Bigfoot, ANE, and Mormons
I found an interesting letter dated Jan. 31, 2004 on
this Mormon website. It makes mention of ANE (The company being based in Salt Lake City is the only "Mormon" connection that I can see) and a claimed encounter with Cain (described as a hair-covered man) by an early supporter of the Mormon faith. They don't give a name, but it wouldn't surprise me if this was sent in by Kal Korff. This certainly wouldn't be the first time
someone tried connecting Cain to Bigfoot, either (Remember, Grendel was described as a descendent of Cain).
Perhaps Korff got ANE mixed up with Sunn Classic Pictures? They're described as being a Mormon company on
these sites and
some of the people who worked for them were Mormons. I should note that Paramount apparently has the rights to the Sunn Classic catalog, so anyone who wants a restored DVD release of "The Mysterious Monsters" should contact them.
As for ANE,
here are some interesting sites that I found that make note of them.
During my search for the above information, I remembered a rumor I had once heard about the movie "Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot" (not to be confused with Ivan Marx's "The Legend of Bigfoot") was based on Roger Patterson's idea for a movie. I couldn't find where I had read that, but I did find
a review of the movie that noted an Indian tracking guide. Obviously, that's hardly proof of a connection; I just found it interesting.
Then I found
this interview of sorts with
one of the film's writers (and executive producer) Ron Olson, who is
the son of someone connected to ANE and who helped build that infamous"Bigfoot trap". In it, he notes that:
"It all began back in the summer of 1968, when Olson, who was then distributing wildlife films, met a fellow named Roger Patterson. Bigfoot buffs will know Patterson, who later died from cancer, as the fellow who shot film footage of an alleged Sasquatch along Bluff Creek, Calif., in October 1967. Bluff Creek flows into the Klamath River about 50 miles south of Happy Camp.
"Roger had been looking for it for a long time," Olson recalls. "I met up with him and talked about doing a movie. But we needed more data information."
So maybe there's some truth to the rumor after all...
I also found an (undated)
interview with the film's director, Ed Raggozino. On pages 2-3 of the interview, we get the following (bolding by me):
BijouFlix: ...There are rumors that John Chambers the special effects make-up artist may have used an old LOST IN SPACE ape suit with a new head and worked with Roger Patterson to stage the famed 16mm footage as a hoax. Were you ever aware of such rumors?
Ed Raggozino: The truth is, that the costume is better than the actor who wore it.
And then the interviewer continues on to another question without pursuing the matter. What the hell?
