History Film / TheKillerShrews

Thorne Sherman is the captain of a small supply boat sent to bring provisions to a lab on an isolated island. When he arrives, inclement weather prevents the offloading of provisions, and he finds the resident scientists nervously awaiting him with guns. Much Administrivia/{{Natter}} and beating around the bush ensues, until finally the truth comes out: The scientists have been performing experiments on overpopulation by genetically engineering shrews which grow to the size of sheep dogs, eat incessantly and breed profusely. These giant shrews have escaped and are overrunning the island, stripping it of food until the monsters must turn on the humans, trapping them in the small house/lab.

** Also, one of the scientists, when fatally bitten by a shrew, calmly records the progression of symptoms right up to the instant of his death, rather than say anything to all the people in the room with him.

* MadScientist: Remarkably {{Averted}}. Dr. Craigis may have accidentally created a herd of giant shrews as a side-effect of his experiments, but he at least took care from the beginning that nothing that he did could endanger the wider world and he gives a reasonable justification for everything he does.

[[caption-width-right:201:"Looks like a rat, smells like a skunk - some call them bone-eaters." ]]

A low-budget 1959 monster movie directed by Ray Kellogg (who shot it in Texas back-to-back with ''Film/TheGiantGilaMonster'') and starring James "[[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Rosco P. Coltrane]]" Best.

A low-budget 1959 monster movie directed by Ray Kellogg and starring James "[[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Rosco P. Coltrane]]" Best.

A low-budget 1959 monster movie starring James "[[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Rosco P. Coltrane]]" Best.

A 1959 monster movie starring James "[[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Rosco P. Coltrane]]" Best.

A 1959 monster movie starring James "[[DukesOfHazzard Roscoe P]]" Best.

* {{MacGyvering}}

Thorne Sherman is the captain of a small supply boat sent to bring provisions to a lab on an isolated island. When he arrives, inclement weather prevents the offloading of provisions, and he finds the resident scientists nervously awaiting him with guns. Much {{Natter}} and beating around the bush ensues, until finally the truth comes out: The scientists have been performing experiments on overpopulation by genetically engineering shrews which grow to the size of sheep dogs, eat incessantly and breed profusely. These giant shrews have escaped and are overrunning the island, stripping it of food until the monsters must turn on the humans, trapping them in the small house/lab.

Unfortunately for the humans, the rains are weakening the house's adobe walls, allowing the Killer Shrews to burrow their way in. Although only a couple shrews actually make it inside, it's enough to kill a house servant and a lab researcher; the shrews also gobble up Thorne's sidekick [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Rook]] whilst attempting to bring items ashore from the boat). Realizing they can't stay in the house because the shrews are getting in, but can't go ''out'' of the house because the shrews are out there, Thorne gets creative and [[MacGyvering builds a portable tank out of empty oil drums]]. He, his LoveInterest and her father the lead scientist all escape to the beach in this tank and finally ditch into the ocean and swim out to Thorne's boat (now safe, since shrews can't swim); but the last lab assistant panics and refuses to join them in their escape, and so gets hisself et. The shrews are left trapped on the island, where it is assumed they will eventually starve and die off.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/killer-shrew_8472.jpg
[[caption-width:201:"Looks like a rat, smells like a skunk - some call them bone-eaters." ]]

Unfortunately for the humans, the rains are weakening the house's adobe walls, allowing the Killer Shrews to burrow their way in. Although only a couple shrews actually make it inside, it's enough to kill a house servant and a lab researcher; the shrews also gobble up Thorne's sidekick [{BlackDudeDiesFirst Rook]] whilst attempting to bring items ashore from the boat). Realizing they can't stay in the house because the shrews are getting in, but can't go ''out'' of the house because the shrews are out there, Thorne gets creative and [[MacGyvering builds a portable tank out of empty oil drums]]. He, his LoveInterest and her father the lead scientist all escape to the beach in this tank and finally ditch into the ocean and swim out to Thorne's boat (now safe, since shrews can't swim); but the last lab assistant panics and refuses to join them in their escape, and so gets hisself et. The shrews are left trapped on the island, where it is assumed they will eventually starve and die off.

Unfortunately for the humans, the rains are weakening the house's adobe walls, allowing the Killer Shrews to burrow their way in. Although only a couple shrews actually make it inside, it's enough to kill a house servant and a lab researcher; the shrews also gobble up Thorne's sidekick Rook whilst attempting to bring items ashore from the boat (not that [[UnfortunateImplications anyone notices the demise]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst of the black guy]]). Realizing they can't stay in the house because the shrews are getting in, but can't go ''out'' of the house because the shrews are out there, Thorne gets creative and [[MacGyvering builds a portable tank out of empty oil drums]]. He, his LoveInterest and her father the lead scientist all escape to the beach in this tank and finally ditch into the ocean and swim out to Thorne's boat (now safe, since shrews can't swim); but the last lab assistant panics and refuses to join them in their escape, and so gets hisself et. The shrews are left trapped on the island, where it is assumed they will eventually starve and die off.

