Indestructible Man

I am not really sure why the film has an overall score of 3.2 at this time--it's really NOT a bad film. And, for the budget behind it, the people responsible for INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN should be proud of the final product.

Oddly enough, this is a film that doesn't easily fit in one genre. The best way to categorize it is a "sci-fi/horror film with strong Film Noir overtones". Why sci-fi/horror? Well, the plot involves a scientist accidentally reviving a man who was executed. Upon being revived, the man finds he is practically indestructible and goes on a killing spree--to kill those who framed him as well as any other person who just happens to get in his way. Now as to the Noir aspects, the film is shown in a semi-documentary style like many Film Noir movies and features the usual narration--this time by the detective working on the case. In this sense, it's reminiscent of Noir films such as HE WALKED BY NIGHT and T-MEN.

Despite the merging of these genres, I think the film worked because the acting was decent and the writing showed imagination and a slight Noir edge to it. Considering two of my favorite genres are Noir and 50s horror/sci-fi, it's not at all surprising I liked it. About the only negative was the stupid and needless inter-cutting of closeups of Lon Chaney's rheumy-looking eyes (i.e., watery and perhaps looking like he was drunk--a distinct possibility in Chaney's case). This just looked cheap and seeing the same pointless closeup shot again and again was sloppy.

I have to say it, I love this movie. Not just for Lon Chaney but for the whole realistic approach to making the movie adopted by director Jack Pollexfen. Shooting in the real grimy, mean streets of downtown L.A. not only saved money but added a neo-film noir realism to everything. Lon picks up some quick pocket money playing Charles "Butcher" Benton (we are never told how he got the nickname and maybe are better off for not knowing) a career criminal railroaded to the gas chamber by his ex-partners. He is quickly brought back to life by a well meaning scientist (Robert Shayne) who needs a body to test his cancer cure theory. He zaps Chaney with 278,000 volts (how is THAT supposed to cure cancer?) and restores him to life as "a vicious, brutal animal with an almost inconceivable amount of strength". His partners (who have names like "Squeamy" Ellis) are suddenly in big trouble! Editing seems to be all over the map in one instance and it seems scenes were shot but then dropped. For example near the end of the film Lt. Chasen (Casey Adams) talks about Eva Martin (Marion Carr) getting out of the hospital. Why was she there? Stills exist showing Chaney rampaging through a police station and trying to carry Ms. Carr away. Jack Pollexfen also recalled directing a scene where Chaney destroyed a precinct and tore open jail cells looking for one of the men who betrayed him. Why were these scenes missing? Do they still exist? Let's start checking those film vaults! The cast is great, apart from Lon Chaney and Robert Shayne (NEANDERTHAL MAN, INVADERS FROM MARS, etc) there is also Ken Terrell (ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN), Casey Adams (THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD) and don't go for popcorn or you'll miss an unbilled Joe Flynn as a lab assistant. Scriptwriters Vy Russell and Sue Bradford later teamed up again to do the Grade-Z classic THE ATOMIC BRAIN.

Low budget; simple dialogue; filmed in shades of black and white; this is a great example of those early Sci-fi/horror flicks that entertained our imaginations. The body of a violent criminal, 'Butcher' Benton(Lon Chaney Jr), is accidentally brought back to life and the speechless bad man is determined to kill the three people responsible for his ride in the electric chair. Many close ups of Chaney's raised eyebrows and grimacing face. Marion Carr plays the killer's love interest. Three well traveled character actors(Max Showalter, Ross Elliott and Joe Flynn) provide support. This is really fun to watch.

First let me say that this is...without any hesitation....a bad film. It has choppy transitions, cheap sets(wait till you see the lab equipment), mediocre to horrible acting, and some of the most ridiculous plot developments to grace any film. Yet, this is one fun film to watch. Charles "Butcher" Benton is killed in the electric chair only to be sold to scientists who bring him back to life. No scientific explanation is really given for this feat, but Lon Chaney comes back to life and with a vengeance. See, he wants to kill the three guys that put him in prison, a sleazy lawyer and two small hoods. Chaney is definitely fun to watch, and except for a few lines early in the picture, is mute throughout. He is a mute killer who literally throws people all over and kills with no discrimination at all. Chaney has many close-ups of his face and the way his eyes move is hilarious! I laughed myself silly any time he got mad and started to throw people. The cast is pretty average to below average with a couple exceptions. Max Showalter does a good job as the cop hot on the trail of the Butcher and the lovely blonde playing Eva Martin is nice to look at and has some talent as well. Look for Joe Flynn...yes, Captain Binghamton himself in a small role as a scientist's assistant. Lots of fun!

This is another one of these "not bad" sci-fi/horror/crime/drama/whatever you want to label it 1950s B-films.

The cast actually has some fine actors, men like Casey Adams who starred in "Niagara" with some no-name dames called Marilyn Monroe and Jean Peters, and Lon Chaney, a familiar name among fans of this genre.

The is the tried-and-true revenge story. In this case, a man who is executed is taken from a mortuary to a scientist's lab where the doctor is experiment on cancer research. That doctor, by the way, is another familiar face - that of Inspector Henderson of Superman television fame (Robert Shayne). Oh, the assistant is Joe Flynn, also of TV fame (McHale's Navy.) I'm telling you, this had a pretty good cast.

Well, Charles "The Butcher" Benton (Chaney) is brought back to life, much to the surprise of the doctor and his assistant. "The Butcher" then shows his gratitude by killing those two guys and then grabbing a car and hightailing it from San Francisco down to Los Angeles. He's searching for his shyster lawyer and two other gang members who turned stoolie on him. His mission: kill those three guys.

I won't give away the rest but it's enjoyable to watch to see the "B" floozies in here and the generally schlocky-like story. It's a low-budget fun movie. Yet, despite all that, when it was all over - frankly - I thought this film could have been better, even on a small budget. I wonder if anyone else feels that way.