The Dead Talk Back

Last updated
The Dead Talk Back
Directed byMerle S. Gould
Written byMerle S. Gould
Produced byMerle S. Gould
Starring Aldo Farnese
CinematographyAndrew Farnese
Edited byAldo Farnese
Production
company
Headliner Productions
Release date
  • 1993 (1993)
Running time
65 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Dead Talk Back is an American crime drama film written, produced and directed by Merle S. Gould. Although produced in 1957, it was not released until 1993. The film deals with topical subjects, including investigations, metaphysics, murder, police, and scientists. [1]

Contents

Plot

Scientist Henry Krasker (Farnese) experiments in speaking with the dead from the afterlife. He also is an occasional consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department and has solved numerous cases through extraordinary means. He lives in a rooming house that's convenient to his laboratory and is inhabited by a motley crew of less than reputable people.

After one of his rooming housemates, Renee Coliveil (Laura Brock), is murdered with a crossbow, Los Angeles police detectives Lieutenant Lewis (Scott Douglas) and Harry (Earl Sands) enlist Krasker to aid them in apprehending the suspect, who they believe lives at the same rooming house.

After an extensive investigation of the rooming house residents, Krasker devises a plan to draw out the killer. After calling a meeting of the rooming house residents Krasker brings Renee back from the dead, leading Raymond Millbrun (Myron Natwick), a DJ from San Francisco with wealthy parents, to cry out that he knew he didn't kill her.

However, it turns out to be a ruse: Krasker did not bring Renee back from the dead; he merely staged it in the belief that the actual killer would confess. Raymond had secretly married Renee in Mexico and she had been blackmailing him into silence for fear his parents would cut him out of their will.

With the killer in custody, the narrator (Lieutenant Lewis) muses over whether man will ever actually be able to contact the dead and wishes Krasker well in his experiments.

Cast

Production

The Dead Talk Back was directed, written, and produced by Merle S. Gould. [2] [3] The film's production company was Headliner Productions, Inc. [4]

Andrew Farnese was the cinematographer, Betty Schwartz was the art director, Aldo Farnese was the film editor, and Roland Schneider was in charge of sound. The costumers in the film were made by Wynn's. Jean Gerard was the production supervisor, Stan Pritchard was the production assistant, and Velmer Bahrenburg was the tech advisor. [2]

Parts of the film were filmed in Lewin’s Records Center, Benny’s of Hollywood, and on Hollywood Boulevard. The Grauman's Chinese Theatre is visible in the background of the film. The film has voice-over narration intermittently by Aldo Farnese and Scott Douglas. [4] The film is in black and white. [5]

Release

The Dead Talk Back was completed in 1957, but never had a theatrical release and was not distributed until it was discovered in 1993. Sinister Cinema acquired the rights to the film from Headliner Productions. It was then released on home video and later shown on the movie-mocking comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1994. [3] [4] [6] [7]

Reception

The Dead Talk Back was featured in a 1994 episode in season six of the movie-mocking comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . [8] John Sinnott reviewed the episode in 2005 for DVD Talk , writing that "In this early Mike episode, he and the 'bots make a valiant effort to trash the film, but it only partially succeeds. There are long patches of the movie where nothing really happens and it's really hard to riff someone walking down the street. The jokes start out good, but by the end of the film you can tell that the writers were really scratching their heads for something, anything, to say about the film. Not a bad effort, but not a great one either." [8]

The Dead Talk Back is part of The Psychotronic Video Guide , published in 1996 by Michael J. Weldon. [9]

The Dead Talk Back was featured and reviewed in the book 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See by Steve Miller. The book was published in 2010 by Simon & Schuster. [6] Miller wrote that "A rooming house full of bizarre possible suspects, an unusual detective, and a suitably twisted solution to the case ... The Dead Talk Back could have been a fun, quirky mystery film. But then it went in for bad acting, inept direction, shoddy camera-work, badly done lighting, and horrendous editing. Even a second draft on the script would have helped." [6] Miller also commented that "The Worst Script Award goes to Merle S. Gould for his attempts to infuse the film with a 'hardboiled detective' that are so over-blown they ruin what could have been a cool murder scene" and that the "You Made James Randi Cry Award goes to Merle S. Gould for conceiving an experiment in otherworldly communication that involves a speaker, some wire, a wineglass, and a razor blade." [6]

The Dead Talk Back was reviewed in the 2015 book Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won’t Write About, author Clive Davies writing that "It's no worse than others from the period, but don't expect a neglected gem. A bearded "Private Investigator" and mad scientist (that's more like it) introduces the very slow-moving tale from his basement lab where he has a device for talking to the dead (it looks like a rock). 'Oh it's true,' he exclaims before narrating a long flashback that's mostly cops interrogating the prime suspects in a murder-by-crossbow case. The ending is straight out of a Tod Slaughter movie." [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i> American science fiction comedy television series

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for seven seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort in 2021 produced 13 additional episodes shown on the Gizmoplex, an online platform that Hodgson developed which launched in March 2022. As of 2023, 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whodunit</span> Type of detective story

A whodunit is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues to the case, from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric, amateur, or semi-professional detective.

The NBC Mystery Movie is an American television anthology series produced by Universal Pictures, that NBC broadcast from 1971 to 1977. Devoted to a rotating series of mystery episodes, it was sometimes split into two subsets broadcast on different nights of the week: The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie and The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery film</span> Genre of film

A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. Mystery films include, but are not limited to, films in the genre of detective fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliott Gould</span> American actor (born 1938)

Elliott Gould is an American actor. In a career spanning over seven decades, he began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.

