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Saturday, September 18, 2010

4D Man (1959)

You know how you remember seeing a film in your childhood which you really enjoyed, and then when you see it again, many years later, it really sucks? Happens to me a lot, I'm afraid. Of course, every now and again, there's an exception, and 4D Man was one of those. Now, I know it's not a great film, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still entertaining; well acted, good special effects (for the time), and a reasonable (though derivative) story.


It's probably close to 35 years since I last saw this, and while I remembered the basic concept, of a man who could pass through solid objects, I really couldn't remember much more about it. I did remember thinking it was not bad, though. The most interesting thing, to me, was that I firmly believed that Ray Milland had played the main character. In reality, it was Robert Lansing, in his first film role. Oh well, memory is a fickle thing... Especially mine!

Tony Nelson (James Congdon) is obsessed with the idea of being able to merge solid objects, after seeing a lump of lead and gold which had merged over a long period of time in a museum as a kid. He manages to burn down his employer's factory while experimenting (through sheer carelessness, mind you), and finds himself unemployed. Off he goes to see his brother, Scott Nelson (Robert Lansing), where he meets Linda Davis (Lee Meriwether, in her debut), Scott's assistant and love interest. When Linda falls for Tony, Tony decides to do the honourable thing and leave, but she's insistent.

Anyway, all this is just background. The fun part starts after Scott catches the two of them together and decides to break open Tony's locker and play with the apparatus. Of course, Scott (who, all-in-all is a pretty decent guy, and really doesn't deserve to be cuckolded) succeeds where Tony had failed, and this is where things start going really badly for everyone involved.

Scott soon discovers that he doesn't actually need the gizmo in order to move through objects. After a playful scene where he's walking down the street reaching through shop windows, we see him studying the bank... I guess the temptation was just too strong. Of course, it doesn't take long for Scott to discover that he ages rapidly by using his power, and the next logical step is for him to find a way to reverse the damage. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the easiest way for him to rejuvenate is by sucking the life out of others.

When HG Wells wrote The Invisible Man, he created a precedent which has been used by just about every other writer ever since; power corrupts, and, therefor, if a scientist discovers a new power, they become monsters. Where 4D Man is different is that it isn't the obsessed scientist who becomes the monster/abuses the power, but his brother, who started out with far fewer personality defects. All a bit tedious, but presumably necessary (or, at least, assumed to be necessary) to create conflict.

My only real complaint is the soundtrack. Presumably in an attempt to appeal to a youthful audience, the music is very beatnik and "modern" (for the time). Listening to it now, it just sounds awful! Still, that aside, I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane, and the film still stands up quite well, which is probably why they keep using Wells' Invisible Man paradigm over and over again...