Four Sided Triangle

Last updated

Four Sided Triangle
FourSidedTriangle.Jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Terence Fisher
Written by Paul Tabori
Terence Fisher
Based onthe novel Four Sided Triangle by William F. Temple [1]
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Reg Wyer
Edited by Maurice Rootes
Music by Malcolm Arnold
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 25 May 1953 (1953-05-25)(United Kingdom)
  • 15 June 1953 (1953-06-15)(United States)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£25,000 [2]

Four Sided Triangle is a 1953 British science-fiction film directed by Terence Fisher, adapted from the 1949 novel by William F. Temple. [3] It stars Stephen Murray, Barbara Payton and James Hayter. [4] It was produced by Hammer Film Productions at Bray Studios. [3]

Contents

The film deals with the moral and scientific themes (not to mention "mad lab" scenes) that were soon to put Hammer Films on the map with the same director's The Curse of Frankenstein . Four Sided Triangle has most in common with Fisher's Frankenstein Created Woman (1967).[ citation needed ]

Plot

Dr Harvey, a rural physician, breaks the fourth wall to relate an unusual occurrence that happened in his village. The bulk of the story is told in flashback.

Bill and Robin are boyhood friends who compete for the affections of Lena, a beautiful girl about their own age. Lena's family moves away, and in adulthood the two men become scientists. They collaborate on the Reproducer, a machine that can exactly duplicate physical objects.

Lena returns to the village, and Bill and Robin's forgotten childhood feelings return. In time they abandon their work on the Reproducer, and Robin leaves the village to learn his family's business. Bill is disappointed to discover that Lena loves Robin and intends to marry him.

Hoping that he can win Lena's affections, Bill convinces her to allow him to use the Reproducer to create a duplicate of her. The experiment succeeds and Bill names the duplicate "Helen". Because Helen is an exact copy, when she is introduced to Robin she also falls in love with him. Bill believes that electric shock therapy can be used to erase Helen's knowledge of Robin. Not wishing to compete with Lena for Robin's affections, Helen agrees to the therapy. Bill convinces Lena to help him with the procedure. The process proceeds as planned, but the apparatus overheats, explodes and causes a terrific fire.

Robin and Dr Harvey arrive in time to rescue a woman from the fire. Bill and the other woman perish in the flames. Harvey, having been briefed on the situation by Robin, discovers that the woman has amnesia. The two men wonder whom they have saved. Dr Harvey recalls that Bill had to start Helen's heart with a device that he attached to the back of her neck, leaving two scars. Robin is relieved to find that there are no marks on the neck of the woman they have rescued: she is Lena.

Production details

Four Sided Triangle was an early effort by Hammer Films. The laboratory set includes "a welter of retorts, alembics, rheostats and plain, old neon tubing". [5] This chaotic, improvised laboratory setting has been contrasted with the sophisticated labs portrayed in the Universal Horror films of the 1930s. [6] The film relies on a minimum of trick photography and special effects, which may have been compromised by its limited budget. [6]

Filming over two days of the five-week schedule took place at Lulworth Cove in August 1952 and was photographed by George Douglas for the magazine Picture Post (issue of 30 August).

Differences from the novel

Four Sided Triangle features some differences from the original novel [7] by William F. Temple. In the novel the duplicate, named Dorothy and nicknamed Dot, falls into a depression over being married to Bill while she is in love with Robin. [8] She has a breakdown and has to go on holiday with Bill to recover. After they return Bill starts working on a power generator, which explodes, killing him. Lena tries to convince Robin to accept both her and Dot, but he refuses. A couple of weeks later Lena and Dot have an accident while diving in a river. One of them dies and the other is seriously injured. Dr Harvey and Robin are startled when they discover that the surviving woman cannot recall anything after the duplication and they suppose that she is repressing painful memories, so she may be Dot. Dr Harvey finds out about the marks on Dot's neck in Bill's notes and tells Robin, convincing him that the survivor is Lena. In an epilogue he reveals that he also discovered a note in which Bill recalled that during her holiday Dot had undergone plastic surgery to erase the marks, which means that there is no way of knowing whether the survivor is Lena or Dot. Dr Harvey destroys the note, enabling Robin and Lena, or Dot, to remain happy in the belief that the survivor is Lena. [8]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-Face</span> Comic book supervillain

Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66. As one of Batman's most enduring enemies, Two-Face belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

<i>The Story of Robin Hood</i> (film) 1952 film by Ken Annakin

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and directed by Ken Annakin. It is the second of Disney's complete live-action films, after Treasure Island (1950), and the first of four films Annakin directed for Disney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hayter (actor)</span> British actor (1907–1983)

Henry James Hayter was a British actor of television and film. He is best remembered for his roles as Friar Tuck in the film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and as Samuel Pickwick in the film The Pickwick Papers (1952), the latter earning him a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terence Fisher</span> British film director and film editor

Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Payton</span> American actress (1927–1967)

Barbara Lee Payton was an American film actress best known for her stormy social life and battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. Her life has been the subject of several books, including her autobiography I Am Not Ashamed (1963). Also, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story (2007) by John O'Dowd, L.A. Despair: A Landscape of Crimes and Bad Times (2005) by John Gilmore and B Movie: A Play in Two Acts (2014) by Michael B. Druxman. She married five times.

