Experiment in Terror (1962)

Experiment in Terror, a stylized noir thriller, was director Blake Edwards's second film in 1962, the first being a devastating portrait of alcoholism, Days of Wine and Roses. Neither film would seem standard fare for a filmmaker best known for his sophisticated slapstick comedies. For Experiment in Terror, Edwards perfected the stylish black-and-white cinematography he used to great effect in the 1950's TV series Peter Gunn. Glenn Ford plays a stalwart G-man out to thwart psychopathic extortionist Ross Martin's plans to force bank clerk Lee Remick to rob the bank where she works. San Francisco locations have never looked better or more ominous. One particularly chilling scene unfolds in the loft of an artisan who makes mannequins for a living ... though not for long. Blake Edwards's experiment in suspense grabs hold of you from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the final showdown at Candlestick Park. The film also features a near-legendary score by Henry Mancini. --Kristian St. Clair Amazon.com

A Young Girl's Inner Soul

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting Eric Rohmer's next movie, or who have complained that the girls in Eric Rohmer's films aren't pretty enough, let me recommend Blake Edwards' EXPERIMENT IN TERROR, which stars Stefanie Powers (from HART TO HART) as a 16 year old American high school student in San Francisco around the time of the Kennedy administration. Stefanie's character is Toby Sherwood, an androgynous sort of name for her isn't it, considering she's extremely feminine, sweet, and obedient, and without too many thoughts in her head. The camera loves her as it follows her into the school swimming pool, on a date with her anonymous teen boyfriend, and fast asleep in her twin bed in her beautifully appointed home on Twin Peaks, the lovers' leap that towers above the Castro and the Mission here in San Francisco. Hope you're getting the "twin" references, for the movie is all about how many ways Blake Edwards can show mindless little Toby, as sensual and dumbed down as a fish, just being alive in her own female universe in perfect counterpart to her older, more neurotic sister Kelly (second-billed Lee Remick, in her second Blake Edwards part within a year), a bank teller. Anyone watching Stefanie Powers in this part will wonder if the screenwriters took her unusual name, "Toby," from Tobey Heydon, the heroine of a popular series of young adult books for girls by Rosamund du Jardin and extremely popular in the 1950s.

Toby's boy-and-girl love affair with Dave is fun enough, but nothing special, though Harvey Rvans plays him with a nice dancer's grace. Audiences in the 1960s would have recognized Evans from his parts in the screen musicals WEST SIDE STORY, THE PAJAMA GAME, and THE GIRL MOST LIKELY, and they would have wondered that all of a sudden he's supposed to be a heterosexual high school student? Only in San Francisco! Toby's not all sweetness and light, and somewhere out there in the noirish shadows is a man who's made it his mission to kidnap and torment her. Played by greasy screen genius Ross Martin, Garland "Red" Lynch is totally weird and perverted, like Sal Mineo in the somewhat later WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR? We see him wake in the morning, his asthmatic hiccups scaring himself awake, extremely closeup of the underside of his jaw, then the hair in his underarm, the long muscles of his ribcage, bare to the waist where his white, tight pajame pants, slick with sweat, are knotted in a crazy, ascetic way, as though he's been mortifying his flesh. When he finally meets up with sweet, virginal, confused Toby, the screen explodes into a lubricious madness. They couldn't film such a scene today and get away with it--well, maybe Rohmer could. May 5, 2008

Intense!

I saw this in the theater as a kid and was literally glued to my seat. Masterfully directed by Blake Edwards, it is the story of the extortion of a beautiful bank teller (Lee Remick)whose sister (a very young Stephanie Powers)is kidnapped and being held for ransom. The ransom is that she rob a bank for the extortionist (Ross Martin). The acting is so intense you become completely caught up in the story. The cinematography is wonderful with an unforgettable ending in Candlestick Park. Not a weak link in the film. Glenn Ford plays the FBI agent determined to track the extortionist at all costs. In my opinion this is one of Blake Edwards best films that has received very little fanfare. Great story, exceptional cast, a film not to be missed. August 22, 2007

Experiment in Terror

Blake Edwards, best known for comedies, shows he can pull off thrillers with equal skill. Make no mistake: this one is lean, gritty and frightening. Remick is solid as a victim ripe for the plucking, and Ford appropriately stolid as the dedicated Ripley. And villain Martin (who'd go on to play Artemus Gordon on TV's "The Wild, Wild West") will make your skin crawl with that wheezing whisper. Be warned: not for the faint of heart. June 27, 2007

Night And The Forboding City

While director Blake Edwards is not predominantly known for his thrillers, this 1962 noirish entry is gripping and frightening - particularly the first hour. Henry Mancini provides an unnerving "mod" score similar to the one he would for Stanley Donen's "Charade" a year later. Shot in black in white, restored to widescreen format on DVD, the San Francisco locations (including the Golden Gate Bridge and Candlestick Park) gives this film a interesting aura.

Lee Remick is a young bank teller named Kelly Sherwood, who lives with her teenage sister, Tobey (Stefanie Powers). One night she is accosted in her own garage by an asthmatic psychopath, "Red" Lynch (Ross Martin, menacingly frightening), who promises to kill her and her sister if she doesn't go along with his scheme to rob her bank. He informs her that he is aware of her every move and is not afraid to resort to violence if she does not go along with his scheme. The shaken young woman contacts FBI agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) who does all that he can to protect the sisters and explore every angle he can to bring Lynch down. He soon discovers that this sadistic criminal has a penchant for women who can get him loot, and then leaves their battered corpses for all their effort. Nancy Ashton (Patricia Huston) is one such lady who contacts Ripley for help but her fate is already sealed (watch the eerie, voyeuristic sequence in her mannequin filled apartment - shiver).

It begins to drag a bit in the second hour, with the introduction of a Chinese woman, Lisa (Anita Loo) who is an unwitting file cabinet for Lynch - the evil killer is paying for her handicapped son's medical treatment. While this element may not have been needed, Ford's interaction with the boy is utterly touching, as is his concern for Kelly and her younger sibling. When Lynch is able to catch hold of Tobey for leverage, he debates whether to molest her or not (forcing her to undress), but for some reason, cannot go through with it. With Kelly in the crossfire, Ripley and his fellow agents close in on him in a memorable climax in Candlestick Park's baseball stadium.

Unlike the gratuitous violence and nudity often found in films today, "Experiment In Terror" relies on plot development, effective camera angles and concentrated performance in order to bring out fear in the viewer, and for the most part, it does it in spades. Ford's courageous, quiet embodiment, Remick's strong yet gentle performance and Stefanie Power's moving, sweet vulnerability give this taut movie all that it requires. And Ross Martin is the perfect villain - menacing, stalking, cold-blooded, manipulative, and deadly! And by all means, keep the lights on! The DVD features subtitles and two trailers, "The Big Heat" and "The Lady From Shanghai". December 12, 2006

A good scare and a great score.

The first thing you hear is the well written soundtrack by Henry Mancini. It sets the pace and continues on to embellish every scene. Glenn Ford, as the FBI guy, has the ability to bring realism to any role he plays and here he holds the whole thing together. Ross Martin gives us a villain that literally sends chills up your spine.
Many have categorized this as Film Noir or at least an attempt at it and that's fine. Where it strays is in the dialogue given the two sisters played by the georgeous Lee Remick and the very young Stephanie Powers. There is no viable difference between the older and younger sister and there should be. It's not their fault. You can't project with inferior scripting.
There are many little gem segments including Popcorn, the pickup, and the final at Candlestick. And yes, there's the mannequins. A sroke of genius. Now that's Noir. June 21, 2006

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