Lost for decades, Chris Robinson horror movie ‘The Intruder’ resurfaces – Timesonline.com

Harry Guerro couldnt believe his good fortune after making the 3,000-mile journey from New Jersey to the West Coast in late 2012 and unearthing a 35 mm print of the 1975 horror thriller The Intruder, featuring a cast of Hollywood legends.

I discovered the film in a storefront storage location on the outskirts of the Mohave Desert along with hundreds of other films that had been neglected and left to rot under terrible conditions for decades, recalled Guerro.

Even more amazing, the film had slipped into obscurity.

I was not familiar with the film at all. No one was. The film had no Internet Movie Database entry and didn't appear on any filmographies of the principals.

Now restored by Guerros company, Garagehouse Pictures, The Intruders was released Aug. 1 on Blu-ray (see http://www.garagehousepictures.com).

Long before the restoration, which took six months, Guerro saw the full film for the first time in his home screening room with friends.

We were all intrigued by what we saw and curious how a film with four name actors could remain lost for so long, he said.

Those name actors include two popular classic film stars -- Mickey Rooney and Yvonne De Carlo -- as well as Ted Cassidy (Lurch from The Addams Family) and Chris Robinson, who also directed and wrote the screenplay.

And I cast it, put the crew together and shot it, all within six weeks, said Robinson from his home near Sedona, Ariz. But what became of the film after shooting? I have no idea. I wasnt involved in the editing and didnt even see the finished film, which was never released. I moved on to other projects and just forgot about it.

Robinson came up with a plot based on a vague memory of seeing the old Agatha Christie murder mystery movie Ten Little Indians.

Guests are invited to a mansion and killed off one at a time, and I liked the idea of setting The Intruder on an island so they couldnt escape, said Robinson, who cast Mickey Rooney. He was just the nicest guy, always on time, and did everything you asked of him -- a true gentleman and, in my opinion, one of the great stars of all time.

Robinson had directed Rooney the year before in Thunder County, which also starred Cassidy. In The Intruder, youll see another side of Ted Cassidy, and he does something he was never able to do in any other film. Youll see something very interesting with Mickey, too!

Known for her film work in the '40s and '50s and as Lily on television's The Munsters, De Carlo was also cast but Robinson doesnt recall the details.

She may have been in Florida filming and was available, so I probably just made a call and got her.

Robinsons own film career began in the late 1950s and extended to over 100 film and television projects as an actor, director and writer. He became a regular on the '60s series 12 OClock High and later, daytime TV including General Hospital.

He says it was a big surprise when The Intruder resurfaced.

For what I did with the limited time and budget available, I think The Intruder was equal in quality to a lot of bigger budgeted films of the period.

Bringing to light a lost film starring such beloved actors as Mickey Rooney, Yvonne De Carlo and Ted Cassidy should be of interest to movie fans and cinephiles everywhere, added Guerro. It's not every week where a movie like this is found and released after 40-plus years.

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns and interviews for more than 650 newspapers and magazines. See http://www.tinseltowntalks.com.

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Lost for decades, Chris Robinson horror movie 'The Intruder' resurfaces - Timesonline.com