The Tingler (1959)

An obsessed pathologist discovers and captures a parasitic creature that grows when fear grips its host.

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White

Stars:

Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman

1 nomination.

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 | deaf mute | infidelity | spinal column | theatre audience | 

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Taglines:

Can You Take PERCEPTO?

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

29 July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

El aguijón de la muerte

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, 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

Co-stars Vincent Price and Judith Evelyn previously starred on stage together in 1941 during the Broadway performance of "Angel Street", based on Patrick Hamilton's play "Gaslight".

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Goofs

An experienced coroner like Dr. Chapin would not say, as he does at one point, "Organic poisons are like old soldiers: they never die. They just lie smoldering in the grave." Organic poisons degrade rapidly after the death of a poisoning victim, and many of them are completely removed by the process of embalming. In the context of the film, however, it's possible Chapin knew this and was trying to psyche out Isabel into giving herself away.

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Quotes

Dr. Warren Chapin: Ladies and gentlemen, just a word of warning. If any of you are not convinced that you have a tingler of your own, the next time you're frightened in the dark... don't scream.

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Alternate Versions

Columbia provided a slightly revised version for drive-ins. The black-out sequence with Vincent Price saying the The Tingler is loose in the theatre, is replaced with black footage with William Castle saying that The Tingler is loose in the drive-in and actors screaming that The Tingler is in the back seat. The Columbia exchanges could simply splice in the replacement footage to make an existing print suitable for drive-in bookings.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Night Walker (2014)

User Reviews

A Gem for Castle and Price!

William Castle was a great filmmaker. Many people would disagree because no one Castle film stands out as being great. Yet Castle was a great innovator that made going to the movies more than just a way to spend time to an experience. His gimmicks, although not usable today, are not what his movies are about. His films are about stories, pretty good ones at that. The Tingler is no exception. It is a tale of horror and science. It concerns itself with a doctor trying to prove that each of us has a tingler within us that gets bigger when we are in a state of fear and is repelled by our screaming. Although the scientific merit of this story seems somewhat implausible, Castle makes it seem very credible through his story-telling techniques. Some scenes in the movie are just wonderful. Vincent Price is excellent as the doctor questing for answers and then faced with a moral dilemma as to what should be done with his newly found knowledge. If you like science fiction, Vincent Price, or just a good old-fashioned horror yarn....The Tingler is for you!