<i>Robot Monster</i> 1953 American science-fiction movie

Robot Monster is a 1953 independently made American black-and-white 3D science fiction horror film, remembered in later decades as one of the worst movies ever made. It was produced and directed by Phil Tucker, written by Wyott Ordung, and stars George Nader, Claudia Barrett, and George Barrows. The production company was Three Dimensional Pictures, Inc. The film was distributed by Astor Pictures.

<i>Diagnosis: Murder</i> American mystery-comedy-medical crime drama television series (1993–2001)

Diagnosis: Murder is an American comedy-mystery-medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman, became a series of three television films, and then a weekly television series that debuted on CBS on October 29, 1993. Joyce Burditt wrote the episode in Jake and the Fatman and is listed here as the creator of the spin off series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mildred Natwick</span> American actress (1905–1994)

Mildred Natwick was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallmark Mystery</span> American cable television network

Hallmark Mystery is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Channel, and airs family-oriented feature and television films along with a limited number of murder- and mystery-themed television series.

<i>Ring of Terror</i> 1962 film

Ring of Terror is a black-and-white 1962 horror film, which centers around a young medical student named Lewis Moffitt who must open a crypt and steal the ring of a deceased man in order to join a fraternity. Directed by Clark L. Paylow from a screenplay by Lewis Simeon and Jerrold I. Zinnamon, the film stars George Mather as Lewis, with Austin Green and Esther Furst in supporting roles.

Mignon Good Eberhart was an American author of mystery novels. She had one of the longest careers among major American mystery writers.

<i>Night Game</i> (film) 1989 film by Peter Masterson

Night Game is a 1989 American slasher film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Roy Scheider, Lane Smith, Karen Young, and Richard Bradford. It follows a police detective attempting to stop a hook-handed serial killer whose murders coincides with nighttime baseball games at the Houston Astrodome.

<i>Murder on the Blackboard</i> 1934 film by George Archainbaud

Murder on the Blackboard is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery/comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. It was based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Palmer. It features popular actor Bruce Cabot in one of his first post-King Kong roles, as well as Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey, and Edgar Kennedy.

Murder Can Hurt You is a 1980 American made-for-television comedy film that parodies detective and police TV shows of the 1960s and 1970s, much as Murder by Death spoofed literary detectives. The film was directed by Roger Duchowny.

<i>Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate</i> 1971 television film directed by Ted Post

Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate is a 1971 American made-for-television mystery film directed by Ted Post, starring Myrna Loy, Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Sylvia Sidney, John Beradino and Vince Edwards, with the screenplay adapted by John D. F. Black from a novel of the same name by Doris Miles Disney. It was broadcast as the ABC Movie of the Week on November 9, 1971.

<i>The Living Ghost</i> 1942 film by William Beaudine

The Living Ghost is a 1942 American mystery-drama film directed by William Beaudine and produced by Monogram Pictures. Starring James Dunn and Joan Woodbury, the film incorporates elements of the horror genre as it follows an ex-private detective who is called in to investigate why a banker has turned into a zombie. As the detective shares wisecracks with the banker's cheeky secretary, the two fall in love. The film was distributed in the United Kingdom under the title Lend Me Your Ear, and later released on home video as A Walking Nightmare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Teagarden</span> Fictional character created by Charlaine Harris

Aurora Teagarden is a fictional character created by author Charlaine Harris. She is the protagonist of a series of eleven crime novels written from 1990 to 2017. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries began adapting the novels in 2014 for their original film series The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries with Candace Cameron Bure in the title role, part of the network’s "Mystery Wheel" umbrella series.

<i>Kiss & Tell</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Kiss & Tell, titled Kiss and Tell on its theatrical release poster, is a 1997 American film directed by Jordan Alan. It was made largely through improvisation.

<i>Murder Mystery</i> (film) 2019 film by Kyle Newachec

Murder Mystery is a 2019 American comedy mystery film directed by Kyle Newacheck and written by James Vanderbilt. The film stars Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Luke Evans, and follows a married couple who are caught up in a murder investigation on a billionaire's yacht. It was released on June 14, 2019, by Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel was released by Netflix on March 31, 2023.

The Afterparty is an American comedy murder mystery anthology television series created by Christopher Miller that premiered on Apple TV+ on January 28, 2022. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on July 12, 2023. In October 2023, it was announced that the series would not return for a third season.

References

  1. ↑ "The Dead Talk Back (1957) - Genre". American Film Institute . Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "The Dead Talk Back (1957) - Credits". American Film Institute . Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Nothing to Fear But 'Fear' Itself". New York Daily News . November 3, 1993. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Dead Talk Back (1957) - History". American Film Institute . Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Dead Talk Back (1957) - Details". American Film Institute . Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Steve (2010). 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See. Simon & Schuster. pp. 260, 261. ISBN   9781440509025 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ MST3K: The Dead Talk Back|RiffTrax
  8. 1 2 Sinnott, John (November 19, 2005). "Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 8". DVD Talk . Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide. Titan Books. p. 147. ISBN   9781852867706 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Davies, Clive (2015). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. SCB Distributors. p. 313. ISBN   9781909394063 – via Google Books.
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.