When Patterson returned to town, he contacted Al Hodgson, a fellow Bigfoot-hunter and expert. Then he went public with his findings, setting off a firestorm of controversy and piquing the interest of everyone from National Geographic to National Enquirer.

In the ensuing three decades, the 952 frames of Patterson's Bigfoot film have been submitted to all manner of examination and analysis. The creature has been classified as female, because of its apparent breasts. Theorists have extrapolated descriptions of everything from its psychological bearing to its eating habits on the basis of its behavior in the film. Minutiae of the creature's physiognomy, such as the exact way in which it moves its neck, and its unusual method of distributing its weight as it strided, have led many to conclude that this could not be a man in a suit.

Patterson and Gimlin's Bigfoot sighting experience at Bluff Creek was highly unique for three main reasons. First, there were two witnesses to the event, so their stories could be crosschecked. Second, there was photographic evidence in the form of the movie Patterson took which could be analyzed. Third, the men had plaster casts of the footprints made by the creature to further confirm the sighting. Moreover, many of the footprints at the film site remained intact and could be seen, photographed and cast by other researchers.

Many scientists dissected the footage. Some claim the film was indeed that of an unknown animal. The estimated stride of the creature is larger than that of a man and would have been very difficult for a man to simulate. Great weight was also indicated by how the creature’s arms swung and how its knees bent when its body weight came onto its feet. They stated that bulk could be simulated, but not massive weight. Others claim it was merely a man in an obvious monkey suit.  If the creature was a fake, everyone agrees that it was a remarkably skillful one. Patterson earned a tidy profit as he licensed the footage worldwide but died in 1972. His friend, Bob Gimlin, who didn’t make a nickel, maintains the film is genuine

A rumor has circulated that John Chambers manufactured the suit allegedly worn by the ostensible Bigfoot pictured in the famed Patterson Film. John Chambers, a legendary elder statesman in the field of monster making, is best known as the makeup mastermind behind the Planet of the Apes films. His innovative and highly articulated ape masks won him an Academy Award in 1968. Chambers created monster costumes for dozens of other movies and TV shows, including The Outer Limits and Lost in Space. The Patterson film was shot in 1967, in the same timeframe that Chambers was working on Planet of the Apes. Chambers created monster suits for Lost in Space in 1965 and 1966, which look very similar to the creature in the Patterson film, only with a different head. Chambers may have recycled them to fabricate the Patterson Bigfoot. According to some “experts”, the Patterson Bigfoot shows evidence of having a water bag under the fur in the stomach area, a trick used to make a gorilla suit move like real flesh. Charlie Gemora, with whom Chambers had worked at Paramount, developed this liquid stomach technique.

In March of 1992, Bob Gimlin admitted that he might have been fooled. He gave thought to the possibility that Roger concocted the whole thing and Bob was an unknowing eyewitness to one of the most elaborate hoaxes in the world.

Chambers, who currently resides in a Los Angeles nursing home in frail health, has recently told interviewers that he had nothing to do with the Bigfoot seen in Patterson's film. In an interview of February 1997 by Bobbie Short, a registered nurse and Bigfoot investigator, Chambers denied any involvement with the Patterson-Gimlin film. He also stated that in his opinion, neither he nor anyone else could have fabricated the creature seen in the film. Chambers went on to state that he was good, but not that good. Chambers admitted he was aware of rumors concerning his involvement in the film. He never took steps to set the record straight because it was good for business.

In October 1997, movie director John Landis said that Chambers had revealed this secret to him when they worked together on Beneath the Planet of the Apes in 1970. "That famous piece of film of Bigfoot walking in the woods that was touted as the real thing was just a suit made by John Chambers," Landis said.

But the case is far from being closed just yet. A new study by the North American Science Institute has concluded that Patterson's Bigfoot is genuine, and computer enhancement analysis suggests that the creature's skin and musculature are that of a living animal, not a hairy suit. The debate of the film continues and will probably continue until the person who played the Bigfoot is finally found or someone produces a physical specimen for comparison.