An Interview With Beverly Garland
   (Conducted by members of 
MST3K: The Discussion Board)

     

Q1:  First question: did you find yourself ever cracking up at the monster special effects while you were shooting?

A1:  I thought the monster should have been bigger. I thought he would look more like an alien (like some kind of man) I was surprised that he was in the form of a "monster," but that was what Roger Corman had in mind and it was his call. It was his picture!
  

Q2:  What are your favorite films among your own?

A2:  “Pretty Poison” and “Where the Red Fern Grow” are two of my favorites. I like playing strong women. I was always a dramatic actress, until I did a show where I was funny and I landed almost all rather shallow women with not a lot of spunk. Not my cup of tea at all!
  

Q3:  You usually played women of strong character in your films. Any resistance to this?  Did you ever have to fight not to play the stereotypical screaming heroine?

A3:  See above!
  

Q4:  Was Corman a supportive director? Or just interested in getting it done quick?

Q4:  Roger was a very supportive director. Yes, we worked fast, but he used good actors who could do that and it wasn’t a worry for him — or for us.
  

Q5:  What is your favorite character that you played in a film?

A5:  There are two: Tuesday Weld’s mom in “Pretty Poison” and Casey Jones on the “Decoy” TV series.
  

Q6:  What actresses were of inspiration to you?

Q6:  Bette Davis.
  

Q7:  Any true horror stories from the shoots on It Conquered the World, Gunslinger and Swamp Diamonds?

A7:  In “It Conquered the World,” I think we all hated the monster.  “Gunslinger” location was cold and rainy and just the most uncomfortable location ever.  I sprained my ankle during that shoot and had to see a doctor to numb it so I could work which I did all the next day, but from then on it took a month before it was healed.  I was supposed to jump up on the horse at a run and ride out of town — fast.  I did and went right over the other side.  “Swamp Diamonds” was full of nasty things.  The bugs were part of the location we could do with out.  It was HOT!  We stayed in an old abandoned hotel.  It truly was hard work just to survive.
  

Q8:  Did you ever improv or go away from the script?

Q9:  Sure.  Actors do that a lot.
  

Q9:  Are there any parts you turned down but later wished you hadn’t?

A9:  Not really.  I did just about anything because I loved and still love to work, unless it was just a part I could not really do anything with — and there are some of those.
  

Q10:  Are there any parts you didn’t turn down but later wished you had?

A10:  No, I don’t think so.
  

Q11:  Did you enjoy watching Mystery Science Theater?

A11:  Oh, I loved it!
  

Q12:  Did you enjoy seeing the films you worked on being mocked by MST?

A12:  That was the best!  I wanted them to do it more!  I thought it was so fun!
  

Q13:  How much time did you have to learn your lines in the films Gunslinger and It Conquered the World?  I understand they were filmed on a tight schedule.  You did an awfully good job.  I have a terrible time memorizing anything.  What would you recommend to enhancing memorization?

A13:  At this time in my life, I forget everything, so to memorize lines now is so very hard.  I wish there was an easy way, but for me there is not.  I just go over it and over it and over it!  It seems to help me if I work with a friend on it, time after time after time, until I have it.
  

Q14:  Did you have fun making these movies with Roger Corman?

A14:  The best fun, although it did not seem like fun then, but when I look back at it now, it was the best of times.
  

Q15:  What was, in your opinion, the funniest moment making a film with Roger Corman?

A15:  The time Allison Hayes fell off the horse when it was standing still.  It just seemed to me that she wanted off the picture and this was a good way for her to achieve that.  But it didn’t work.  She finished the picture with a broken arm!
  

Q16:  How much of your own stunts did you do, and can you really shoot a gun?

A16:  Of course, I can shoot!  You have to do all that in Westerns and I did all my own stunts.  You did it all in those days!
  

Q17:  You appeared in three films seen on the show: Gunslinger, It Conquered the World and Swamp Diamonds. Which was your favorite to make? Which was the least fun to make?

A17:  They were all so different and I loved working on all of them!
  

Q18:  What is your favorite movie of all time?

A18:  “Pretty Poison”
  

Q19:  What is the worst movie you have ever seen?

A19:  One of my own: “Stark Fear.”
  

Q20:  Do you know if Roger Corman enjoyed seeing his films being made fun of on MST?

A20:  Have no idea.
  

Q21:  Who’s cooler, Peter Graves, Mike “Touch” Connors, Lee Van Cleef or John Ireland?

A21:  They are all cool in their own special way and I love them all!
  
   

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