By Lee Pfeiffer
One of special effects animation wizard George Pal's least-known films is also one of his most impressive. The Power, a 1968 MGM release, finds George Hamilton as a scientist who heads a panel investigating how much pain the human body can withstand. Ostensibly, it's for research concerning safety for astronauts, but in short order the experiments unveil a disturbing truth. Someone on the investigative team seems to have managed to harness an almost supernatural ability to thwart the experiments by killing off the scientists one-by-one. This person has found a way to manipulate the minds and thoughts of his peers and is intent on using his power for evil purposes. Hamilton finds himself in a Hitchcock-like position of being an innocent man framed for the murders. He goes on the lam with help from g.f Suzanne Pleshette as he dodges death at every turn to unravel the real killer's identity.
Unlike most George Pal productions which emphasize special effects, The Power (based on Frank M. Robinson's novel) is a literate, down-to-earth thriller with only a modicum of stop-animation work. The film is consistently engrossing and well-directed by Pal collaborator Byron Haskin. The impressive supporting cast features a wealth of familiar faces, all giving impressive performances: Michael Rennie, Arthur O'Connell, Aldo Ray, Earl Holliman, Ken Murray, Barbara Nichols, Nehemiah Persoff and Yvonne De Carlo. The movie has an increasingly eerie tone that at times suggests the atmosphere of both John Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May and Basil Dearden's The Man Who Haunted Himself. Hamilton, who was all-too-often cast as a pretty boy, does well playing a man suffering from both physical and psychological torture in his quest to clear his name. There's also plenty of retro-chic sex appeal from a wealth of glamor girls cast in supporting roles (including a bizarre screen credit that reads "Miss Beverly Hills"!). The movie also boasts an excellent score by the legendary Miklos Rosza. This one is an under-rated gem on all counts.
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