THE TINGLER-1959-After a pre-credit warning from director William Castle, Dr. Warren Chapin (Vincent Price), a doctor who does autopsies for the state, meets Ollie Higgins (Phillip Coolidge), a theater owner who's brother in law has just been executed. Ollie invites Chapin home for some coffee where the doc meets Ollie's mute wife Martha (Judith Evelyn)) who faints at the sight of blood. When Chapin goes home we learn that he's married to a rich floozy named Isabel (Patrica Cutts) who's sister Lucy (Pamela Lincoln) gets a long very well with her brother in law and is also in love the the doc's young assistant David (Darryl Hickman). After frightening Isabel and taking X-rays of her spine he discovers a creature he dubs “the tingler” that lives on fear and resides in every human!
To try and understand the
power of the tingler, Chapin takes a powerful drug (seems like LSD)
and becomes terrified but is saved when he screams which is the only
way to immobilize the creature. When Martha dies after seeing some
horrifying hallucinations (it seems like Chapin might have given her
the drug) Ollie brings her corpse to Chapin who removes her tingler
(since she couldn't scream it's still active) and puts it in a cage.
It looks kind of like a giant centipede. Isabel tries to use it to
kill her husband but Lucy spoils her plans. Chapin decides he's
broken the laws of nature and the only way to destroy the tingler is
to put it back in Martha's body. It turns out Ollie's not the
kindhearted timid henpecked husband he pretends to be....
This classic '50's "gimmick" film directed by the one and only William Castle features one scene in bright color and is still as entertaining as it was when first release (despite a few lapses in reason). Price is great as the very analytical scientist who comes to regret his discovery. On it's initial release certain seats in theaters were wired to give unsuspecting moviegoers a slight "tingle" when the monster appears!
Thanks for reading!
