Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)

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PG
1h 23min
Adventure, Comedy
04 Oct 1978 (USA)
Movie

4.6 (14,945)

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A group of scientists band together to save the world from mutated killer tomatoes.

Director:

John De Bello

Writers:

Costa Dillon, John De Bello, J. Stephen Peace

Stars:

Award:

1 nomination.
See more »

Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Trailer for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: 25th Anniversary Edition

Still of David Miller (II) in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)

Still of Elissa Groh in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)

Still of Tom Coleman (II) in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)

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77 photos | 1 video

Cast

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	David Miller	...	Mason Dixon
	George Wilson	...	Jim Richardson
	Sharon Taylor	...	Lois Fairchild
	J. Stephen Peace	...	Lt. Wilbur Finletter (as Rock Peace)
	Ernie Meyers	...	The President
	Eric Christmas	...	Senator Polk
	Ron Shapiro	...	Newspaper Editor
	Al Sklar	...	Ted Swann
	Jerrold Anderson	...	Major Mills (as Jerry Anderson)
	Don Birch	...	Old Man
	Tom Coleman	...	Singing Soldier
	Art K. Koustik	...	FIA Director (as Art Koustik)
	Jack Nolen	...	Senator McKinley
	Paul Oya	...	Dr. Nokitofa
	John Qualls	...	Captain
	Alan Scharf	...	Roberts
	Gary Smith	...	Sam Smith
	Byron Teegarden	...	Dr. Morrison
	Doug Vernon	...	Scientist
	Dean Grell	...	Miss Potato Famine of 1922
	Jack Riley	...	Salesman
	Von Schauer	...	Special Appearance
	Cindy Charles	...	Housewife
	Joe Price	...	Detective #1
	Gordon Ross	...	Detective #2
	D. Wayne Cyphert	...	Husband
	Efemia Dillon	...	Wife
	Rebecca Birch	...	Old Woman
	Nigel Barber	...	Guard at Gate
	John De Bello	...	Janitor / Charles White
	Paul Abbot	...	Sergeant
	Gregg Berger	...	Sergeant
	Wayne Wynne	...	Mr. Mikkelson
	Chad Demmon	...	Bobby Drake
	Ellen Drexler	...	President's Secretary
	Burt Miller	...	The Admiral
	Richard Curtis	...	General #1
	Hal Chidnoff	...	General #2
	David Hall	...	Bruce
	Benita Barton	...	Gretta Attenbaum
	Steve Cates	...	Greg Colburn
	Brian Cantwell	...	Superman
	Lydia Hannibal	...	Receptionist (as Linda Hannibal)
	James De Bello	...	Deaf & Blind Cop
	Richard Buresh	...	Hotel Clerk
	Dan Walsh	...	Billy
	Hutch the Dog	...	Spot the Dog
	Riba Nolan	...	Lady at Supermarket
	Costa Dillon	...	Man in Library (as C.J. 'Clark' Dillon)
	Mike Niederman	...	Soldier at Phone
	Jim Hess	...	TV Reporter
	D.J. Sullivan	...	Mrs. Williams
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Oscar Granquist	...	Dinner Guest
	Paul Lauden	...	Boy crushed by tomato
	Michael R. Seewald	...	Cameraman #1
	Imogen Shanahan	...	Squash
	Dana Ashbrook	...	Boy on Boat (uncredited)
	Gordon Browning	...	Cigar-Smoking Senator (uncredited)
	Patrick Browning	...	Boy in Chair Reading (uncredited)
	Ben Cassel	...	Student in library (uncredited)
	Robert Cox	...	Stadium Crowd (uncredited)
	Elissa Groh	...	Biker's Screaming Girlfriend (uncredited)
	Randee Lynne Jensen	...	Stadium Crowd (uncredited)
	Skot Pierson	...	Stadium Tunnel Tomato Stomper (uncredited)
	Marc Sandknop	...	Boy in Crowd (uncredited)
	Ralph Waxman	...	UPS Man (uncredited)
	Donna Woodrum	...	Stadium Crowd (uncredited)

Directed by

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John De Bello

Written by

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Costa Dillon	...	(written by) &
John De Bello	...	(written by) &
J. Stephen Peace	...	(written by) (as Steve Peace)

Produced by

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Michael Bard Bayer	...	associate producer
John De Bello	...	producer
J. Stephen Peace	...	producer (as Steve Peace)
Mark L. Rosen	...	producer (uncredited)

Music by

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Gordon Goodwin
Paul Sundfor

Cinematography by

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John K. Culley

Editing by

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John De Bello

Editorial Department

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Robert Matzenauer

...

assistant editor (as Bob Matzenaur)

Costume Design by

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Costa Dillon

...