Unfortunately for the humans, the rains are weakening the house's adobe walls, allowing the Killer Shrews to burrow their way in. Although only a couple shrews actually make it inside, it's enough to kill a house servant and a lab researcher; the shrews also gobble up Thorne's sidekick Rook whilst attempting to bring items ashore from the boat (not that [[UnfortunateImplications anyone notices the demise]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst of the black guy]]). Realizing they can't stay in the house because the shrews are getting in, but can't go ''out'' of the house because the shrews are out there, Thorne gets creative and [[MacGyvering builds a portable tank out of empty oil drums]]. He, his LoveInterest and her father the lead scientist all escape to the beach in this tank and finally ditch into the ocean and swim out to Thorne's boat (now safe, since [[DidNotDoTheResearch shrews can't swim]]); but the last lab assistant panics and refuses to join them in their escape, and so gets hisself et. The shrews are left trapped on the island, where it is assumed they will eventually starve and die off.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrew_%28animal%29 The other wiki]] claims that shrews are at least good enough swimmers to hunt in water.
** Ironically enough, they throw out the fact that the shrew has a poisonous bite; instead, they say the venom comes from poisons they've set out as bait that they've adapted into their systems. Honestly, being ''naturally'' venomous is a more rational explanation.
*** Possibly ScienceMarchesOn, as the question of whether shrews actively secrete their own venom or recycle it from the tissues of toxic insects may not yet have been resolved when the film was made.

* RodentsOfUnusualSize: Shrews ''are'' members of order Rodentia, after all.

Describe TheKillerShrews here:

->''Killer Shrew! Killer Shrew!\\
K-I-double L-E-R-Shrew!\\
He's scary and tough\\
If that ain't enough\\
He's augmented with bath mats and stuff!''

A 1959 monster movie starring James "[[DukesOfHazzard Roscoe P]]" Best, featured on ''MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

The film showed on ''{{MST3K}}'' with the short film ''Junior Rodeo Daredevils'', about the death-defying rodeo stunts done by children after a prank on "Old-timer Billy Slater" went horribly wrong.

This episode was released on DVD along with another "lost" short as an extra: ''Film/AssignmentVenezuela'', the story of an American oil company employee trying to adjust to being sent to work in Venezuela while trying to make everything sound good to his wife and kids back in the States.

* ForScience: The creation of the Killer Shrews was actually an experiment to study the effects of overpopulation, an experiment which has(everybody say it with me) GoneHorriblyRight.

-->'''Servo [as Cragis]''' How big does that music make it sound?

!!The [=MST3K=] presentation provides examples of:

* GargleBlaster: Tom and Crow's Killer Shrew cocktail may be non-alcoholic, but it can still send you into an instantaneous diabetic coma.
* NotableOriginalMusic: see the page quote.
* RunningGag: Rook plays Dixieland Jazz.
* ShoutOut: Several, but the "Will Rogers" sketch is chock full of them. Joel's attempt to impersonate cowboy humorist Will Rogers after watching the short ends up devolving into random quotations from MarkTwain, Casey Stengel, Alexander Woollcott, MacGruff, Nikita Kruschev, Garret Morris, Dion ([[TearJerker "Abraham, Martin and John"]]), Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign, and DrSeuss
* TakeThat
-->'''Tom Servo:''' ''[After reading the title card]'' Starring Joan Collins and Jackie Collins!
* TheUnintelligible: The head scientist and his daughter have very thick accents, which Joel and the bots mock to no end.
--> '''Dr. Marlowe:''' Radford?
--> '''Joel:''' Rapid? Rapture?
--> '''Dr. Marlowe:''' Radford, could you please step over here? I'd like you to meet someone.
--> '''Joel:''' Rapid Bathroom?
--> '''Tom:''' Yes; this is our resident novelist, Rapid Bathoom.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Joel gives fantastic gifts to the bots, including a ''Little Mermaid'' bath set for Gypsy, an indoor drag car for Tom, and... [[MyNewGiftIsLame a pair of slacks for Crow]].
** Adding insult to injury, they're brown.
* WithLyrics: "You're gonna die from shrew bites, you're gonna die from shrew bites..."
----

* HeyItsThatGuy: James "[[EvilLaugh Gyhuh-gyhuh-gyhuh-gyhuh-gyhuh!]]" Best as TheCaptain, Thorne Sherman.
** And Jerry is played by Ken Curtis, a.k.a. ''{{Gunsmoke}}'''s Festus.

* [=~Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter~=]

* YouFailGunSafetyForever: When the Mexican servant is bitten in the leg by a shrew, Thorne tries to stop the bleeding with a tourniquet. What does he use to tighten it? ''The barrel of his loaded revolver.''

This episode was released on DVD along with another "lost" short as an extra: ''Assignment Venezuela'', the story of an American oil company employee trying to adjust to being sent to work in Venezuela while trying to make everything sound good to his wife and kids back in the States.