The Great Alligator is well produced and has a classy look to it, with beautifully photographed locations and a fair score by Stelvio Cipriani. However, the gore effects are minimal and some of the other effects are not so classy. Like the deal with the great alligator, which actually is a crocodile and a damn shame. One of the stiffest things I've seen ever, a plastic miniature. Director Sergio Martino tries very hard to cover it in editing, showing it as little as possible, but it doesn't succeed. It just looks pathetic. The usually competent Martino instead shows his ability in the action sequences, especially in the underwater scenes, but it's only really during the final third of the film that it gets interesting, and then it's not so interesting as one had hoped. The cast is good, though, even Mel Ferrer is enjoyable (and that don't seem to happen very often) and Richard Johnson (from Zombi 2) must be seen to be believed as a nutty prophet living in a cave (since the monster ate his comrades many moons ago). It all moves along nicely, but somewhat predictable and not as deranged as Island of the Fishmen which seem to have been shot back-to-back with an identical cast. To sum it up, it's an easily digested piece of forgettable junk.