(as Constantine James Dillon)

Production Management

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Costa Dillon

...

production manager (as C.J. Dillon)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Costa Dillon

...

assistant director / second unit director (as C. James Dillon)

Art Department

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Costa Dillon	...	properties
Jean Hollbrook	...	art work

Sound Department

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Bob Freeman	...	sound effects editor
Paul Wear	...	sound

Special Effects by

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Craig Berkos	...	special effects
Robert Matzenauer	...	special effects
John Eggett	...	pyrotechnician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by

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Roger Dorney

...

optical camera (uncredited)

Stunts

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Robert Judd

...

stunt player

Camera and Electrical Department

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Craig Berkos	...	grip
Steve Cates	...	gaffer
Steve Dillon	...	grip
Pete Hoffman	...	assistant camera
Robert Matzenauer	...	key grip
Julian Pena	...	grip
Mike St. James	...	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Cheryl Peace

...

costume designer: tomato costume

Location Management

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Costa Dillon

...

location scout (as Constantine J. Dillon)

Music Department

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John De Bello	...	music editor
The Four Square Symphony Orchestra	...	music performed by

Additional Crew

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Craig Berkos	...	miniaturization
Costa Dillon	...	all purpose bit player (as 'Clark' Dillon)
Robert Matzenauer	...	chief tomato maker / giant tomatoes (as Bob Matzenaur)
Barbara Muir	...	talent coordinator
Beth Reno	...	production accountant

Thanks

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Gene Ames	...	our thanks to
Robert Matzenauer	...	our thanks to (as Ronald Matzenauer)

Production Companies

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Distributors

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NAI Entertainment Releasing (1978) (United States) (theatrical)
Danton Films (1979) (Canada) (theatrical)
Greg Lynch Film Distributors (1981) (Australia) (theatrical)
Nippon Columbia (1995) (Japan) (theatrical) (director's cut) (for Comstock)
Astral Video (1987) (Canada) (VHS)
Buena Vista Home Video (1996) (United States) (VHS)
CEL Home Video (1987) (Australia) (VHS)
Crest Films (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
El 9 Besepi S.L. (2021) (Spain)
Geneon Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
MVD Visual (2018) (United States) (Blu-ray)
Media Home Entertainment (1982) (Australia) (video)
Media Home Entertainment (1987) (United States) (VHS)
Research Entertainment (2018) (Spain) (video)
Rhino Home Video (2003) (United States) (DVD)
USA Network (1991) (United States) (tv) (cable television)
Universum Film (UFA) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
VideoVisa (Mexico) (VHS)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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American Airlines (our thanks to)
Consolidated Film Industries (CFI) (titles and opticals)
County of San Diego (our thanks to)
FedMart (our thanks to)
I.D. Sound (music recorded at)
Little America Westgate Hotel (our thanks to)
Royal Inn (our thanks to)
Russo's Market (our thanks to)
Scott Sound (recorded at)
Security Pacific National Bank (our thanks to)
Wagon Wheel Produce (our thanks to)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	After a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by the traditionally docile fruit, a special government task force is set up to investigate the violent fruit and put a stop to their murderous spree. Included in this crack team are a lieutenant who never goes anywhere without his parachute, an underwater expert who's never out of his scuba gear, and a master of disguise who conceals his appearance by dressing as a black Adolf Hitler. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher Plot Summary Plot Synopsis
Plot Keywords	coors-beer based-on-short-film disguise parody satire See All (45) »
Taglines	"Aaargh! ..." See more »
Genres	Adventure Comedy Horror Musical Sci-Fi
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Australia:PG Australia:NRC Iceland:L Japan:G Norway:7 (Amazon Prime self-rating) Norway:10 (video rating) Spain:13 Sweden:7 (DVD rating) Sweden:15 (video rating) United Kingdom:PG United States:PG West Germany:12

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (France) L'Attaque des tomates tueuses (France) Angriff der Killertomaten (Germany) El ataque de los tomates asesinos (Spain) L'atac dels tomàquets assassins (Spain, Catalan title) See more »
Runtime	83 min
Official Sites	KT Entertainment
Country	United States
Language	English
Color	Color
Aspect Ratio	1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono
Filming Locations	Qualcomm Stadium - 9449 Friars Road, San Diego, California, USA See more »

Box Office

Budget

$90,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia	The helicopter crash in the early scenes was unintentional. The tail rotor blades accidentally hit the ground, causing the helicopter to spin out of control. Debris and the top rotor blades narrowly missed the police officers in the scene and the crew off camera. The pilot received minor injuries. After being pulled from the wreck, Jack Riley and George Wilson quickly ad-libbed the rest of the scene as the wreck was set on fire. The crash of the $60,000 rented helicopter used up more of the budget than all other aspects of the film combined. See more »
Goofs	The amount of squashed tomato on the police car's windshield changes. See more »
Movie Connections	Edited into The Weirdo Zone (1986). See more »
Soundtracks	Theme from 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' See more »
Crazy Credits	The crowd at the Stadium is credited as Every Screwball in San Diego county See more »
Quotes	Dr. Nokitofa: Technically sir, tomatoes are fags. Dr. Morrison: He means fruits. See more »

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