A family on vacation takes a wrong turn and end up lost. Michael (Harold P. Warren), his wife Margaret (Diane Adelson) and their daughter Debbie (Jackey Neyman Jones) along with their poodle Peppy were on their way to a place called Valley Lodge when they ended up in the middle of nowhere. The only thing around is a dilapidated house. There is a strange man, supposedly reminiscent of a satyr, standing in front of it. They stop to ask directions. The man says his name is Torgo (John Reynolds) and he keeps an eye on the house while “The Master” is away. Since it is getting dark Michael asks if they can stay the night. Torgo baulks for quite awhile uncertain of what to do. He’s not sure the Master would like it. Eventually Torgo lets them inside.
The inside of the house is freaky and there is a painting of the Master with a big black dog. Torgo says the Master is gone but is always there. Then they hear a howl. Margaret is freaking out and Michael is not far behind her. Michael goes to investigate. Peppy runs out into the night. Michael finds Peppy dead.
They decide to leave but Michael can’t get the car started. In the meantime Torgo tells Margaret that the Master wants her to be his wife. He then makes a pass at her. Then Debbie is missing. When she returns she is holding the leash of the demon looking dog in the picture. Debbie shows them where she got the dog. On an alter they see the Master (Tom Neyman) laid out wearing a black robe with giant red hands on it. Standing around as if asleep are several woman in sheer gowns. They are the Master’s wives.
They run back to the house. Torgo peeps in on Margaret who, for some stupid reason, is getting undressed. Torgo then knocks Michael unconscious and ties him up. The Master wakes up and offers a prayer to Manos. He pronounces that Michael, Margaret and Debbie should die, and then he leaves. The wives argue about killing the child and end up in a catfight.
When the Master comes back he breaks up the catfight and decides that Torgo and his first wife have to die. Michael finally wakes up, unties himself and runs back to the house. He takes Margaret and Debbie and runs into the desert. The Master’s wives go looking for them. They get lost in the night and decide to go back to the house thinking that everyone is looking for them in the desert. Unbeknownst to them the Master is waiting for them.
“Manos: The Hands of Fate” was released in 1966 and was written, produced and directed by Harold P. Warren. Warren was an insurance and fertilizer salesman from El Paso, Texas, who produced the film as the result of a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. (He won an academy award for “In the Heat of the Night”.) Warren also stars in the film. It is an independent film done on basically no budget ($19,000). Warren had no experience in filmmaking. The film only played at the Capri Theater in El Paso and a few drive-ins. It was destined for obscurity until MST3K mocked it. It then became a cult hit.
It is reportedly one of the worst movies ever made. Is it really that bad? Yes, it’s drivel. The acting is horrendous. The best actors were the dogs and the moths that kept flying around. The plot is non-existent. The movie is bland and tedious. It’s also rather disjointed in spots. Many people like the black robe the Master wears with the big red hands on it. It’s not enough to save it. There are more interesting facts about the movie then the movie is itself.
The camera Warren used was a 16mm Bell & Howell model that had to be cranked by hand, meaning it could only record film for roughly thirty seconds at a time. Apparently this is part of the reason the editing was so abysmal. It also couldn’t record sound, so all dialogue and sound effects were dubbed in later. This also explains some of the synchronization issues with the sound. The rest of the editing and sound issues are due to the ineptitude of the director.
The word "manos" is Spanish for "hands" so the title of the movie translates to “Hands: the Hands of Fate”. The crew use to call it “Mangos: The Cans of Fruit” behind Warren’s back. After the premiere in El Paso, a middle-aged woman attacked Warren with her purse. She was upset because of the little girl Debbie’s fate in the movie. It is reportedly Quentin Tarantino’s favorite comedy of all time.
Warren didn’t have any money to pay the actors or the crew so he convinced them to work for a share of the profits. Of course the movie was a dud so no one got any profits. The only cast member who got paid anything was Jackey Neyman Jones (Debbie) who got a bicycle. Reportedly the Doberman got a bag of dog food if that counts. It was Tom Neyman’s dog.
John Reynolds (Torgo) battled depression and drug addiction. He committed suicide in 1966 before the film was released. He was also using LSD during the filming.