFX: Harry Woolman (706-Laserblast; 815-Agent for H.A.R.M.;
K19-Hangar 18; Big Foot; Rattlers)
Cos/Loc Mgr: Rebecca Ross (ed/Under the Cherry Moon)
M/U: Rick Baker*
M/U: Tina Lewis
M/U: Dulcie Smith (Hook)
ADir: Michael Levesque (Supervixens)
Asst Dir/PMgr: Don Walters (also actor)
Asst Dir: Henning Schellerup (K19)
Sound Mixer: Mark Bovos (TV's Victim of Love)
Script Sup: Sandy King (prod/Vampires; Village of the Damned)
Stunts: Bruce Paul Barbour (Lethal Weapon 4; Total Recall)
Stunts: Dana D. Bertolette (Daylight; Robocop 3)
Stunts: Conrad E. Palmisano (Lethal Weapon 4; Batman Forever)
Stunts: Sonny Shields (Meteor)
Score: Arlon Ober (Eating Raoul; Hospital Massacre)

melting man Steven West / Alex Rebar (scr/Demented)
Dr. Ted Nelson / Burr De Benning (City Beneath the Sea)
Gen. Perry / Myron Healey (320-Unearthly; Varan the Unbelievable)
Sheriff Blake / Michael Alldredge (Robot Jox; About Last Night...)
Judy Nelson / Ann Sweeny (TV's Under Siege)
Dr. Loring / Lisle Wilson (Sisters; Mississippi Summer)
model / Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith*
Matt / Jonathan Demme (won Oscar/dir/Silence of the Lambs)
Carol / Julie Drazen
little boys / Stuart Edmond Rogers, Chris Whitney
Harold / Edwin Max (Bloodhounds of Broadway)
Helen / Dorothy Love (Caged Heat)
Nell / Janus Blythe (The Hills Have Eyes)
2nd security guard / Westbrook Claridge (scr/TV's TekWar)
janitor / DeForest Covan (Rocky)
fisherman / Sam Gelfman (also producer)
nurse / Bonnie Inch (There Is No 13)
1st security guard / Mickey Lolich
maintenance man / Keith Michl (Cannonball)
Carol's mother / Leigh Mitchell (Scream Bloody Murder)
photographer / Don Walters
(possibly 102S-Radar Men from the Moon)
West's voice / Newell Alexander (Fire Down Below)
Nora's voice / Rosemary Lovell (You Light Up My Life)
Houston Control / Dave Hull (Scream Free!)
newscaster / Jennifer Mulaire

Trivia: Confused about the scene showing a girl sobbing in a police car and a photographer taking pictures of everything in sight? That's because this prior scene was cut from the MSTed version: the photographer gets the girl model (played by CHERYL "RAINBEAUX" SMITH) to pose and bounce around, then forcibly removes her top after she refuses to, exposing her amble bosom. She starts hitting him as he continues to take pictures, and then trips over the Bill-Gates-look-alike corpse, making a oozy mess and screaming a lot. That's why she's crying in the police car, and that's why the photographer happens to be there. (By the way, Ms. Smith used the name Rainbeaux primarily when appearing in movies in which she showed her boobs. Her name's Cheryl, and her top stays on in 706-LASERBLAST. You can also see her in Revenge of the Cheerleaders).

Born in 1950, special effects and make-up artist RICK BAKER got great notices for the job he did on THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN. His first job was making puppets for TV's Gumby and Davy and Goliath. Prior to Melting Man, Baker worked on these films: 1971's Octaman; 1972's Schlock; Housewife; The Thing with Two Heads with Ray Milland and Rosie Grier (don't miss it!); 1973's Black Caesar with Fred Williamson; 1974's It's Alive (and sequels); 1976's King Kong starring Jessica Lange, 1007-TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST; and 1012-SQUIRM; 1977's Star Wars; and Kentucky Fried Movie.

Baker has already won five Oscars for: 1981's An American Werewolf in London (the first year that the Make-Up category was created); 1987's Harry and the Hendersons; 1994's Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp and Martin Landau; 1996's The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy; and 1997's Men In Black starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. He also received nominations for 1984's Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan; 1988's Coming to America with Murphy again; and 1998's Mighty Joe Young.

Baker's work can also be seen in 1983's Videodrome; 1985's Teen Wolf with Michael J. Fox; My Science Project; 1987's Gorillas in the Mist starring Sigourney Weaver; Summer School; Werewolf; 1990's Gremlins 2; 1991's The Rocketeer; and 1994's Wolf with Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Rick Baker also shared an Emmy with STAN WINSTON (see 1010-It Lives by Night) for doing the astounding age-transformation make-up on actress Cicely Tyson in 1974's The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

Last Updated: 6/10/1999