FIEND WITHOUT A FACE in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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FIEND WITHOUT A FACE

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paleoguy	FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	Lead	[-]
May 26 04 1:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm surprised that this 1958 film hasn't been discussed in this forum, as I consider it one of the best sci-fi/horror films of that era. The movie has an intelligent script, is well-acted, and, in my opinion, features the most hideous monsters of that decade. For those of you up for a gamble (and you'll win!), I highly recommend the Criterion Collection version of FIEND WITHOUT A FACE. It features an audio commentary with executive producer Richard Gordon and genre film writer Tom Weaver, plus a really cool illustrated essay on British sci-fi/horror filmmaking by film historian Bruce Eder. Also included are a collection of trailers from other Gordon films, rare stills with commentary, vintage newspaper ads and lobby cards. DVDs, and old horror films, don't get much better than this. Martin
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Laughing Gravy	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#1	[-]
May 26 04 4:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, it's not one of my faves, although I do like it, and agree that the Criterion edition is terrific. Not too many 1950s sci-fi films would be worth a DVD of that cost, but this package is so sensational that I recommend it without hesitation. Plus, any movies with brains hopping around are pretty much worth having, if you want my opinion.
SFfilmfan	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#2	[-]
May 26 04 6:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love the great monsters and ending of the film, but I would differ with you on the intelligent script. The science in the movie is quite bad (the best way to shut down a nuclear reactor would be to blow it up? Huh?!?), Marshall Thompson is just OK, but the memorable monsters provide one of the best finales of any fifties horror/sci-fi film.
Solvieg Lillehaug	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#3	[-]
Dec 16 04 8:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The science was bad? Sorry, I find that weak. 1950's science was more fluid than the science of today, as far as the movies went. Blame everything on "radiation", and pretty much anything became possible. Giant ants? Atomic tests. A 300-foot tall hybrid dinosaur with flame breath? The A-Bomb. Within the limits of the genre, the script is just fine. But the finale is terrific.
Bill Warren	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#4	[-]
Dec 17 04 2:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some of the science in 1950s SF movies was highly improbable speculation, but one element in FIEND is truly stupid: blowing up an atomic plant to shut down the pile is ridiculous, and should have been known to be ridiculous then. Pointing at silly science in other movies is no defense of this especially silly example. I don't think much of this movie until the last fifteen minutes or so, when it's gangbusters all the way. There are some good scenes scattered throughout, but I think it's a good distance from being an actual classic. However, I LOVED the idea of this getting a Criterion release.
GaryP11111	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#5	[-]
Dec 17 04 10:11 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I just love the visual conception of these critters. Leapin' brains with prehensile spines and antennae, inchworming around and noshing on gray matter. To quote Bob Burns, How cool is that?! C'mon, who wouldn't want one as a pet? Sure, mine would die of starvation but it'd be fun while it lasted. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
evilskippy	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#6	[-]
Dec 17 04 11:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This film scared the skippy chips out of me when I was a kid back in the 60's. The invisible critters with their horrible munching and slurping sounds put me on edge. Still do. Of course they were pretty cool looking varmints when they came to light. I still think it is one of the better 50's sci fi films. But yeah, blowing up the control room is a goof. "Permit me to introduce myself.My name is Mabuse.Dr Mabuse".
Count Gamula	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#7	[-]
Dec 17 04 11:58 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	And the way the juice oozed and gurgled out of them when they were shot was so delightfully gross. I still don't remember too much about the story, but that finale was unforgettable. *Count Gamula*
GaryP11111	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#8	[-]
Dec 17 04 3:01 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The scene that really creeps me out is the one where Constable Gibbons stumbles into the room slack-jawed and gibbering, having unfortunately survived an attack of the brain-eating fiends. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
Bill Warren	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#9	[-]
Dec 17 04 3:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Don Willis pointed out to me an amusing touch, probably added by the little-known team of German animators who created the Fiends. After Our Hero has shot a few Fiends at the atomic power plant, he lights a fuse and flees. A wounded Fiend drags itself painfully to the burning fuse and tries to blow it out....
