The Tingler (1959)

Dr. Warren Chapin is a pathologist who regularly conducts autopsies on executed prisoners at the State prison. He has a theory that fear is the result of a creature that inhabits all of us.... See full summary »

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White

Stars:

Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Dr. Warren Chapin
Judith Evelyn	...	Mrs. Martha Ryerson Higgins
Darryl Hickman	...	David Morris
Patricia Cutts	...	Isabel Stevens Chapin
Pamela Lincoln	...	Lucy Stevens
Philip Coolidge	...	Oliver 'Ollie' Higgins

Storyline

Dr. Warren Chapin is a pathologist who regularly conducts autopsies on executed prisoners at the State prison. He has a theory that fear is the result of a creature that inhabits all of us. His theory is that the creature is suppressed by our ability to scream when fear strikes us. He gets a chance to test his theories when he meets Ollie and Martha Higgins, who own and operate a second-run movie theater. Martha is deaf and mute and if she is unable to scream, extreme fear should make the creature, which Chapin has called the Tingler, come to life and grow. Using LSD to induce nightmares, he begins his experiment.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | scream | creature | autopsy | experiment | 

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Taglines:

Can You Take PERCEPTO?

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

29 July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bizsergető

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, William Castle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) Stereo (partial)

Color:

Color (one scene) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The earliest film to depict an LSD trip.

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Goofs

The title on the book that Warren is reading as he is waiting for Isabel to come home from her date is on the back cover instead of the front cover.

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Quotes

Isabel Stevens Chapin: I had nothing to do with my father's death, and you can't prove that I did.
Dr. Warren Chapin: Would you like me to prove it isn't nonsense?
Isabel Stevens Chapin: You can't prove it. Anwyay there isn't anything to prove.
Dr. Warren Chapin: But you wouldn't like me to try. And you should remember this, organic poisons are like old soldiers, they never die, they just lie smoldering in the grave, and I'm not bad at autopsies either.

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Connections

Featured in TCM Underground: 13 Ghosts/The Tingler (2008)

User Reviews

Classic '50s b-grade surrealism.

William Castle's 'The Tingler' is one of the most extraordinary horror movies ever made. Low budget, silly script, bad dialogue, uneven acting, gimmicky to the extreme (with or without "percepto"), but it STILL manages to amaze. It's a kind of trojan horse, being a cheesy b-grade thriller with a hidden core of surrealism almost worthy of Bunuel or Cocteau.

Memorable performances from horror legend Vincent Price as the scientist obsessed with explaining the strange phenomenon he labels "the tingler", and Judith Evelyn (who had a bit part in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window') as a bizarre deaf mute who owns a silent movie theatre, elevate this above most of Castle's overrated output. The classic acid trip scene (I think the first ever), the memorable short colour sequence, and the William Burroughs-like monster make this something really special. Not to be missed!