Fiend Without a Face (1958)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Arthur Crabtree

Writers:

Herbert J. Leder (screenplay)
Amelia Reynolds Long (original story)

Release Date:

December 1958 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

New Horrors! Mad Science Spawns Evil Fiends! ...Taking form before your horrified eyes!

Plot:

A Scientist, experimenting with telekinetic powers enhanced by a nearby nuclear power plant succeeds in creating a new form of life...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear Power | American | Brain | Experiment | Mayor

Cast

Marshall Thompson	...	Major Cummings
Terry Kilburn	...	Capt. Chester (as Terence Kilburn)
Michael Balfour	...	Serg. Kasper
Gil Winfield	...	Dr. Warren
Shane Cordell	...	Nurse
Stanley Maxted	...	Col. Butler
James Dyrenforth	...	Mayor
Kim Parker	...	Barbara Griselle
E. Kerrigan Prescott	...	Atomic Engineer (as Kerrigan Prescott)
Kynaston Reeves	...	Prof. Walgate
Peter Madden	...	Dr. Bradley
Meadows White	...	Ben Adams (as R. Meadows White)
Lala Lloyd	...	Amelia Adams
Robert MacKenzie	...	Const. Gibbons
Launce Maraschal	...	Melville

Runtime:

USA:74 min | UK:75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:18 | USA:Approved | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:X | Sweden:(Banned) | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:PG (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Amalgamated Productions

Trivia:

The Criterion Collection DVD has a hidden gag on it added by the authors. If you check the disc name/ID on a PC through various means, the ID reads AFIENDINNEEDISAFIENDINDEED, i.e. "A fiend in need is a fiend, indeed".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Even though it is made clear that the military characters are US Air Force, when the Sergeant (Michael Balfour, a British actor, as were most of the others in the film) reports to Major Jeff Cummings (Marshall Thompson) early in the film, he incorrectly gives the Major a "British" salute, with the palm facing outward. Thompson returns the salute correctly, with the palm facing inward.

Quotes:

Prof. R. E. Walgate: What have I unleashed?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dead End (1985)

Can There Ever Be Too Much Brains?

A US military installation has been set up in Canada for some special tests and experiments of an atomic nature. People begin to die from the surrounding countryside by having their brains and spinal chords sucked out by what lead actor Marshall Thompson calls "mental vampires." Thompson, quickly flirting with the sister of one of the dead men, does his usual adequate job playing detective trying to prove that the new base is not responsible for the deaths. It seems that someone or something is siphoning atomic power. Without ruining the who behind the what, Fiend Without a face is a pleasant, interesting excursion into 50's sci-fi. The fiends turn out to be brains that pulse and scrape the ground with long spinal chords attached. This film has a low budget but manages to scare up a few thrills. The acting is mediocre at best. The fiend creation are somewhat novel. Although much of the film is lacking in suspense, the finale is a good payback.