Experiment In Terror

When I think of Blake Edwards, the first thing that comes to my mind is the slapsticky comedy featured in the Pink Panther film series starring the late, great Peter Sellers, so it was interesting to discover Edwards did films like Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), the Peter Gunn television series, along with this film, titled Experiment in Terror (1962). Adapted for the screen by Gordon & Mildred Gordon (collectively known as The Gordons), based on their novel titled Operation Terror, and directed by Blake Edwards, the film stars Glenn Ford (The Big Heat, The Violent Men, Blackboard Jungle), Lee Remick (Days of Wine and Roses, The Omen), and Ross Martin (Conquest of Space, The Colossus of New York, The Great Race), known to many as Artemus Gordon from the mid 60s television series "The Wild Wild West". Also appearing is Roy Poole (Mandingo), Ned Glass (Charade), Patricia Huston ("Days of Our Lives"), Clifton James (Cool Hand Luke, Will Penny), and a young Stefanie Powers (McLintock!, The Boatniks).It's nighttime and the city, San Francisco, to be exact, is twinkling. Miss Kelly Sherwood (Remick) arrives at her home in the hills, only to discover out she's not alone in her darkened garage, as a mysterious, heavy breathing man accosts her after she gets out of her parked car. Turns out he knows an awful lot about Kelly and her younger sister Toby (Powers), who live together in the house. So what does he want? Well, besides a good groping in the garage, he wants greenbacks, banknotes, cabbage, loot, legal tender, dinero, beans, filthy lucre, moolah, wampum, scratch, gravy...money, I say, and a whole lot of it...you see, Kelly works for a bank, and so she has access to a whole lot of the stuff, unfortunately none of it hers. The proposition is this, either Kelly get a large sum of money and deliver it to the man, or nasty things will happen to her and her sister, and he ain't foolin' as he seems to have intimate knowledge of Kelly and Toby's comings and goings. The man finally leaves, but not before telling Kelly he'll contact her with further instructions. After he's gone (or is he?), Kelly calls the FBI (right after the man specifically told her not to contact the authorities) and talks to agent John `Rip" Ripley (Ford). The FBI begins their investigation by tapping Kelly's phones, staking out her house, and shadowing her and her sister. Eventually they get a few leads and determine a possible identity of the man and determine this may not be the first time he's tried something like this...identification is one thing, but capture is another, and the man is no dummy, always managing to stay one asthmatic step ahead of the authorities...Overall I really liked this film, but I did have a few questions after watching it...like why did Kelly contact the FBI after she was attacked in her garage? If it were me, I probably would have phoned the police...if the matter warranted the FBI's involvement, then someone else would make that decision. Can someone tell me the point and/or connection of that Nancy Ashton character to the story? There seemed no other reason for her being in the film other than to serve as an example as to the danger Kelly and her sister are in, the seriousness of intent of the extortionist...to me her presence/connection was never fully explained, and perhaps that was intentional (which I could live with), but the FBI seemed satisfied with their own, supposed conclusion enough so as to not pursue the matter any further. Also, did anyone else buy off on the characters of Remick and Powers being sisters? Or Powers' character being a high school student (she was about 20 at the time)? Maybe I didn't completely buy off on either of these aspects, but I went with it anyway as both Remick and Powers are really hot (what do you want? I'm a guy...). And speaking of Powers' character, was anyone as annoyed as I was at with the ease to which the villain as able to lure her into his car, prior to kidnapping her? All I could think was `What a dope'. One aspect I found kind of funny was how, when the FBI were following Kelly around, they would often radio in, giving their location and such, and usually referred to Kelly as `the victim', like it was a forgone conclusion she wouldn't survive the final outcome, no matter what it was...I guess optimism isn't a part of their standard operating protocols. The film may have some flaws within the story, but these are made up for within other aspects of the production, like direction, music, cinematography, and acting. In terms of performances, Remick carried the film. One particular aspect I especially liked about her character was the fact she wasn't purely a helpless dame in need of rescuing. In one scene, after a failed meeting attempt, Kelly's frustrations towards the mysterious man boil over, and she gives him some sass on the phone. Ford's character was pretty straight up, steady, methodical, and experienced. I was thankful for the fact the story did not choose to pursue the development of a romantic angle between Remick and Ford's characters, but it did spend a good deal of time drawing on the mysterious man's motives for trying to get the money. Perhaps this was an attempt to make him seem more human, but if so, it didn't work for me (did we really need the scenes with the handicapped Asian American boy?), and only dragged the film out longer than it needed to be (the film runs just over two hours). Martin's portrayal of the asthmatic villain was complete, as there was little question to what he was willing to do to get what he wanted (although I was surprised he didn't take advantage of Toby when he had the chance). His smug, creepy, sleazy, sadistic, clever-than-thou smarminess oozed through the screen...and check out his get-up near the end. He looks almost exactly like that picture of the Uni-bomber. Despite my quibbles, this is a really wonderful film, full of tension, featuring a strong cast, beautifully scored by Henry Mancini (think the Peter Gunn theme, but slower, subtler, and slightly spooky), shot in glorious black and white. Had they trimmed a little of the excess off, tightened up some of the loose ends, this would have been a near perfect late entry noir filmThe widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1), black and white picture, remastered in high definition, looks very good, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio comes though clearly. There's not much in the way of extras, except for a trailer for this film, along with two others for The Big Heat (1953), and The Lady from Shanghai (1947).Cookieman108

