"the final result of the experiment looks more like Donald Duck than an alligator man, unfortunately. Good for a laugh"

I certainly won't dispute your critique of the gator-man look. It is funny, now and to adults, at least. But, I have a very clear memory of seeing this movie in the theatre when I was ten years old. It was a Saturday matinee (of course), the house was made up of ten- to fifteen-year olds almost entirely. When the creature finally appeared in all his glory, the girls all screamed as they were required to do, and the guys all smiled and thought 'cool'. There were no audible laughs. Of course, I can't speak for everyone who was there, but the reaction was exactly what was expected, the same sort of reaction that shock scenes in THE BLACK SCORPION, THE VAMPIRE, even CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN got from the Saturday afternoon crowd. Talking about the movie later with my friends, there were no complaints about the creature. Certainly no one said that he looked 'funny.' Of course, we were kids, and it was a much different time--but then again, it was the time and the audience that ALLIGATOR PEOPLE was designed for. Nowadays, though, to these aged eyes--yeah, it's pretty funny.