Escapement (film)

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Escapement
Escapement film Theatrical release poster (1958).png
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Montgomery Tully
David Paltenghi
(dream sequences)
Written byJ. MacLaren Ross
(additional dialogue)
Screenplay by Charles Eric Maine
Based onEscapement
by Charles Eric Maine
Produced by Alec C. Snowden
Jim O'Connolly
Richard Gordon
Starring Rod Cameron
Mary Murphy
CinematographyBert Mason
Teddy Catford (dream sequences)
Edited by Geoffrey Muller
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Distributed by Anglo-Amlgamated Film Distributors
Release date
  • 4 March 1958 (1958-03-04)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Escapement (also known as The Electronic Monster) is a 1958 British horror science fiction film directed by Montgomery Tully and David Paltenghi (dream sequences). [1] [2] The screenplay was by Charles Eric Maine based on his 1956 novel of the same title.

Contents

Plot

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 Zakon, the clinic's owner, is using a "dream machine" to alter the sleepers' dreams, and to impose his will on theirs.

Cast

Production

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. [3] Most of Anglo's films were crime orientated but this had some science fiction aspects. [4]

The film's electronic music soundtrack is credited to Soundrama with John Simmons as consultant and Robert Taylor as music director.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though Charles Eric Maine is credited with the script, the credit titles make no mention of his intriguing but surely unfilmable novel. The film, in any case, is a tepid adaptation which scarcely suggests the genuinely terrifying possibilities explored in the book. The "dream sequences" (as they are called) are a mistake; the "electronic music" (as it is called) loses much of its effect through over-use. All the same, the theme gives this science fiction melodrama a certain originality." [5]

Variety wrote: "The Electronic Monster offers one or two novel twists to an old cinema standby, the one about the diabolical scientist-sorcerer who creates disciples by toying with human brains. Since modern audiences seem intrigued with dramati-clinical sorties into the mysteries of the human thought mechanism, the Columbia release generates a certain pseudo-scientific appeal that should qualify it for comfortable second-billing. Outside of this quality and the fact that it has been produced wiih cinematic skill, it's a strictly routine melodrama. ... The dream sequences give the picture a curious dash of sex." [6]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film wrote that the film: "generates a genuine strangeness of atmosphere through its use of electronic music and special effects." [7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Main sufferers are the audience who have to sit through this unconvincing tosh." [8]

Leonard Maltin called it a "blah sci-fi programmer".[ citation needed ]

TV Guide noted, "an intriguing feature in that it was among the first to examine the possibilities of psychological manipulation and brainwashing." [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Escapement". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Hal Erickson (2014). "The-Electronic-Monster - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2014-03-09.
  3. ↑ Tom Weaver, The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon, Bear Manor Media 2011 p 19
  4. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (12 January 2025). "Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part One (1905-56)". Filmink. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Escapement". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 25 (288): 45. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "Escapement". Variety . 218 (13): 7. 25 May 1960 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 146. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  8. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 305. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  9. ↑ "The Electronic Monster". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
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