Experiment in Terror
Reviews
John Chard
Operation Terror. Experiment in Terror is directed by Blake Edwards and adapted to screenplay by Mildred and Gordon Gordon from their own novel called Operation Terror. It stars Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Stefanie Powers and Ross Martin. Music is by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop. Film begins with bank teller Kelly Sherwood (Remick) driving home through night time San Francisco, over head shots capturing the cityscape for backdrop purpose. Henry Mancini’s haunting soundtrack hovers over Kelly’s car in spectral fashion, until she arrives home in Twin Peaks and enters her garage, things fall silent as she gets out the car. She senses she’s not alone, and she’s right. A man whose face is obscured grabs her and puts one hand over her mouth, he tells her in his asthmatic voice that he knows everything about her and her young sister, and that if she doesn’t do as she is told then pain, misery and death awaits them. She’s to steal $100,000 from the bank where she works, he will even cut her in for 20%, what a swell fella eh? It’s a brilliant opening, stylish film making meets a thematic atmosphere full of fear, tension and sexual menace. What follows is a superbly crafted movie, a bona fide thriller that is concerned with characterisations, concerned with wringing out maximum amounts of suspense by way of suggestions and conversations, there is no need to spill blood here, the threat and the fear is palpable throughout. The police procedural aspects of the story, headed by Ford’s trusty and stoic detective, are played out with intelligence and always hold fascination appeal. Especially as the little snatches of time we spend with the villain leaves us in no doubt about how cruel and vile he can be. Edwards takes his time to build the story, stopping every once in a while to unfurl a special scene to reinforce the drama. Stand outs include a classic sequence in a room of mannequins and a genuinely chilling piece where our villain dresses in drag. Then there is the justifiably lauded finale played out at Candlestick Park during the culmination of a major league baseball game, thrilling in its execution and a fitting closure to the screw tightening approach favoured by Edwards. All the while Mancini’s musical accompaniments act as a foreboding presence, dovetailing with the themes and characterisations at work in the play. Visually it’s also impressive, filmed in gritty black and white, Edwards uses intense close-ups to ramp up the tension, dallies with angles to enforce emotional turmoil, while Lathrop always keeps the lenses stark, the contrasts rich and the use of angled shadows is most striking. Cast are superb, Remick makes for a strong heroine in spite of the constant peril she faces, Ford is a bastion of strength and virtue and Powers exudes youthful vulnerability without appearing as a whiny adolescent. Then there is Martin, turning in one of the most menacing villain turns of the 60s, it’s a lesson in how to play evil without actually being extremely physical. As the character shifts from being a murdering predator to a man of heart who cares for a girlfriend’s child, Martin convinces enough to make it a frightening proposition. Highly recommended. 8/10
CinemaSerf
Things take rather a menacing turn for bank clerk "Kelly" (Lee Remick) when she is held by the scruff of the neck, in the dark, by a mysterious intruder. He claims he will not hurt her so long as she does what she is told - and that involves pinching $100,000 from her work. She's naturally terrified and starts to place call to the FBI but he manages to interrupt that call before she can impart much detail to "Ripley" (Glenn Ford). He's quite the detective, though, and soon his team have managed to make arms-length contact and are beginning to work with her to thwart the dastardly plan of this man, whilst keeping herself and her younger sister "Toby" (Stefanie Powers) safe. Blake Edwards keeps the pace of this effective as the determined "Kelly" proves to be no push-over and quite prepared to take risks as the GI-man discovers that she isn't the first candidate for the malevolent attentions of this shrewd, husky-sounding criminal. There's a strong chemistry between the two at the top of the bill and the story provides us with quite a few red herrings to take us to a denouement that reminded me a little of "The Blue Lamp" (1950). It's quite a tense cat and mouse drama that's well worth two hours.
Movie Recommendation
The Candidate1972-06-29Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.More...
