Nightwing is set on a Hopi Indian reservation in New Mexico where a colony of vampire bats are sucking living creatures dry of blood. Credit: Columbia Pictures

When San Antonio’s cinematic history comes up, people usually talk about the best-known movies shot in the Alamo City — like the 2000 comedy Miss Congeniality and the 1997 biopic Selena.

They’ll also bring up the 1985 classic Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, even though the amount of actual screen time San Antonio gets in that movie runs 20 seconds. Still, we claim it proudly.

However, along with those movies — and favorites such as Spy Kids, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Cloak & Dagger — San Antonio has played host to dozens of lesser-known cinematic projects. A few of those under-the-radar pictures boast bizarre narratives.

Here’s a look at seven of those strange San Antonio flicks you might not have heard of before.

Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946)

An all-Black cast leads a story about a nightclub entertainer from Harlem named Gertie LaRue (Francine Everett), who shakes things up when she travels to a Caribbean resort. While on the island, “Dirty Gertie” performs as the hotel’s headlining act. Thanks to her new gig, she finds herself at the center of a love heptagon as a series of men pine for her affection — among them the resort’s owner, a soldier and sailor she nicknames “Tight Pants” and “High Pockets,” respectively, plus an ex-boyfriend who tracks her down.

In addition to his film work, The Weird Ones director Pat Boyette also did stints working as a comic-book artist. Credit: Colonial International Pictures

The Weird Ones (1962)

This microbudget sexploitation comedy tells the story of a creature from outer space called an “Astronik” that lands on Earth with a mission of terrorizing and murdering young women. However, two modeling agency publicists and a “Cosmic Cutie” team up to lure the alien into a trap. The film was directed by San Antonio native Pat Boyette, who later made his living as a TV producer and broadcast journalist. His resume also included stints working as a comic-book artist for projects including The Peacemaker.

The Dungeon of Harrow (1962)

The same year Boyette released The Weird Ones, he returned with a horror film set in the 1870s. A sadistic count named Lorente de Sade (William McNulty) and the other inhabitants of a waterfront castle end up taking a shipwrecked sea voyager (Russ Harvey) captive and torture him in their dungeon. Along with the count, the cast of characters includes a manservant, a former nurse, a whipping girl and a diseased bride.

Prelude to Happiness (1975)

The romance Prelude to Happiness follows Sue (Rose Petra), a nursing school graduate who injures her leg in an accident and is immediately rejected by her fiancé when her limb must be amputated. While in the hospital, Sue meets and falls in love with Dr. Steve Hartman (Gary Lee Davis), who urges her to get on with her life and not feel sorry for herself. Later, the good doctor saves Sue from a violent attack and their relationship grows, although he is already engaged. The official tagline for the film: “No man wants half a woman.”

San Antonio native Pat Boyette directed both The Dungeon of Harrow and The Weird Ones. Credit: Herts-Lion International Corp.

Nightwing (1979)

After the success of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece Jaws, studios attempted to replicate its success with a string of man vs. beast flicks. Directed by Arthur Hiller (Man from La Mancha), Nightwing is set on a Hopi Indian reservation in New Mexico where a colony of vampire bats that may have been infected with bubonic plague are sucking living creatures dry of blood. A young deputy (Nick Mancuso) ventures onto the reservation to investigate a series of deaths by the bats.

Blood Circus (1987)

This independent sci-fi horror, also known as Blood Circus Wrestling, never found distribution, but its back story is too fascinating to ignore. The film’s director, Santo Victor Rigatuso aka Bob Harris, funded it with an alleged mail-fraud scheme he concocted through his jewelry business. The movie follows a group of aliens from the planet Zoran who are sent to Earth to fight against pro wrestlers from both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Naturally, once the aliens are victorious, they devour their muscular victims. Some of the wrestlers were played by real grapplers from the short-lived San Antonio-based Southwest Championship Wrestling.

Veritas, Prince of Truth (2006)

Sean Patrick Flanery portrays the title character, a comic-book superhero who comes to life to help a young boy stop an evil villain from destroying the Earth. Along with Flanery, the computer-animated fantasy film stars Amy Jo Johnson (The Pink Ranger from the original Power Rangers series), Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Kate Walsh (Emily in Paris) and Danny Strong (Justified).

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This article appears in Feb 22 – Mar 7, 2023.