I remember seeing this movie in the theater when it first ran so I re-watched and enjoyed it just as much so many years later. This was the first time I saw Ross Marting perform and It was good role for him.

"Experiment in Terror" is Blake Edwards' great noirish and stylized thriller that is top-notch and probably worth that expensive limited edition Blu-ray from Twilight Time that is also available. The Sony Choice Collection MOD is faded in quite a lot of it and I couldn't help but wish that I had chosen to get it in Blu-ray because the movie is well worth it. Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Ross Martin and Stephanie Powers are all excellent, especially Martin who is chillingly memorable as the villain. Ford and Remick are true stars and Stephanie Powers shows in this early role that she could deliver as nearly as well as the top stars. Remick that same year received an AAN for her role in Blake Edwards' other production that year, "Days of Wine and Roses." The script is by the Gordons based on their book "Operation Terror." Another Gordons' book was bought by Disney a few years later titled "Undercover Cat" which they re-named "That Darn Cat." Edwards was responsible for a heap of great movies, but "Experiment in Terror" must be one of his very best. Although known mostly for comedies, he ranks high with "Experiment in Terror" with some Hitchcock. The score by Henry Mancini is incredible, exciting. There are several memorable songs from the movie including the main theme, "Experiment in Terror" and also "White on White" to make one of Henry Mancini's very best scores. They don't make them like this anymore. If you want to preserve this film for future use, do yourself a favor and spend a little more on it. The MOD Columbia Classics SONY Choice Collection edition includes a trailer. B&W. 1962.

I love this film. I saw in the theater when it was first released in black and white. I never forgot it. the quality of this dvd is as good as it was in the theater. thanks to whoever released it again.

Underrated little gem (well, I really shouldn't say little since it has stars Glenn Ford and Lee Remick and is a major studio release by Columbia) that cries out for a wider audience.This Hitchcockian suspense thriller, pardon the redundancy, stars Lee Remick (1962 was a good year for her) at her most radiant and Glenn Ford, at his most restrained ans was even shot in San Francisco. Under the taut direction of Blake Edwards and the noirish black & white photography of Philip Lathrop, it matches the old master scene by scene (the villain, a Golden-Globe nominated Ross Martin, even cross-dresses at one point) until the final third, which becomes more conventional. The film is not merely one that was influenced by Hitch, but in the opening scenes even surpasses the Master and Remick matches Janet Leigh in the victim department. The film also makes excellent use of on-location filming and shows San Francisco's ethnic diversity which the Master never did, for all his love for the city. In fact, it is one of the best, if not the best portrayal of Chinese-American community at that time.Watch for WEST SIDE STORY's Ned Glass as a police informant. Mr. Edwards would go on to do shoot DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES next.

You get two discs with this film. A dvd and a blu ray. The dvd would not play in the blu ray player, but the blu ray disc was fine. Picture and sound were very clear. The opening of this movie is terrific with the visuals and Henry Mancini's instrumental, and I was intrigued the minute it started. There was a point at the beginning that I thought the film could be cheesy, but that idea was quickly dismissed as each scene thereafter was suspenseful and original. As another reviewer has said "I would watch Glenn Ford shred paper". That is exactly how I feel and he is great in this film. Lee Remick is terrific. If you are looking for another Glenn Ford movie to add to your collection, this is a great one. However, if you are just looking for a good suspenseful movie to watch...this is it.

