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Scalpel

Original title: False Face
  • 1977
  • R
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
805
YOUR RATING
Scalpel (1977)
DramaHorrorThriller

When an unhinged surgeon happens across a young woman with her face beaten beyond recognition, he sees an opportunity to put his trusty scalpel to use - hatching a plan to "reconstruct" her ... Read allWhen an unhinged surgeon happens across a young woman with her face beaten beyond recognition, he sees an opportunity to put his trusty scalpel to use - hatching a plan to "reconstruct" her face in the image of his missing daughter.When an unhinged surgeon happens across a young woman with her face beaten beyond recognition, he sees an opportunity to put his trusty scalpel to use - hatching a plan to "reconstruct" her face in the image of his missing daughter.

  • Director
    • John Grissmer
  • Writers
    • John Grissmer
    • Joseph Weintraub
  • Stars
    • Robert Lansing
    • Judith Chapman
    • Arlen Dean Snyder
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    805
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Grissmer
    • Writers
      • John Grissmer
      • Joseph Weintraub
    • Stars
      • Robert Lansing
      • Judith Chapman
      • Arlen Dean Snyder
    • 22User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos28

    Robert Lansing and Arlen Dean Snyder in Scalpel (1977)
    Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Arlen Dean Snyder in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Arlen Dean Snyder in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)
    Judith Chapman and Robert Lansing in Scalpel (1977)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Lansing
    Robert Lansing
    • Dr. Phillip Reynolds
    Judith Chapman
    Judith Chapman
    • Heather…
    Arlen Dean Snyder
    Arlen Dean Snyder
    • Uncle Bradley
    David Scarroll
    • Dr. Robert Dean
    Sandy Martin
    Sandy Martin
    • Sandy
    Bruce Atkins
    • Bartender
    Muriel Moore
    • Cousin Margaret
    Clara Dunn
    • Gossipy Woman
    Stan Wojno
    • Donald
    • (as Stanley Wojno)
    Laura Whyte
    • Jennifer Reynolds
    Larry Quackenbush
    • Keith Jarvey
    Greg Oliver
    • Killer
    Mimi Honce
    • Maddie Schuster
    Ellen Heard
    • Woman at the Party
    Tad Currie
    • Mr. Branch
    Warde Q. Butler
    Warde Q. Butler
    • Mr. Clyde
    George Macrenaris
    • Face Smasher
    Lynda Simon
    • Jane as Go-Go Dancer
    • Director
      • John Grissmer
    • Writers
      • John Grissmer
      • Joseph Weintraub
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The 5 million dollar inheritance would be worth nearly 24 million in 2022.
    • Goofs
      When Phillip and Uncle Bradley are driving in the car at the beginning of the movie, they are approaching the Zebra Lounge on the left. A few minutes later, they approach the Zebra Lounge on the right.
    • Alternate versions
      After being released with an R-rating by United International. The film was picked by Avco Embassy who re-edited to secure a PG-rating in 1978. This PG-rated version is missing some sexualized nudity but the film is otherwise identical.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      After the Ball
      by Charles Harris

    User reviews22

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    more thriller than horror, fairly entertaining but not exceptionally so
    An old man has died, cutting out his only son from his will, as well as his other relatives, leaving five million to his granddaughter Heather. Uncle Bradley, the only son, is understandably angry. So is Dr. Reynolds, the old man's son-in-law and father to Heather. Dr. Reynolds is a plastic surgeon with definite psychotic tendencies when it comes to his family. He evidently had killed his wife, making it look like an accidental drowning while swimming, and also killed his daughter's boyfriend, making it look like an accidental drowning as a result of drunkenness.

    Heather, however, isn't around to claim the inheritance. No one has seen her for a year.

    Bradley and Dr. Reynolds almost run over a go-go-dancer with their car. She'd been ejected by a bouncer from a club in only her panties and high heels, and the bouncer had smashed her face into a wall several times for reasons unknown. The two men don't know where she came from, and take her to the hospital. Without telling Bradley, the Doctor rebuilds her face so she looks like his daughter, books a phony airline flight for her, then takes her home and teaches her how to impersonate Heather. They'll split the five million evenly. They begin a sexual relationship as well, making the Doc quite the pervert for being able to do that with his daughter's exact likeness!

    Complicating things are the fact that the phony Heather can't play piano like the real one, Bradley grows suspicious, and the real Heather quietly shows up again.

    Curiously, the other film directed by John Grissmer, Blood Rage, also deals with identical twins - though the characters are actual identical twins played by one actor, here they're identical by virtue of surgery and played by one actress. The fake twins are more or less act the same in False Face (which I saw on video as Scalpel), while in Blood Rage they're more pronouncedly different.

    One of the chief problems with the movie for me was that it felt overlong. It was fairly engrossing, but at the same time nothing terribly special.
    helpful•8
    5
    • FieCrier
    • Apr 15, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Le miroir sanglant
    • Filming locations
      • Covington, Georgia, USA
    • Production company
      • PJ Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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