Experiment in Terror
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| Starring | Glenn Ford as John 'Rip' Ripley Lee Remick as Kelly Sherwood Stefanie Powers asa Toby Sherwood Ross Martin as Garland Humphrey 'Red' Lynch | |
| Directed by | Blake Edwards | |
| Written by | Gordon Gordon | |
| Music by | Henry Mancini | |
| Released | 25 June 1962 (Sweden) | |
| Runtime | 123 minutes | |
| IMDB Info | 0055972 on IMDb | |
| Buy it from | Amazon.com on DVD | |
Review
Blake Edwards' "Experiment In Terror", released in 1962, is a brilliantly-effective black-and-white thriller/suspense drama. I challenge anyone to try and keep from squirming in his or her seat during the movie's first eerie scene (which takes place in Lee Remick's dark garage).
This gem of a flick, which rates as a "mini-classic" in my own personal opinion, has a running time of a little more than two hours, with the script playing out methodically and unhurriedly. The film's screenplay gives you time to absorb each scene and time to contemplate what might be coming next.
"Experiment In Terror" has everything a great suspense motion picture requires -- A good cast of characters, great actors to portray them, a top-drawer script which builds the mounting tension, superb on-location scenery, and a goose-bump-inducing musical score from one of the best composers ever.
The city of San Francisco, California, has been used as a backdrop to many a motion picture over the years, and "EIT" is one of the best for showcasing that beautiful U.S. city. Quite a bit of outdoor footage is used in the film -- from cable car close-ups, to Coit Tower, to Lombard Street, to Candlestick.
The Fine Cast:
The stunning Lee Remick, age 26, is perfect as terrorized bank teller "Kelly Sherwood"; while 45-year-old Glenn Ford is rock-solid (as always) as FBI agent "John 'Rip' Ripley". And Ross Martin, 42, is completely convincing and menacing as the wheezing bad guy ("Garland Humphrey 'Red' Lynch"), who wants Miss Remick to swipe $100,000 from her bank and hand it over to him.
Nineteen-year-old Stefanie Powers has a very good supporting role in "Experiment", as Remick's younger sister, "Toby". Stefanie, like the rest of the top-notch cast, is outstanding in her part too.
It's also interesting to take note of the early 1960s-era baseball stars that can be seen in the movie (via the tense Candlestick Park finale, part of which was filmed during an actual major-league game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the hometown San Francisco Giants). Don Drysdale, Harvey Kuenn, and Mike McCormick are among the ballplayers that can be glimpsed during the course of the film's Candlestick scenes.
And then there's Henry Mancini's spectacular music score that he composed for "EIT", which is fabulously creepy from beginning to end. The Main Title theme is positively chilling, especially that very first elongated note. It's an ominous and downright spooky-sounding opening theme that sets the tone for what's to come.
The B&W cinematography in "Experiment" is another of the movie's superb features. This is a film that is well-suited for black-and-white, with its nerve-racking, shadow-filled opening sequence providing a prime example of the admirable photography that was composed for the film.
Some "Terror Trivia"
1.) The number on Lee Remick's automobile license plate is "TAH570". It's a 1961 California plate, which is attached to Lee's (Kelly's) Ford Fairlane two-door convertible.
2.) The baseball ticket that Lee Remick takes from an envelope near the end of the picture reveals some interesting things (trivia-wise). It's a genuine "Upper Stand Reserved" ticket (priced at $2.50) for the actual National League baseball game played on Friday, August 18, 1961 (a Dodgers vs. Giants night game at Candlestick Park).*
3.) By the way, the Giants ended up winning that game of 8/18/61 vs. Los Angeles. Orlando Cepeda swatted a lead-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give San Francisco a 2-1, extra-inning victory over the Dodgers. Don Drysdale was the starting pitcher for Los Angeles that night, and he threw a very good game too, working 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 run. Larry Sherry relieved Drysdale and took the loss by giving up the Cepeda game-winner. A Friday-night crowd of 30,145 saw their Giants pull out the sudden-death win. I'm unsure, however, if that attendance figure includes the "Upper Stand" ticket that Columbia Pictures acquired for Miss Remick's use in this motion picture. Could be, though. I'm assuming Columbia had to pay the $2.50 to get the ticket. ~wink~
Quotes:
- "You've got a small waist -- measurements: 34-22-35 -- right? Oh, I know a lot about you, Miss Sherwood." -- Red Lynch
- "I don't like the way you're talking, Kelly. I'm giving you twenty percent of 100,000 dollars; you can afford to talk a little nicer." -- Red Lynch
- "Why don't you come out of your hole and get me?!!" -- Kelly Sherwood
- "Take off your clothes. .... The sweater too." -- Red Lynch (to Toby)
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