Experiment in Terror (1962)

Really Surprised!

disgusting, overrated, pointless

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Blake Edwards monochromatic thriller is a beautifully shot, tense film filled with excellent performances. Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) works as a bank teller. One night upon returning home she's threatened by a stranger known as 'Red' (Ross Martin) in her garage, she's then forcibly told to rob her bank of $100,000 or she and her sister will be murdered by him.She then manages to get the word out to an FBI officer John 'Rip' Ripley (Glenn Ford) without Red knowing. Rip then advises Kelly on what to do and how to act in order to lure Red out and catch him. The film does a great job of maintaining it's tension even though the film is slightly overlong and suffers from pacing issues in the second act. However the screen-writers do a great job of writing likable, interesting characters whilst keeping the action focused on their situations rather then the plot/heist, which helps to hide some of the pacing issues.The entire cast all give excellent performances, especially from Ford and Remick. Their actions and reactions are down to earth and feel like genuine progressions, rather then the hyperbolic acting associated in that era of film-making. The film is expertly directed by Edwards who's unafraid of having a hard edge when the film needs it. Although this was most likely due to the fact that post-Psycho directors were able to push the envelop a-lot more. Whilst there's nothing offensive by today's standards the film does manage to keep a few hidden surprises up its sleeve.This film reminded me in a-lot of ways to Cape Fear which came out in the same year. Whilst I wouldn't put it on the same level, I would say that Experiment in Terror would make a fantastic companion piece on a double feature with it.

A tightly wound thriller from director Blake Edwards. Lee Remick is a teller terrorized by an unseen madman into stealing money from her bank. FBI agent Glenn Ford is on the case. This procedural thriller is extremely entertaining, very well acted (particularly by Remick) and features a great jazz infused score by Henry Mancini. Edwards shot the film on location in San Francisco and the film benefits greatly from it. The film hits the ground running and still manages to feature fully fleshed out characters. Ford is a bit wooden but efficient and the supporting cast includes Ross Martin, Stefanie Powers (as Remick's younger sister), and the great Ned Glass as "Popcorn," a not so trustworthy police informant.

Fine b/w thriller with noir leanings is very well shot including some stunning sequences, not least the opening credits, first scene and last sequence and plenty more in between. Sure, today this would have been speeded up a little with 20 minutes or so shorn, but this is 1962, as witnessed by the cars and fashions, so we have what we have. Tense and surprisingly bold and edging towards a grubbiness at times, this is well worth seeing and has clearly been well seen by makers of subsequent movies. Reference has been made to David Lynch and you will smile when you see the street sign and hear the character surname, but not any really substantial influence, I would have thought. Lee Remick has made very many films but apart from The Omen, this is probably the only one I've seen. Very good she is too, in the difficult, constantly harassed, role.

No need to recap the plot. Director Edwards had a good feel for the bizarre, starting with his seminal TV series Peter Gunn (1958-61), which featured a number of bizarre characters unusual for 50's TV. Here, that flair shows up, for example, with the proto-human manikin scene and with Red Lynch in scary drag. In my book, Edwards was a more innovative force in Hollywood than he's been credited with.This is a decent thriller, a big hit on first release. But seeing it now, it seems much of that initial drawing power came from the many bizarre little touches novel to audiences of the time. Because, as a thriller, the movie is stretched too long and paced too deliberately to be really effective. Add to that a couple of dangling sub-plots—the unexplained manikin lady and the extraneous Asian mother and son—and you may wonder what went on in the writers' room. And, of course, there are those puzzling aspects to the crime, well enumerated by other reviewers. I suspect another reason the film's over-stretched was to accommodate big name Glenn Ford, then at the height of his popularity. He does a good job here as the relentless FBI agent. But truth be told, those sequences could have been profitably shortened with a lesser-known actor since the role is basically a routine cop one. All in all, this is a movie of fascinating touches and parts rather than a tightly sustained whole. Thus, it's still worth seeing. But for good, sharp impact, there are some better ones from that same period still around, e.g. Narrow Margin (1952); Beware, My Lovely (1952); The Killer Is Loose (1956). So catch up with them if you haven't already.