<i>Dracula: Prince of Darkness</i> 1966 British film

Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British gothic supernatural horror film directed by Terence Fisher. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions, and is the third entry in Hammer's Dracula series, as well as the second to feature Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the titular vampire. It also stars Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, and Barbara Shelley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shorty Rogers</span> American jazz trumpeter

Milton "Shorty" Rogers was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger.

The Guiding Light was an American television soap opera.

<i>The Abominable Snowman</i> (film) 1957 film by Val Guest

The Abominable Snowman is a 1957 British fantasy-horror film directed by Val Guest and written by Nigel Kneale, based on his own BBC television play The Creature. Produced by Hammer Films, the plot follows the exploits of British scientist Dr. John Rollason, who joins an American expedition, led by glory-seeker Tom Friend, to search the Himalayas for the legendary Yeti. Maureen Connell, Richard Wattis and Arnold Marle appear in supporting roles.

<i>Magnificent Obsession</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Douglas Sirk

Magnificent Obsession is a 1954 American romantic drama film directed by Douglas Sirk starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. It is a remake of the 1935 film by the same name, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor. Both are based on the 1929 novel Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas.

<i>Vampire Circus</i> 1972 British film

Vampire Circus is a 1972 British horror film directed by Robert Young and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters and Anthony Higgins. It was written by Judson Kinberg, and produced by Wilbur Stark and Michael Carreras for Hammer Film Productions. The story concerns a travelling circus, the vampiric artists of which prey on the children of a 19th century Serbian village.

<i>Circus of Horrors</i> 1960 film by Sidney Hayers

Circus of Horrors is a 1960 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers, and starring Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Erika Remberg, Kenneth Griffith, Jane Hylton, Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Romain, and Donald Pleasence. Set in 1947, it follows a deranged plastic surgeon who changes his identity after botching an operation, and later comes to gain control of a circus that he uses as a front for his surgical exploits. The original screenplay was written by American screenwriter George Baxt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William F. Temple</span>

William Frederick Temple was a British science fiction writer, best known for authoring the novel-turned-film Four Sided Triangle.

<i>Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde</i> 1995 film by David Price

Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde is a 1995 science fiction comedy film directed by David Price, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 horror novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It stars Sean Young, Tim Daly, and Lysette Anthony. The story takes place in modern times and concerns a bumbling chemist who tampers with his great-grandfather's formula, accidentally transforming himself into a beautiful businesswoman who is determined to take over his life.

Sir James Enrique Carreras was a British film producer and executive who, together with William Hinds, founded the British company Hammer Film Productions. His career spanned nearly 45 years, in multiple facets of the entertainment industry until retiring in 1972.

<i>The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2</i> 2008 film directed by Sanaa Hamri

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 American comedy-drama film and a sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast return to star in the film. It was directed by Sanaa Hamri and written by Elizabeth Chandler, who wrote the previous film. The film is based upon the fourth novel in the book series: Forever in Blue (2007), but incorporates scenes and storylines from The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003) and Girls in Pants (2004).

<i>A Day to Remember</i> (1953 film) 1953 film by Ralph Thomas

A Day to Remember is a 1953 British comedy drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring an ensemble cast including Stanley Holloway, Donald Sinden, James Hayter and Bill Owen.

<i>Divorce</i> (1945 film) 1945 film by William Nigh

Divorce is a 1945 drama film about a much-divorced woman who sets her sights on her married childhood friend. It stars Kay Francis, Bruce Cabot, and Helen Mack.

<i>Reunion</i> (1936 film) 1936 film

Reunion is a 1936 American comedy film and directed by Norman Taurog and starring the Dionne Quintuplets, Jean Hersholt and Rochelle Hudson. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

References

  1. ↑ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN   9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ John O'Dowd, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story 2007, p 222
  3. 1 2 "Four Sided Triangle (1953)". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Four Sided Triangle (1953) - Terence Fisher - Cast and Crew - AllMovie".
  5. ↑ W., A. (16 May 1953). "Movie Review: The Four Sided Triangle (1953)". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Four Sided Triangle (1953)". Mondo Esoterica. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Temple, William (1949). Four-Sided Triangle. London: John Long. p. 240.
  8. 1 2 admiral.ironbombs. "The Four-Sided Triangle – William F. Temple". Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased ~ Adventures in Vintage Genre Fiction. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

Sources

Hearne, Marcus, and Jonathan Rigby. Four Sided Triangle: Viewing Notes (accompanying R2 DVD release)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.