Fiend Without a Face (1958)

Director:

Arthur Crabtree

Writers:

Herbert J. Leder (screenplay)
Amelia Reynolds Long (original story "The Thought Monster")

Release Date:

December 1958 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Invisible atomic monsters attack a U.S. Armed Forces base and the local residents.

Plot Keywords:

American | Nuclear Power | Military | Brain | Monster

Cast

Marshall Thompson	...	Maj. Cummings
Kynaston Reeves	...	Prof. R.E. Walgate
Kim Parker	...	Barbara Griselle
Stanley Maxted	...	Col. Butler
Terry Kilburn	...	Capt. Al Chester (as Terence Kilburn)
James Dyrenforth	...	Mayor
Robert MacKenzie	...	Const. Gibbons
Peter Madden	...	Dr. Bradley
Gil Winfield	...	Dr. Warren
Michael Balfour	...	Sgt. Kasper
Launce Maraschal	...	Melville
Meadows White	...	Ben Adams (as R. Meadows White)
E. Kerrigan Prescott	...	Atomic Engineer (as Kerrigan Prescott)
Lala Lloyd	...	Amelia Adams
Shane Cordell	...	Nurse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sheldon Allan	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Alexander Archdale	...	Minister (uncredited)
Tom Watson	...	Technical Sergeant (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Crabtree

Writing credits
Herbert J. Leder		(screenplay)
Amelia Reynolds Long		(original story "The Thought Monster")

Produced by
John Croydon	....	producer
Richard Gordon	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Ronald Kinnoch	....	co-producer (uncredited)
Charles F. Vetter	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Buxton Orr

Cinematography by
Lionel Banes		(lighting cameraman)

Film Editing by
R.Q. McNaughton

Makeup Department
Barbara Barnard	....	hairdressing
Jim Hydes	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ronald Kinnoch	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Hickox	....	assistant director

Art Department
John Elphick	....	set designer

Sound Department
Peter Davies	....	sound recordist
Terry Poulton	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Peter Neilson	....	special effects
Flo Nordhoff	....	special effects (as Ruppel & Nordhoff)
Karl-Ludwig Ruppel	....	special effects (as Ruppel & Nordhoff)

Camera and Electrical Department
Martin Curtis	....	photographer: second unit
Leo Rogers	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Duse	....	dress supervisor

Music Department
Frederick Lewis	....	conductor (as Frederic Lewis)

Other crew
Hazel Swift	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Producers Associates
• Amalgamated Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Eros Films (1958) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD) (Included in "Monsters and Mayhem" box set)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (video)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Walton Studios  recorded at (as Walton Studios Walton on Thames)

Also Known As:

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:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:X (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Sweden:(Banned) | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:PG (re-rating) | Iceland:12 | West Germany:18 | USA:Approved | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1958) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Producers Associates

Trivia:

In the USA, MGM distributed this film second on a double-bill with Torpedo Run (1958) starring Glenn Ford and Ernest Borgnine.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Amelia Adams is attacked, her husband, Ben, turns her over so she is lying on her back. When Ben is attacked and falls, Amelia is face down once again.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Fiend Without a Face (#4.6)" (2010)

This is 50's sci-fi at its best

Fiend has everything that a 50's Sci-Fi movie should have; a really square hero that saves the day, a beautiful female lead that falls for him, atomic power misused, and an invisible monster that sucks the brains out of its victums.

It is the stop motion animation at the end when the monster(s) become visible that really makes this film work. Without the animation by Peter Neilson and Ruppell this would be just another 50's atomic caution tale.