Most of us are familiar with the Yeti or Abominable Snowman. This large ape or man-like creature has populated animated films, television shows and movies for decades. Unlike it’s North American relative Sasquatch or Bigfoot, the Yeti is rumored to inhabit the snow covered Himalayan mountains and it’s often depicted with a white furry coat, which gives the Yeti the ability to easily blend into its natural surroundings. When I was growing up in the ‘70s I was bombarded with news stories and fictional depictions of the Abominable Snowman and Bigfoot. Like a lot kids I became fascinated with these man-like monsters so I watched and read everything I could about them. Unfortunately this led to a lot of disappointment. The Yeti will always be one of my favorite monsters but the movies and television shows depicting this mythological creature rarely lived up to my high expectations. In fact, most of them are abysmal and have undoubtedly sullied the Yeti’s questionable reputation over the years. As bad as many of these movies are they still maintain a soft spot on my heart and during the winter months when the temperature starts to drop and snow begins to cover the ground I always start thinking about the elusive Yeti.

My first encounter with the Yeti was during an episode of the cartoon series Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1970). It was one of my favorite cartoons when I was growing up and I watched re-runs of the show religiously. The episode was called “That Snow Ghost” and it featured a frightening Yeti monster that terrorized Scooby and the gang. Soon afterward I saw my second Abominable Snowman in the popular Rankin/Bass special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). The fumbling big Bumble is still one of the best things about this Christmas classic. From that point onward I’ve been fascinated with the Yeti or “snow monster.” He represented a darker and more mysterious aspect of the winter holiday that appealed to me and fueled my wild imagination.

While I was growing up I was also a big fan of television series The Six Million Dollar Man (1976) and his adventures with Bigfoot (played by Andre the Giant). When I visited Universal Studios during a family vacation one of the highlights of the tour for me was being able to go through the Ice Tunnel (currently part of Universal’s Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb exhibit) where scenes from the Bigfoot episodes were shot. Like a lot of kids my age I watched anything that had Sid & Marty Krofft’s names attached to it so when they took advantage of Bigfoot’s popularity and released the kid’s show Bigfoot & Wildboy (1977) I tuned in. Unfortunately Bigfoot & Wildboy never reached the entertaining heights of The Six Million Dollar Man but I watched it anyway just to catch a glimpse of Bigfoot saving the day. I also sat through a lot of documentaries (I use the term loosely) that seemed to air on TV regularly in the ‘70s and early ‘80s like In Search of Bigfoot (1976) and Sasquatch, The Legend of Bigfoot (1977). In many of these TV shows and documentaries the Yeti or Bigfoot was presented as a gentle giant that was just misunderstood much like Frankenstein’s monster or King Kong. These sympathetic portrayals definitely appealed to me but I also enjoyed the thrill of being frightened by the unknown and the unexplained nature of this mysterious beast.

As my fascination with these big footed hairy creatures grew I started actively seeking out more films that featured Abominable Snowmen and Bigfoot. These movies were abundant and rarely any good but I watched as many as I could. The best of these films usually featured a Yeti or Abominable Snowman. While Bigfoot was regulated to bad TV shows and lighthearted family comedies like Harry & the Hendersons (1988) in the ‘80s, the Yeti movies were always a bit more edgier, smarter and occasionally downright frightening. This is probably why I’ve always found the snow creature more appealing than his forest foraging friend. The Yeti seemed like he could easily win a fight with Sasquatch and this made him more interesting to me. I like misunderstood monsters with a sensitive side but I also like them to be a little unpredictable and threatening. The Yeti fulfilled all those requirements.

One of the best Yeti movies was a Hammer film production called The Abominable Snowman (1957), which was directed by the talented Val Guest and starred Peter Cushing and Forest Tucker. This entertaining black and white film is set in a remote monastery deep in the Himalayan Mountains. You rarely catch a glimpse of the elusive Yeti but the suspense is handled well and a chilly atmosphere of dread is maintained throughout most of the film. I seem to be talking about Hammer films a lot lately but there’s no getting around the fact that they’re responsible for one of the best Yeti movies ever made.

Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman (1955) is another interesting black and white Yeti film directed by the king of Japanese monster movies, Ishiro Honda. Unfortunately the original movie (simply called Half-Human) was banned in Japan due to it’s insensitive portrayal of the Burakumin and Ainu people (groups of native minorities) so most American viewers like myself have only seen the edited and Americanized version of the film that features additional scenes with John Carradine. The plot of Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman borrows a lot of ideas from the original King Kong film and involves a group of hikers that discover a giant snow monster living in the Japanese Alps. After a traveling circus tries to capture the monster and accidentally kills the creature’s son, the Abominable Snowman goes on a killing rampage. He destroys an entire village and kidnaps one of the beautiful native women (Akemi Negishi). The film suffers a lot from all the editing and cuts that it’s undergone over the years, but Eiji Tsuburaya’s monster design and special effects are impressive. Hopefully a fully restored version of the original movie will surface someday. I also want to mention The Snow Creature (1954), which is the earliest and probably the least entertaining of the black and white Yeti films, but it does boast some surprisingly creative photography by the Oscar winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby and a suspenseful score by composer Manuel Compinsky. Unfortunately the acting is rather uninspired but Yeti enthusiasts should definitely seek it out.

Other interesting Yeti movies include The Werewolf vs the Yeti (1975) an unusual addition to Paul Naschy’s series of Spanish werewolf films. This B-grade effort has plenty of faults and the Yeti gets very little screen time except in the big finale when the snow monster does battle with the werewolf. But if you’re fond of low-budget European horror films you might find it as ridiculously entertaining as I do. Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) is another low-budget effort from America with a title that promises a lot but fails to deliver much more than unintentional laughs and lots of gore. Also worth mentioning is the Italian extravaganza Yeti, the Giant of the 20th Century (1977). This bizarre addition to the Yeti film cannon seemed to be Italy’s response to Dino De Laurentiis’ King Kong (1976). Both films have a lot in common but Yeti, the Giant of the 20th Century takes the proceedings to a whole other level. The film’s attempt to eroticize the relationship between the female lead (Antonella Interlenghi ) and the giant Yeti (Mimmo Craig ) is just one of the movie’s many failings. If you want to see one of strangest giant monster movies ever made I recommend giving Yeti, the Giant of the 20th Century a look.

This is just a small sampling of some of the television shows and movies that feature the mysterious Yeti. If you want some more recommendations I highly suggest visiting the Weird Wild Realm Film Review site where Paghat the Ratgirl has compiled reviews of just about every Yeti and Bigfoot movie in existence. And if that doesn’t fulfill your unquenchable thirst for more Yeti, stop by the I Love the Yeti blog where a fellow Yeti enthusiast by the name of Henry is sharing lots of pop culture artifacts and information about my favorite snow monster.