Escapement (a.k.a. The Electronic Monster) | |
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Directed by | Montgomery Tully David Paltenghi (dream sequences) |
Written by | J. MacLaren Ross (additional dialogue) |
Screenplay by | Charles Eric Maine |
Based on | Escapement by Charles Eric Maine |
Produced by | Alec C. Snowden Jim O'Connolly Richard Gordon |
Starring | Rod Cameron Mary Murphy |
Cinematography | Bert Mason Teddy Catford (dream sequences) |
Edited by | Geoffrey Muller |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Anglo-Amlgamated Film Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 76 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Escapement (aka The Electronic Monster ) is a 1958 British horror science fiction film directed by Montgomery Tully and David Paltenghi (dream sequences) . [1]
Inquiring into the mysterious death of a Hollywood star, insurance investigator Jeff Keenan uncovers an exclusive psychiatric clinic on the French Riviera. Here, patients who want to escape the stresses of life are hypnotized, then laid out in morgue-like drawers and left to dream for several weeks. It turns out that Dr. Zakon, the clinic's ex-Nazi owner, is using a "dream machine" to alter the sleepers' dreams, and to impose his will on theirs.
Producer Richard Gordon later said there were major problems with the film's special effects. He also said that he had a dispute with Anglo-Amalgamated, who did not want the movie to get an X certificate in England, whereas Gordon wanted more horror for the US. [2]
Leonard Maltin called it a "blah sci-fi programmer" ; while TV Guide noted, "an intriguing feature in that it was among the first to examine the possibilities of psychological manipulation and brainwashing." [3] Moria found that the movie failed to live up to its interesting premise, being overly talky. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction found the movie was leaning towards a thriller-like plot and had a disinclination to argue too about its often shaky scientific pinning. [4]
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