Curucu, Beast of the Amazon is a 1956 American adventure/monster film, directed and written by Curt Siodmak and starring John Bromfield, Beverly Garland and Tom Payne.

[1] Plantation owner Rock Dean (Bromfield) travels up the Amazon River to investigate why the workers have left in panic.

Dean's guide, Tupanico (Payne) warns him of Curucu, a birdlike monster who is said to live up the river where no white man has ever been.

The monster is revealed to be Tupanico, who is trying to drive "his" people away from the plantations, where he can lead them in the old ways, before white men brought civilization and disease.

A grateful native, whom she treated earlier, gives her some gifts: the shrinking drug she was searching for, and the shrunken head of Tupanico.

Rudolph Icey handled cinematography, Raoul Kraushaar composed the score and Terry Morse served as editor.