Thorn Sherman	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#10	[-]
Dec 31 04 4:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<<I'm surprised that this 1958 film hasn't been discussed in this forum, as I consider it one of the best sci-fi/horror films of that era.>> I find it to be one of the most hideously over-rated films I've ever had the displeasure of having had to sit through. The brain sequences are cool and Marshall Thompson is a servicable hero (though much better in First Man Into Space). But like all of these pseudo-intellectual English sci-fi epics of the 50s (sitting through them Brian Donlevy Quatermass butt-burners is akin to listening to paint dry in the men's room at Barstow Junction)... the films we're "supposed" to like are all too frequently shattering disappointments. The allegedly "American" accents of the Brit actors make my skin crawl, the film itself is 74 minutes of my life I'll never get back and the $39.95 I paid for the Criterion disc would have bought me a month on eharmony. Fiend is certainly no Phantom From Space. Thorn Sherman
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Michael Brunas	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#11	[-]
Dec 31 04 5:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The good news is that the "Love Theme" from FIEND WITHOUT A FACE was recorded on Silva Screen's "Horror!" compilation CD some years back. In case you're wondering, the "Love Theme" is that jaunty little ditty we hear when Marshall Thompson accidentally walks in on the leading lady who's stepping out of the shower. I'm a movie music fanatic of the first water but the inclusion of this opus on the play-list even had me scratching my head.
Bill Cooke	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#12	[-]
Dec 31 04 5:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<<"In case you're wondering, the "Love Theme" is that jaunty little ditty we hear when Marshall Thompson accidentally walks in on the leading lady who's stepping out of the shower. I'm a movie music fanatic of the first water but the inclusion of this opus on the play-list even had me scratching my head." >> Ah, but it's weird, rare, unexpected nuggets like these that make life as a film music fan worth living, wouldn't you say? The weird thing is that -- silly as that "Love Theme" glissando is -- it always stuck with me, and the very idea that a lot of money was spent on an orchestra, conductor and recording engineer just to lovingly record it for my own niche-market pleasure was, well, stupefying to say the least. More disappointing to me -- as far as that particular album goes -- was the brevity of the selections. There is a certain mentality in the recording industry that people only want to hear main titles from movie scores. Perhaps FIEND was represented well enough with a couple of cues, but NIGHT OF THE DEMON, THE HAUNTING and CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF should have garnered longer suites, and someday should be re-recorded in their entirety.
SiobhanBrid	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#13	[-]
Jan 1 05 8:56 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some interesting comments on this film. I confess to having an undying love for the title, and the Criterion release has been through my player on more than one occasion. I also confess that talk of "silly science" in a forum on 1950's sci-fi is, within itself, rather funny. Sorry if it comes across as though I'm poking fun, but really, OF COURSE it's silly science. As is Frankensteins monster and (as mentioned) giant dinosaurs. I think the range of silly science to justify events in 50's sci-fi goes way beyond anything seen in this film. But then, if that type of thing DOES bother you, I can see why this film might not appeal. It's a tad surprising one can accept a crawling brain and spinal cord, but not a nuclear plant exploding - but hey, maybe I've just been watching too much "X-The Unknown", where I learned that all I need to protect myself from radiation is a pane of glass :D Anyway, I saw this film when I was quite young, pre-teen I think. It has stuck with me since then. it's one of mr prized possessions to be honest, what good would me DVD collection be without a copy of this one? Marshall Thompson is not good, he's great in it. But then, all the elements are there - monsters, radiation, beautiful women. You couldn't ask for anything more, imo. --The scene that really creeps me out is the one where Constable Gibbons stumbles into the room slack-jawed and gibbering, having unfortunately survived an attack of the brain-eating fiends.-- This is my favorite scene too. I must admit though, one night, just after buying this DVD, I forced my wife to sit and watch it with me. I was so keen for her to experience this delight of cinema. When this scene, my favorite came on, I was gripping my seat in excitement (of course, I knew it was coming). My wife (wonderful, but oddly sometimes a bit of a Phillistine), let out a whooping hail of laughter. She thought it was the funniest thing she'd seen in a long time. She still talks about it now. In fact, sometimes, during silences on car long car trips, she lets out that moan to break the ice. We then end up with our now predictable, "No, it's a great film", "Yes, I know love, for it's time", "No - NOW!", "well, Urrrrrggghhhhh". Oh God, I love love love this film. I simply can't hear anything more bad about it. Sorry folks :)
Bill Cooke	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#14	[-]
Jan 1 05 2:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<<"When this scene, my favorite came on, I was gripping my seat in excitement (of course, I knew it was coming). My wife (wonderful, but oddly sometimes a bit of a Phillistine), let out a whooping hail of laughter. She thought it was the funniest thing she'd seen in a long time.">> This reminds me of my own experiences with my ex-wife. I was proudly showing her NIGHT OF THE DEMON, one of my favorite films... and as I'm sitting thre just tingling with excitement as the demon appears in the distance, bearing down on a terrified Professor Harrington, my wife suddenly breaks out laughing and procclaims, "Somebody needs to oil its squeaky wheels!" With that comment, the mood was ruined and she could never get back into the film. And depsite all my ravings about it being such a highly respected film, she would have none of it... we might as well have been watching GODZILLA VS. MEGALON. Then there was anothe time, early in our relationship, when I showed her THE WICKER MAN, thinking that, since she really liked foreign films, she might appreciate an unorthodox horror film with a great British cast... however, near the end, as soon as realized what was about to happen to the main character, she promptly left the room and, no matter how much I pleaded, would not return. Throughout our 12-year marriage she would laughingly cite that time as the maddest she ever saw me get. Maybe we take these movies too seriously... or maybe there are those who don't take them seriously enough. Anyway, since this is a FIEND WITHOUT A FACE thread, let me just say that I love this movie with all my heart. The build-up may be a bit boring at times, but God how incredible that third act is! How many other 50s monster movies actually surpassed expectations once the monster(s) was (were) revealed?
