The Power (1968)

One by one members of a special project team are being killed by telekinesis - the ability to move things with the power of the mind alone. The race is to determine which of the remaining team members is the murderer and how to stop them.

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

John Gay (screenplay), Frank M. Robinson (novel)

Stars:

George Hamilton, Suzanne Pleshette, Richard Carlson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Hamilton	...	Professor Jim Tanner
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Prof.essor Margery Lansing
Richard Carlson	...	Professor Norman E. Van Zandt
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Mrs. Sally Hallson
Earl Holliman	...	Professor Talbot Scott
Gary Merrill	...	Mark Corlane
Ken Murray	...	Grover
Barbara Nichols	...	Flora
Arthur O'Connell	...	Professor Henry Hallson
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Professor Carl Melnicker
Aldo Ray	...	Bruce
Michael Rennie	...	Arthur Nordlund
Miiko Taka	...	Mrs. Van Zandt
Celia Lovsky	...	Mrs. Hallson
Vaughn Taylor	...	Mr. Hallson

Storyline

Contains spoilers: A man slowly realizes two things: that he has telekinesis - the power to move things with the power of his mind alone - and that another man who shares this power wants to kill him.

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Plot Keywords:

hairy chest | manhunt | guardhouse | telekinesis | submerged car | 

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Taglines:

YOU feel it until you can't feel anything at all!

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Genres:

Thriller | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aivojen sota

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Pal Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Hamilton has a bare-chest scene in this movie.

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Goofs

During Tanner's high speed jeep ride into the desert the tires squeal even though they're traveling on sand.

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Quotes

Arthur Nordlund: [in the human testing lab at the Institute, looking at one of the test subjects, submerged in a tank with monitoring wires attached] How do you ever get them to do it?
Professor Jim Tanner: Why, it's easy. See, they make more here in an hour than, uh, they can in serving student tables at a commissary for 3 weeks. Uh, have you ever served tables at a student commissary, Mr. Nordlund?
Arthur Nordlund: Yeah, I see what you mean.

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Connections

Remake of Studio One in Hollywood: The Power (1956)

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Soundtracks

String Quartet No.1: Andante Cantabile
(uncredited)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

The Most Underrated First-Rank Sci-Fi Film of All; Great Cast and Direction

This film was beautifully directed by camera whiz Byron Haskin, and it has a fine literate script, one of the best supporting casts ever assembled for a sci-fi movie and very good production values. The question is why the critics did not appreciate it. I believe the answer is simple: they also disliked "Star Trek" TOS, and "The Voyage Home," "Dimension V", and all other sci-fi. They ignore the genre despite or because of the fact it is a medium of ideas--and their conventional view is that movies can 't deal with explicit definitions-- because their sort trying to make idea movies have failed so miserably most of the time. The plot line in this movie is very simple to state; a man discovers he has extra sensory perception and telekinetic powers; then he finds he is being stalked by a man with the same power, probably much greater, who must eliminate him to avoid having his existence exposed, his nefarious plans stopped. The logical and well-scripted scenario from Frank M. Robinson's' famous novel was done by John Gay; and Miklos Rzsa supplied wonderfully eerie music. In the cast supporting an OK but too-young George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette are such talents as the great Michael Rennie, Yvonne de Carlo, Aldo Ray, Vaughn Taylor, Nehemiah Persoff, Richard Carlson, Earl Holliman, Miiko Taka, Celia Lovsky, Ken Murray, Lawrence Montaigne, Barbara Nichols and Arthur O'Connell. Primary Credit for this fine and serious production must go to producer George Pal; the only mystery to this sci-fi mystery is why moviegoers, arguably less bewildered than most critics about what is an entertaining script have believed the critics and not their own eyes; I saw the film when it was first released, admired it as a writer then, and still do. I do not believe I am wrong in any way about its professional or cinematic merits. The moment when O'Connell tries to escape the bad guy and finds his office door is part of a solid wall, turned into a death trap by his opponent, is shattering; and the climactic duel of the film and its surprise outcome cannot be forgotten, as I can testify. Kudos to all concerned; if Keith Andes had played the lead in this instead of Hamilton, it might have received the attention that all concerned, especially Pal and Haskin and Rozsa so richly deserve.