Manos: The Hands of Fate/Fun Facts

• The scenes featuring two teenagers who are hassled by the cops while necking in their car were added because actress Joyce Molleur broke her leg during filming, and was unable to perform her original role.

• Filmed entirely with a handheld camera that could only record thirty-two seconds of film at a time. The film was shot without sound; all the lines were later dubbed by only three people - two men and one woman. The little girl who plays Debbie cried when she first heard her dubbed voice.

• The real reason John Reynolds (Torgo) appears to have big knees and walks funny is because his character is supposed to be a satyr. Reynolds designed his own prosthetics to make himself look like he had goat's feet. (Note how the wife gasps when she first looks down his feet, which the viewer does not get to see.)

• Torgo was originally named Igor.

• The film was shot in two and a half months with a budget of about $19,000.

• The Master's "Vampire Wives" were played by a group of models for Mannequin Manor.

• The Master's "Lodge Of Sins" was actually the ranch of then El Paso County Judge, Colbert Coldwell.

• People attending the premiere at The Capri Theater in El Paso paid $0.35 (Children) $1.25/$1.00 (Adults/with a discount card).
• The majority of the cast (and crew) never appeared in another movie after this.

• As filming dragged on and on, increasingly disgruntled crew began to refer to the movie as "Mangos, cans of fruit".

• In addition to Jackey Neyman playing Debbie and Tom Neyman playing the master, Tom's wife made the master and wives costumes and their dog played the demon dog.

• Lighting was limited for the film; explaining the infamous scene in which two cops literally take two steps to investigate then turn back.

• The footage of the snake looks a lot better than the rest of the film because it was stock footage lifted from a Disney nature documentary.

• The only two members of the cast that were paid for their performances were Jackey Neyman and the Doberman. Jackey got a bicycle and the Doberman got a bag of dog food. Every other member of the cast was to be paid by a cut of the movie's profits, which, of course, never materialized.

• Tom Neyman, who plays the master, also helped John Reynolds make Torgo's knees and he painted the portrait of the master and his dog.

• John Reynolds, who played Torgo, sustained permanent damage to his kneecaps because of the apparatus on them. He was constantly on painkillers up until his suicide, due to the injury he had from this movie. It's believed that his kneecaps were damaged due to the device being worn backwards.

• Director Harold P. Warren later approached cinematographer Robert Guidry with another script, this one called "Wild Desert Bikers". Guidry declined.

• Writer/director/producer Harold P. Warren was a fertilizer salesman from El Paso. He made a bet with visiting location scout Stirling Silliphant (later an award-winning screenwriter himself) that he could make a popular horror film on an extremely minimal budget.

• In lieu of a salary, director Harold P. Warren sold shares to the cast and crew for their hard work and long hours.

• The city of El Paso was so involved that director Harold P. Warren sent free tickets for the premiere to the press and all the aldermen and the Mayor of El Paso.

• One day, to mock Harold P. Warren's prima donna attitude to directing, one of the crew impersonated Erich von Stroheim, wearing a safari suit and barking out orders.

• Harold P. Warren once stated that he left Torgo's fate vague on purpose. If the film was a hit, the sequel was to involve Torgo's return. The sequel was never written.

• The endless driving sequences at the beginning were supposed to have the opening credits over them, but they were inexplicably left out.

• The word "Manos" is Spanish for "hands". Therefore, the title really says "Hands: The Hands of Fate". The master's outfit has two red hands on it and Torgo's walking stick has a hand on top of it.

• If the day or scenes or performances went poorly, director Harold P. Warren would reassure the novice cast that any errors would be fixed in post-production by the magic of Hollywood. They weren't.

• The movie was given a gala premiere in El Paso upon its release, and many local dignitaries were on hand. Part way into the film, members of the audience began heckling it. Many of the film's cast and crew sneaked out of the theater before the film ended to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit being part of it.

• Harold P. Warren only did two takes for each shot, and then moved on.

• Four minutes were cut after the first screening and the opening scene was a re-shoot after the cuts. Originally it started with them just driving.

• At the premiere in El Paso, after the film finished showing, Harold P. Warren was attacked by a middle-aged woman with her purse. The woman was upset that the little girl, Debbie, becomes one of the master's wives at the end