Found in my loft along with hundreds of other DVDs, I haven't seen this for 7 years, and I had forgotten how good it is. OK the plot may stretch your imagination/logical thinking, but it is well worked out, written and directed. It is the acting that really got me. Ford can be incredibly methody (!) and full of manerisms ("Fastest Gun Alive" being a prime example), but here he is calm and collected and all the better for it. Lee Remick, one of my all time favourite actresstes is excellent as the threatened heroine who bites back, and the anoymous FBI agents certainly look the part - talk about being obvious - hard faces, trench coats, hats - yep, sore thumb comes to mind. Good location photography, a great climax and a young Stephanie Powers all add up to an almost forgotten first class thriller. 16.9 ratio, good sound, subtitles and clear picture. Recomended.

Interesting & well made movie by Blake Edwards. Though much better known as a comedy director, Edwards proves he was equally adept at fashioning a tense & exciting thriller. Much like director Robert Wise  The Sound Of Music [2 Disc 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition] [1965] [DVD , who created a string of fascinating/hard-boiled noir movies in the 50's/early 60's, this movie shows how adept previous generations of movie makers were, at creating films across a wide variety of genres.Starting with a wild plot twist right at the start, Experiment in Terror moves at a good lick, quickly involving FBI man Glenn Ford, in the story of a terrorized woman (Lee Remick) who with her sister (a really really young Stephanie Powers) become enmeshed in a story involving creepy asthmatic Ross Martin ( Wild Wild West: Complete First Season - 40th Anniv [DVD] [1968] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC ].The direction by Edwards & photography by Philip Lathrop, along with the performance of Lee Remick, who really sells the idea of being trapped/terrorised by Martin, really help lift this movie from being merely routine to superior B picture, helped by a great print, that clearly shows the quality and care of the photography. This is the kind of small well made movie they REALLY don't make anymore.While not all the plot twists are unexpected, there are enough curve balls in the plot & direction to keep you gripped all the way to the end. Highly Recommended. The Sound Of Music [2 Disc 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition] [1965] [DVDWild Wild West: Complete First Season - 40th Anniv [DVD] [1968] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC

The opening of the movie sets the scene. Beautiful score by Henry Mancini, excellent night photography of bank-clerk Lee Remick driving home through a backdrop of city lights. The hypnotic music has an edge, and intimates that despite her relaxed face, something strange and unsettling will happen to this woman. I saw this movie years ago when I was still a child, and certain scenes - the woman in a room of mannequins, the climax at the baseball ground - stuck in my mind. Watching it again as a middle-aged man, those scenes still have power. Glenn Ford pitches his role just right and Lee Remick is superb - she plays someone intimated but not losing her cool, keeping her wits. No screaming, trembling wallflower. The black and white cinematography, the pacing, the characterisations, are first class. This movie was a real treat. I cannot recommend it enough.

This excellent film noir stands the test of time. Glenn Ford and Lee Remick, bring great acting skill to this movie and the plot, cinematography and direction capture the feel of the early sixties in America in this thriller. The film is advertised as being in colour but it is filmed in black and white but this compliments the authentic feel of this era.It's not quite a classic but it is captivating and very enjoyable all the same.

Director Blake Edwards is usually associated with Comedies such as the "Pink Panther" films and "10" and SOB". However he also directed a variety of others such as Days of Wine and roses and Wild Rovers. And this one. This was made in the early sixties in striking Black and white starring a very young Lee Remick and a slightly older Glen Ford. The plot is diabolically simple - a psychopathic criminal ( Ross Martin from TVs Wild Wild West) threatens a bank teller (Remick) and her younger sister with Death unless she steals $100,000 from the bank . She sensibly turns to FBI agent Glen Ford for help. The result is a tense cat and mouse game involving the principal characters and climaxing at a San Fransisco Baseball game. This movie is not flawless by any means -the pacing could be tightened up a bit - The story could be compressed into a shorter time frame. But the performance are first class including a young Stephanie powers as Remick's sister who has a scary ( by 1962 standards) ordeal with the villain and the score by Henry Mancini effectively add to the tension. Recommended for thriller fans .