The Tingler (1959)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White (written by)

Release Date:

29 July 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In Screamarama

Plot:

After much hard work, a pathologist discovers and captures a creature that lives in every vertebrate and grows when fear grips its host...

Plot Keywords:

Fear | Scream | Autopsy | Creature | Movie Theater

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Barthelmess	...	David, in clip from Tol'able David (uncredited) (archive footage)
Gail Bonney	...	Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited)
William Castle	...	Prologue Himself - Host (uncredited)
Pat Colby	...	Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited)
Amy Fields	...	Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited)
Bob Gunderson	...	Screaming Convict (uncredited)
Dal McKennon	...	Projectionist (uncredited)
Clarence Straight	...	Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited)
Ernest Torrence	...	Luke Hatburn, in clip from Tol'able David (uncredited) (archive footage)

Directed by
William Castle

Writing credits
Robb White		(written by)

Produced by
William Castle	....	producer

Original Music by
Von Dexter		(music by)

Cinematography by
Wilfred M. Cline		(director of photography) (as Wilfrid M. Cline)

Film Editing by
Chester W. Schaeffer

Art Direction by
Phillip Bennett		(as Phil Bennett)

Set Decoration by
Milton Stumph

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herb Wallerstein	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John P. Livadary	....	recording supervisor (as John Livadary)
Harry D. Mills	....	sound (as Harry Mills)

Other crew
Dona Holloway	....	associate to producer

Production Companies

• William Castle Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (1999) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (video)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (one scene) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) | Stereo (partial)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:Approved | Finland:(Banned) (1961) | UK:15

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

Originally had a short sequence filmed partially in color. It was the scene when the deaf-mute Mrs. Higgins (Judith Evelyn), terrified by unknown forces, runs into a bathroom to hide and sees blood coming from the faucets of her sink and her bathtub filled with blood. Everything else in the scene is black and white except for the blood, which appears in garish red color - a typical William Castle gimmick. The USA home video release and the Turner Classic Movies print shown on Oct. 31, 2008 include the restored partial-color sequence. The short sequence is grainy and appears to have been inserted from an old deteriorated copy, or possibly a 16 mm print, as the rest of the movie's quality is crisp and sharp.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Price does autopsy on Ollie's wife he tucks up his sleeves and wears gloves. The shot after shows his sleeves are down again, and then up again in a different way in the next shot.

Quotes:

Oliver 'Ollie' Higgins: You gave me the idea, doc.
Dr. Warren Chapin: Just because poisons exist, is no reason to use them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Under the Skin with Joseph LeDoux, Ph. d (2005) (V)

Brilliant campy fun from William Castle and Vincent Price

The Tingler marks the second teaming for horror's greatest actor - Vincent Price, and horror's greatest showman - William Castle. This film was released later in the same year that their first venture - House on Haunted Hill - was unleashed upon audiences across the world, and the film sees the two men deliver more of what they did with their first feature. House on Haunted Hill was much loved then - and now - for it's ludicrous plot line and hammy performances, and The Tingler marks another successful fusion of these elements. The plot line is even sillier this time round, and it follows Vincent Price's scientist as he conducts his experiments into fear. He discovers that when we get frightened, a thing, which he called 'the tingler', manifests itself on the spinal column and the only way to rid oneself of this 'tingler' is to scream. Deaf mute's cant scream, however, and soon after discovering that his friend's wife suffers from that condition, and has an acute fear of blood, Price gets to work on attempting to isolate and remove the tingler.

William Castle shows his flair and passion for entertaining his audience throughout this film, with the whole film being, basically, a metaphor for the horror genre on the whole. Castle uses several different methods of getting his audience to scream, and while this film isn't very scary by today's standards - watching this master of entertainment weave his magic is always delightful. Another thing that's delightful about this film is the fact that Vincent Price is in it. Price has an amazing ability to command to the screen, and while this movie doesn't feature his best performance - he's always entertaining, and it's always a pleasure to see him on screen. Castle's special effects are hokey, with the central monster - the tingler - looking rather silly, but that adds to the fun effect of the movie and if the effects had been terrific examples of how good special effects can be - the film wouldn't have been nearly as fun as it is. The Tingler is silly throughout, and it gets really ridiculous towards the end, but if you watch knowing that this isn't to be taken seriously, you'll enjoy yourself just like Castle intended.