WGBO TV 66 Morning Movie From Hell IT Came (1957)

From Hell It Came 1957 A wrongfully accused South Seas prince is executed, and returns as a walking tree stump. Director: Dan Milner; Writers: Richard Bernstein, Jack Milner; Stars: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins.
From Hell It Came is a 1957 American science-fiction horror film directed by Dan Milner and written by Richard Bernstein, from a story by Bernstein and Jack Milner. It was released by Allied Artists on a double bill with The Disembodied.
Kimo, prince of a South Seas island whose residents are suffering a plague epidemic, is accused of murdering his father, the chief of the island natives. Kimo is alleged to have administered to his father poisonous medicine provided by a group of American scientists stationed on a field laboratory on the island. The true murderers of Kimo's father—Tano, a witch doctor, and Maranka, the new chief—sentence Kimo to be executed by having a knife driven into his heart. Kimo begs his wife Korey to exonerate him, but she denies his innocence. He swears revenge on Tano, Korey, and the new chief, Maranka. After his execution, Kimo is buried in a hollow tree trunk.
The Tabanga monster was designed initially by Paul Blaisdell (also known for his work on The She-Creature, Invasion of the Saucer Men, Not of This Earth and It! The Terror from Beyond Space) and was manufactured by Don Post Studios. Blaisdell was only paid to sketch the monster, not to actually build it or operate it. Blaisdell's design was of a thin, spindly tree-monster with long spidery branches, which proved too narrow to fit a man inside of the costume. The producers reworked Blaisdell's design and filled the creature out more, making him much shorter and squatter, and shortening his arms. Actor Chester Hayes wound up playing the monster in the film, and Blaisdell marveled at how the man was able to operate and maneuver the heavy rubber suit. This was the second and last feature film to be produced by the Milner brothers.