4D Man (1959) in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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4D Man (1959)

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TServo4		#21	[-]
May 19 08 11:29 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	But if you really want to get "technical," the fact that Lansing's entire body can now move through solids -- not just his hand -- means that his feet should be able to pass through his socks, shoes, and he should eventually sink down through the Earth. I prefer to believe that the railing is, in fact, made of 5-D material, and that's why Lansing, being merely 4-D, doesn't reach through it. I think that they get around that in the film by saying that his 4-Dism is a mental state and that Lansing can control where he or objects that he touches go to in any position. So it's not just that he can walk through walls or whatever. He can pick and choose any plane that he desired to be on. He doesn't understand this quite so soon, and that's the point of the dollar bill stuck in the wall at the bank. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
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oldmanster		#22	[-]
May 19 08 12:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good point, Jack. His mental capabilities come from the radiation experiments on Cargonite (why not Carsonite?) he'd been conducting (which sorta makes 1959 a transition point between the old radiation gimmick and a newer brand of science-based monster). The point was made that his brother's sonic wave vibrator wasn't operational when he stuck his hand through the block that first time. ... Reed
Bobtheman		#23	[-]
Jul 14 08 10:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"Good point, Jack. His mental capabilities come from the radiation experiments on Cargonite (why not Carsonite?) he'd been conducting (which sorta makes 1959 a transition point between the old radiation gimmick and a newer brand of science-based monster). The point was made that his brother's sonic wave vibrator wasn't operational when he stuck his hand through the block that first time. " When Scott sees the doctor, Brian, the doctor tells him "not a trace of radiation", "no tumor" and "no brain damage at all ". The doctor tells him his EEG results shows electrical impulses of his brain are strong. The doctor tells him his headaches may be a result of work, effect of radiation we don't know anything about. The sonic wave vibrator wasn't operating the second time, when his brother was with him. Was it or wasn't it operating the first time? Is it possible the his brain's unique impulses combined with the vibrator made his hand pass through the block the first time and then endowed him with that power without the vibrator subsequently?? His brother said that the force field " compressed the energy of years into a moment." Would Scott have been able to move his hand and the pencil through the brick the first time without the vibrator? On the IMDB base, it reads that Marjorie, played by Patty Duke, was a victim of Scott. I'm watching it taped off Cinemax and that scene is not completed, it stops with Scott saying "Just a short game" and then there is a cut in the film to the lab and reporters. Was that actual scene completed , or was it filmed to imply Scott drained her energy, too?
Bobtheman		#24	[-]
Jul 14 08 12:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/2859?page=1 from Tom Weaver << First, does he actually kill Patty Duke? << We later see a wreath, a mourning thing, on the door of Patty Duke's house so, yeah, he does. No scene on the Cinemax Version I taped off TV in 1992. Am I alone, or was what I saw edited? There were no commericals in the film.
TomWeaver999		#25	[-]
Jul 14 08 1:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I pulled my copy of 4D MAN (a VHS tape) off the shelf just now and put it in and ... same thing. It jumps right to the scene with the reporters. How weird. From my Lee Meriwether interview: << MERIWETHER: Little Patty Duke! It's so funny, I still think she fibbed about her age at the time! I told her that once, and she said, "I was nine!" [Laughs] I said, "Okay, all right, all right!" 4D Man was just before she did The Miracle Worker [as young Helen Keller] on Broadway. Q: I was always surprised that Lansing kills her in the movie. MERIWETHER [whispers]: Yes! Well, they were doing a [takeoff] on the scene of the Frankenstein Monster and the little girl [in the 1931 Frankenstein]-that's what I figured. Somebody, I've forgotten now who, said, "Oh, we shouldn't have the 4D Man kill the girl," and I said, "But he's a monster, he kills people, he can't help it. He doesn't want to but he has to, or he's going to die. It makes him more poignant." << It IS really a sad scene -- Lansing knows he shouldn't play with the little girl ('cause he knows he'll give in to temptation and kill her) and tells her to go away, over and over, but she's obviously lonely and practically BEGS him to play with her -- 'til finally he gives in. Once you know what's going to happen, it becomes especially unpleasant to watch.
Bobtheman		#26	[-]
Jul 14 08 2:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's a very sharp cut in the Patty Duke scene; it makes you think something more was filmed. Maybe somone can contact Patty and see if she remembers if anything additonal was filmed? This is remiscent of the Little Maria scene in Frankenstein ( 1931). And if Tom can recall the wreath on the door scene, and that was cut off his VHS and what I taped off TV in 1992 Cinemax, maybe more footage exists?
TServo4		#27	[-]
Jul 14 08 2:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I really can't confirm whether this is true or not, but the story that I'd heard (and this is just movie-lore, with no evidence behind it) is that there was in fact a scene shot where they discover the little girl dead, but instead of being aged and decrepit, she's a beautiful woman in her mid-30s. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
Bobtheman	The 4 D Man	#28	[-]
Jul 14 08 3:29 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jack You're psychic.