Rapfred	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#15	[-]
Jan 1 05 3:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>How many other 50s monster movies actually surpassed expectations once the monster(s) was (were) revealed?>> Sometimes it has less to do with the monster than the way he makes his entrance: HORROR OF DRACULA -- The library. That close-up. Wow. TEENAGE WEREWOLF -- First time I'd ever seen a drooling werewolf. In a varsity jacket, yet. Upside down, no less. GODZILLA -- The first look at the big guy rearing up over the hill. RODAN -- The hatching of baby Rodan still gives me goosebumps. TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH -- The tiny Ymir revealed, rubbing its eyes. GIANT CLAW -- Lokakanya attacks plane, gobbles parachutists; This one surpassed my expectations and then some: The monster was even dopier-looking than I was led to believe.
Bill Warren	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#16	[-]
Jan 1 05 3:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I think the range of silly science to justify events in 50's sci-fi goes way beyond anything seen in this film. In others, what we see is generally silly hypothetical science, not brain-dead, simply stupid violations of not just scientific principles, but logic. As in blowing up the control room of an atomic pile in order to shut it down. To me, that occupies a whole nother room in the silly science warehouse, radically different--and sillier--than giant ants, invaders from Mars and Monsters from the Id. But that's not why I give this film an overall low rating. It's pointless scenes (the hero locked in the crypt) that exist solely to add running time, it's the lame writing and the leaden pace. Everything picks up when the brains start leaping, of course.
sketchyfrank	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#17	[-]
Jan 10 05 2:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This is another film that I always looked forward to on television. The first viewing really caught me by surprise...I did not expect all those cool stop-motion brains to show up. I seem to remember being actually scared by it. And the gore is pretty strong for back then, for sure. Plus I loved Marshall Thompson, because he was the star of the DAKTARI TV series. Here's my little fiend, titled "This is your brain on rugs." Frank Dietz
Bill Warren	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#18	[-]
Jan 10 05 2:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Another winner, Frank--accurate AND amusing.
Rakshasa	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#19	[-]
Mar 19 05 4:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As I type this, I have my Criterion DVD of Fiend Without A Face playing! The image that was burned in my memory as a kid in the 70's is the invisible creature traveling under the ground. The way the earth rises? Scared me to death. Is it me, or is that Smucker's Jelly oozing out of the wounded Fiends? P.S. Sketchy Frank, I am new here, and as I go through these threads, I'm LOVING your sketches. Great, great stuff.
Doctor X	Re: FIEND WITHOUT A FACE	#20	[-]
Apr 13 05 10:51 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As a Canadian, I particularly have a soft spot for films of this type with (at least partial) settings in Canada. This one, Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Giant Claw, All 3 Fly films, etc. Someone mentioned the British attempts at American accents in Fiend and First Man Into Space. Yes, they're always noticeable, especially in the way the English actors over pronounce their "R's". But as a Canadian, I find it hilarious that, whether the film is British or American in origin, WE'RE always presented either as British, Scottish or French in our dialects. What's THAT all aboot, eh? I think about the best depiction of a Canadian character in older films would have to go to either Bogart in African Queen or the fellow who played one of the saboteurs with Hawkins and Holden in Bridge Over The River Kwai. The two sounded North American, with no distinct regional dialect... that's probably why so many Canadians are chosen as newscasters in the US to this day (Peter Jennings, John Roberts)... we sound like we're from "Anytown" USA. And an American airforce base in Manitoba? Shudder the thought! Doctor X
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