On a South Seas island, chief’s son Kimo (Gregg Palmer) is wrongly accused of the murder of his father by the real perpetrators – the new chief Maranka (Baynes Barron) and the evil witch doctor Tano (Robert Swan) – and betrayed by his faithless wife Korey (Suzanne Ridgeway).
Kimo vows to get revenge just before he is put to death and buried in a hollow tree trunk.
A group of American scientists are also on the island studying the radioactive effects from a distant nuclear blast. One of the scientists, Dr Bill Arnold (Tod Andrews), is soon distracted by the arrival of the lady scientist object of his dreams, Dr Terry Mason (Tina Carver).
The scientific team discover a fully grown tree with a facial expression on its trunk is growing from Kimo’s grave. Taking it back to their laboratory, they discover the tree trunk has a heartbeat.
Terry injects it with one of her serums, causing the tree to come alive, escape from the lab, and walk over to the native village, to begin its promise of vengeance.
Korey is the first to go, after the possessed tree – which the natives call Tabanga – scoops her up and throws her into a pool of quicksand.
It’s professional wrestler turned stuntman/actor Chester Hayes inside the Tabanga costume. Hayes also plays Prince Maku.
Dr William Arnold
Tod Andrews Dr Terry Mason
Tina Carver Mrs Mae Kilgore
Linda Watkins Prof. Clark
John McNamara Kimo
Gregg Palmer Tano
Robert Swan Chief Maranka
Baynes Barron Korey
Suzanne Ridgway Eddie
Mark Sheeler Norgu
Lee Rhodes Orchid
Grace Mathews Naomi
Tani Marsh Prince Maku/Tabanga
Chester Hayes Dori
Lenmana Guerin
Director
Dan Milner
Related Posts
Thing from Another World, The (1951) This pioneering science-fiction outing emphasises suspense and atmosphere, rather than the shock special effects of John Carpenter's 1982 remake, in…
Long John Silver (1954) Long John Silver - filmed in Australia four years after Walt Disney's version of Treasure Island - had Robert Newton…
Mister Roberts (1955) On a small cargo ship - the USS Reluctant (known as 'the Bucket' by its crew) - floating somewhere in the south…
Kronos (1957) What appears to be a meteorite crashes into the sea off the coast of Mexico. After a few days and…
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) After an encounter at sea with an unknown underwater creature stalking an “atomic” submarine, Commander Matthews (Kenneth Tobey) of the…
Rockets Galore (1958) The residents of Todday - a small (fictional) island in the Outer Hebrides - attempt to stop the RAF building…
Fear No Evil (1981) In an ancient time, an elderly priest hunts down and destroys Lucifer, who vows to be reborn. Fast-forward to the…
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) A group of scientists gather on a deserted Pacific island to study the effects of nuclear fallout. The group is…