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors1965-10-18In the Carpathian Mountains of 19th-century Ukraine, love, hate, life and death among the Hutsul people are as they’ve been since time began. Ivan is drawn to Marichka, the beautiful young daughter of the man who killed his father. But fate tragically decrees that the two lovers will remain apart.More...
The Dark Mirror1946-10-17A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.More...
Mirage1965-10-29In New York City, David Stillwell struggles to recover his memory before the people who are trying to kill him succeed. Who is he, who are they, and why is he surrounded by murder?More...
Green for Danger1946-12-07In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural hospital. But was the death accidental?More...
Johnny Apollo1940-04-19Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then turns to crime to raise money for his father's release. As assistant to mobster Mickey Dwyer, then falls for Dwyer's girl Lucky. He winds up in the same prison as his father.More...
Yield to the Night1956-06-19Locked in her cell, a murderer reflects on the events that have led her to death row.More...
Fate Is the Hunter1964-11-08A man refuses to believe that pilot error caused a fatal crash, and persists in looking for another reason. Airliner crashes near Los Angeles due to unusual string of coincidences. Stewardess, who is sole survivor, joins airline executives in discovering the causes of the crash.More...
The Night Heaven Fell1958-04-05Ursula finishes her studies and returns to her aunt Florentine and uncle, Ribera who is the count. She falls in love with Lambert, the killer of her uncle.More...
La Jetée1962-02-16A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.More...
To Catch a Thief1955-08-03An ex-thief is accused of enacting a new crime spree, so to clear his name he sets off to catch the new thief, who’s imitating his signature style.More...
Duel1971-11-13Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.More...
Green Book2018-11-16Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.More...
The Turin Horse2011-03-31A monumental windstorm and an abused horse's refusal to work or eat signal the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.More...
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle2018-05-18Humanity's desperate battle to reclaim the Earth from Godzilla continues. The key to defeating the King of the Monsters may be Mechagodzilla, a robotic weapon thought to have been lost nearly 20,000 years ago.More...
The Godfather1972-03-14Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.More...
Last Year at Marienbad1961-05-25In a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before.More...
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master1988-08-19Freddy Krueger is resurrected from his apparent demise, and rapidly tracks down and kills the remainder of the Elm Street kids. However, Kristen, who can draw others into her dreams, wills her special ability to her new friend, Alice.More...
Feel the Beat2020-06-19After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.More...
After Hours1985-09-13Desperate to escape his mind-numbing routine, uptown Manhattan office worker Paul Hackett ventures downtown for a hookup with a mystery woman.More...
Similar Movies
The Poseidon Adventur...
1972-12-01When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.Die Hard
1988-07-15NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.Starship Troopers
1997-11-07Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."The Birds
1963-03-28Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.Frenzy
1972-05-25London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.The Man Who Knew Too ...
1956-05-16A couple vacationing in Morocco with their young son accidentally stumble upon an assassination plot. When the child is kidnapped to ensure their silence, they have to take matters into their own hands to save him.The Experiment
2001-03-0820 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.To Die For
1995-09-22Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.Jaws
1975-06-20When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.The Da Vinci Code
2006-05-17A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.The Conversation
1974-04-07A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.Trainspotting
1996-02-23Hilarious but harrowing, the film charts the disintegration of the friendship between Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, Tommy and Begbie as they proceed seemingly towards a psychotic, drug-fuelled self-destruction.The Usual Suspects
1995-07-19Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.Soldier of Orange
1977-09-22The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.Memoir of a Murderer
2017-09-07A former serial killer with Alzheimer's fights to protect his daughter from her mysterious boyfriend who may be a serial killer too.The Long Goodbye
1973-03-08In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.The Beach
2000-02-03Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.Bunny Lake Is Missing...
1965-10-03A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.Zodiac
2007-03-02The Zodiac murders cause the lives of Paul Avery, David Toschi and Robert Graysmith to intersect.Misery
1990-11-30After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.