TServo4		#29	[-]
Jul 14 08 3:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Again, don't take my story for fact. I've never seen the scene, never read the script, and have never seen any photos. The story could be a figment of someone's imagination for all I know. So take it with a grain of salt J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
Bill Warren		#30	[-]
Jul 14 08 4:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm very skeptical about that story.
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Bobtheman		#31	[-]
Jul 15 08 10:48 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Getting back to this "His mental capabilities come from the radiation experiments on Cargonite (why not Carsonite?) he'd been conducting (which sorta makes 1959 a transition point between the old radiation gimmick and a newer brand of science-based monster). The point was made that his brother's sonic wave vibrator wasn't operational when he stuck his hand through the block that first time" Tony says when he made the pencil penetrate the steel four years earlier , that the force field was affecting him - he willed it to happen - and that the force field boosted his brain waves to make it possible. Does anyone have DVDs or VHS and see if what they have has any missing footage Patty Duke re wreath on the door or any other?
Rod Barnett	This is a great little movie	#32	[-]
Aug 7 08 8:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I really do love this film. I first caught in the early 90s on Cinemax and captured it on tape. This was one of the first dozen or so DVDs I ever bought. I think what draws me back are elements that grab me in any movie from the period. First, being a sucker for 50's science fiction the idea at the center of the story is very interesting. Second, the cast is top notch turning in performances better than the story deserves. The actors really sell this movie on every level and without the fine performances it wouldn't be half as good. Third, although riddled with nonsensical pseudo science silliness the story is involving and effective. As much as I enjoy THE 4D MAN the film does have one glaring flaw that irks me. It sports one of the most inappropriate scores of all time! On its own the film's music is not bad but the percussion heavy jazz riffs only fit the scene they're accompanying about 10% of the time. During the rest of the movie its like accidentally intercepting a radio broadcast at the drive-in. It's annoying and I'd love to have the power to re-score the picture.
LesDaniels		#33	[-]
Aug 8 08 12:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I totally agree about the score. Every time I see 4D I'm amazed anew at how distracting that music is. In fact, this film and THE SHUTTERED ROOM are what convinced me that jazz and horror just don't mix.
Monsterpal		#34	[-]
Aug 8 08 10:48 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I like the score. It's well done and gives the film distinction.
TomWeaver999		#35	[-]
Aug 8 08 11:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	PANIC IN YEAR ZERO! too.
telegonus		#36	[-]
Aug 8 08 11:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Indeed, Tom. Panic In the Year Zero! has one of the most jarring scores I've even heard on a soundtrack, made even worse by the rather old-fashioned "family values" nature of the movie, which reflected star-director Ray Milland's own social and political views, which were quite conservative. All that jazz (so to speak), plus Frankie Avalon's being in the movie, really "trash it up". The film might have worked better had it been made for Republic, which was, alas, no longer in business in 1962. AIP's flicks had a jazzy-youth oriented-hipster feel to them, even when they weren't formally dealing with matters for which such an attitude would seem appropriate, and this "breaks" Panic In the Year Zero! just as much as it "makes" Bucket Of Blood and Little Shop Of Horrors.
Cinema Bill		#37	[-]
Aug 8 08 3:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think Panic in the Year Zero was a pretty good film for it's time and place in history. (IMHO) Ray Milland's "...social and political views " shouldn't matter any more than Oliver Stone's JFK (a dramatic interpretation) was made invalid by Stone's own political bent. Watch the movie for what it is; a SCIFI about a family coping with the A-Bomb and survival in a world that is quickly losing it's civility.
Monsterpal		#38	[-]
Aug 8 08 5:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'll go along with that, CB. But back to 4D Man. I suspect that the jazz score was meant to suggest that this was a film for adults (not Adults Only!, which had a different meaning in those days), especially compared to Tonylyn's own The Blob and other teen horror and sf films of the late fifties. If I'm not mistaken, this predates any of AIP's jazz-themed epics.
Rod Barnett		#39	[-]
Aug 8 08 6:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Monsterpal wrote: I like the score. It's well done and gives the film distinction. Oh, I think the music is great but it takes me out of the film almost every time. And I agree that the same is true of PANIC IN YEAR ZERO. There's a topic for debate- good movies with the wrong score. Not really bad scores- just inappropriate ones.
telegonus	Music In Films	#40	[-]
Aug 8 08 7:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill, I wasn't saying that I felt that Milland's social and political views had any bearing on my enjoyment of Panic In the Year Zero! but rather that the jazz seemed discordant with the tone of the film; tacked on, inappropriate. The issue for me was one of appositeness (or lack thereof) as an aesthetic issue, nothing to do with politics one way or the other. Imagine trying to watch the elegaic western classsic Lonely Are the Brave with background music courtesy of Count Basie. Terrific music, but too modern, urban, not right for a western, doesn't belong with the images we see on the screen.
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4D Man (1959)