''4D Man'' (also known as ''The Evil Force'' in the UK; reissued as ''Master of Terror'' in the US) is a 1959

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

American

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

in color by De Luxe, produced by

Jack H. Harris Jack Henry Harris (November 28, 1918 – March 14, 2017) was an American film producer and distributor. He produced ''The Blob'' (1958), ''4D Man'' (1959), and ''Equinox (1970 film), Equinox'' (1970). Biography Harris was born to a Jewish famil ...

(from his original

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

), directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., and starring

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wils ...

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...

, and James Congdon. The film was released by

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Plot

A brilliant but irresponsible

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

, Dr. Tony Nelson, develops an electronic

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

that he hopes will allow any object to achieve a 4th dimensional (4D) state. While in this state, any object can pass freely through any other object. Tony, however, fails to pay attention to the overload, which sparks an

electrical fire A fire class is a system of categorizing fire with regard to the type of material and fuel for combustion. Class letters are often assigned to the different types of fire, but these differ between territories. There are separate standards for t ...

that burns down his lab. This results in the university terminating his contract. Now unemployed, Tony seeks out his brother, Scott, also a Ph.D., to help him with his experiment. Scott is a researcher in a plant located in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

, and is working on a material called Cargonite that is so dense that it is impenetrable. Scott is underpaid and unappreciated at his new job. He does not have the necessary drive to ask his employer, Mr. Carson, for greater recognition. Scott has become the driving force behind the development of Cargonite, named after Carson, who is now taking much of the credit for Scott's work. When his girlfriend, Linda Davis, falls for Tony, an enraged Scott steals Tony's experiment and starts playing around with it, eventually transforming himself into a 4D state. When demonstrating this to Tony, Scott leaves the amplifier power turned off, yet he successfully passes his hand through a block of steel. Scott can now enter a 4D state at will. Tony is amazed, but warns Scott not to reveal this ability until he can further test for possible side effects. In the lab, Tony realizes what transpired on an earlier experiment of his; to fuse lead with gold. Tony realizes that through an extremely slow process the two substances can merge, and his experiment was to forge them immediately, which he realizes would break down the substances. While in the 4D state (signified by a 'shimmering' sound effect), Scott can pass through any solid object. He experiments with his new abilities by shoplifting a piece of fruit through a grocery store's solid window. Scott also notices a diamond necklace on display in a nearby jewelry store window, but decides against stealing it. When he sees a bank, however, his face breaks into a sly grin. However, he soon discovers that the process ages him at a greatly accelerated rate. The aged Scott accidentally learns how to survive, when he visits the company doctor, who, to his horror, suddenly drops dead while examining him. He realises that by passing any part of his body through another person, Scott can drain anyone's lifeforce, thereby rejuvenating himself. The following day, news hits town that $50,000 was stolen from the bank with no sign of forced entry, nor any video footage of the crime. Strangely, a $1000 bill was found protruding from a solid piece of tempered steel, leaving the authorities perplexed. Tony realizes that Scott is abusing his power and tries to convince the police. Scott starts using his newly-found power to acquire all the things he felt he was denied: money, recognition, power, and women. Scott confronts Carson, revealing the experiment, then taking his revenge "for the life drained from me" by literally draining Carson's lifeforce. Scott then proceeds to a sleazy bar, where he gets some street toughs to back down. When he goes to open the door his hand goes through it even though he didn't want to be intangible. With his newfound bravado he ignores this development; combined with his victory over the toughs and his ill-gotten money, he impresses a

bar girl A bargirl is a woman who is paid to entertain patrons in a bar, either individually or, in some cases, as a performer. The exact nature of the entertainment varies widely from place to place; depending on the venue this can be individual enterta ...

. When they later kiss Scott's power turns itself on again and the B-girl flees in horror now that she has rapidly aged, her blonde hair now white. The police have to find a way to stop a man who is unstoppable. Looking very old now, Scott returns to the lab, but the police are unable to stop him, as well as a rival scientist who tried to steal Tony's work, whom Scott kills and thereby becomes less aged. Linda begs Scott to come to his senses. Scott kisses her, but unlike with the B-girl, his power is off and she has not aged. Linda then shoots Scott in solid form. Bleeding and feeling betrayed, Scott maniacally proclaims his invincibility and defiantly phase-shifts his body (albeit with difficulty) through a wall embedded with supposedly impenetrable Cargonite. "The End" appears on screen, followed a moment later by a question mark. This

interrogative An interrogative clause is a clause whose form is typically associated with question-like meanings. For instance, the English sentence "Is Hannah sick?" has interrogative syntax which distinguishes it from its declarative counterpart "Hannah is ...

statement leaves in question whether the aged Scott died or survived.

Cast

as Dr. Scott Nelson *

as Linda Davis * James Congdon as Dr. Tony Nelson * Robert Strauss as Roy Parker *

Edgar Stehli Edgar Stehli (July 12, 1884 – July 25, 1973) was a French-born American actor of the stage, the screen and television. Early years The son of an English mother and a German-Swiss father, Stehli was born in Lyon, France. The family moved to Ne ...

as Dr. Theodore W. Carson *

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

as Marjorie Sutherland *

Guy Raymond Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorp ...

as Fred *

Chic James Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

as B-girl * Elbert Smith as Capt. Rogers *

George Karas George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

as Sgt. Todaman (como George Kara) *

Jasper Deeter Jasper Deeter (July 31, 1893 - May 1972) was an American-born stage and film actor, stage director, and founder of Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, one of the first regional repertory theatres in the United States. Career Deeter gai ...

as Dr. Welles * Dean Newman as Dr. Brian Schwartz * John Benson as reporter

Production and release

was able to begin production of the film with the money he had received from ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe a ...

'' (1958) which was also directed by Yeaworth. It was the film debut of

and

. Young

also makes a small cameo appearance in the film.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 80%, based on 5 reviews, with a 5.5/10 average.

References

Bibliography

* Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties'', 21st Century Edition (revised and expanded). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. .

External links

* * * {{Irvin Yeaworth 1959 films 1959 horror films American independent films American science fiction horror films Films about technology Mad scientist films 1950s science fiction horror films 1950s English-language films Universal Pictures films 1959 independent films Films directed by Irvin Yeaworth 1950s American films