Indestructible Man (1956)

Charles "The Butcher" Benton, a brutal death row inmate gets double-crossed by his crooked lawyer. He gets his chance for revenge when, after he's been executed, a bizarre experiment brings him back to life and more deadly than ever.

Director:

Jack Pollexfen

Writers:

Vy Russell (original screenplay), Sue Dwiggins (original screenplay) (as Sue Bradford)

Stars:

Lon Chaney Jr., Max Showalter, Marian Carr

Cast

Cast overview:
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Charles 'Butcher' Benton (as Lon Chaney)
Max Showalter	...	Police Lt. Dick Chasen (as Casey Adams)
Marian Carr	...	Eva Martin (as Marion Carr)
Ross Elliott	...	Paul Lowe
Stuart Randall	...	Police Capt. John Lauder
Ken Terrell	...	Joe Marcelli (as Kenneth Terrell)
Marjorie Stapp	...	Hysterical Young Woman
Robert Shayne	...	Prof. Bradshaw
Peggy Maley	...	Francine
Robert Foulk	...	Harry - Bar Owner
Reita Green	...	Carney's 'Bait' (as Rita Green)
Roy Engel	...	Desk Sergeant (as Roy Engle)
Madge Cleveland	...	Screaming Woman

Storyline

"Butcher" Benton goes to his death in the state prison, cursing the three men who double-crossed him following an armored-car hold-up; "Squeamy" Ellis, Joe Marcelli and Paul Lowe, his attorney and leader of the gang. He vows to return and kill them and dies without revealing the location of the stolen money. Detective Chasen is determined to keep working on the case until the stolen loot is recovered. Benton's body is taken to Professor Bradshaw and his assistant for experimentation, and they manage to restore him to life, making him practically indestructible in the process. He takes off after the three men, getting rid of everybody who stands in his way. He is impervious to police bullets. He kills Ellis and Marcelli, while Lowe seeks police protection. Benton takes to the sewers to recover the hidden loot and the police are powerless to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

stolen money | crooked lawyer | angel's flight railway | los angeles sewer system | double cross | 

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Taglines:

The scream that shocks the screen with 300,000 volts of horror! Inhuman! Invincible! Inescapable!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Würger von Sing-Sing

Filming Locations:

Follies Burlesque Theater aka Burbank Theater, 548 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

C.G.K. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was supposedly a scene shot in which Butcher Benton searches the city jail to find and kill Paul Lowe, then in protective custody, while police vainly try to stop him. No footage of this scene remains, but still photographs have survived.

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Goofs

As Eva reaches her dresser when she returns to her dressing room the radio begins to play by itself, abruptly (it was not on when she left).

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Quotes

Paul Lowe, Attorney: Well that's it, Butcher. The evidence against you is so strong, the governor turned down your appeal.
Charles 'Butcher' Benton: You're a rotten liar, Lowe. You started rough. And now you're still trying to throw me curves.
Paul Lowe, Attorney: Look, I don't blame you for being edgy but get this straight. I didn't doublecross you. I never worked harder for a client.
Charles 'Butcher' Benton: You mean you never worked harder for a client to get him sentenced.
Paul Lowe, Attorney: You're a fool, Butcher. If you hadn't tried to doublecross Squeamy Ellis and Joe Marcelli, they wouldn't have ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Horrible Horror (1986)

User Reviews

Lon Chaney modernises his MAN MADE MONSTER role, sort of.

I have to say it, I love this movie. Not just for Lon Chaney but for the whole realistic approach to making the movie adopted by director Jack Pollexfen. Shooting in the real grimy, mean streets of downtown L.A. not only saved money but added a neo-film noir realism to everything. Lon picks up some quick pocket money playing Charles "Butcher" Benton (we are never told how he got the nickname and maybe are better off for not knowing) a career criminal railroaded to the gas chamber by his ex-partners. He is quickly brought back to life by a well meaning scientist (Robert Shayne) who needs a body to test his cancer cure theory. He zaps Chaney with 278,000 volts (how is THAT supposed to cure cancer?) and restores him to life as "a vicious, brutal animal with an almost inconceivable amount of strength". His partners (who have names like "Squeamy" Ellis) are suddenly in big trouble! Editing seems to be all over the map in one instance and it seems scenes were shot but then dropped. For example near the end of the film Lt. Chasen (Casey Adams) talks about Eva Martin (Marion Carr) getting out of the hospital. Why was she there? Stills exist showing Chaney rampaging through a police station and trying to carry Ms. Carr away. Jack Pollexfen also recalled directing a scene where Chaney destroyed a precinct and tore open jail cells looking for one of the men who betrayed him. Why were these scenes missing? Do they still exist? Let's start checking those film vaults! The cast is great, apart from Lon Chaney and Robert Shayne (NEANDERTHAL MAN, INVADERS FROM MARS, etc) there is also Ken Terrell (ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN), Casey Adams (THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD) and don't go for popcorn or you'll miss an unbilled Joe Flynn as a lab assistant. Scriptwriters Vy Russell and Sue Bradford later teamed up again to do the Grade-Z classic THE ATOMIC BRAIN.