By Lee Pfeiffer
The Blu-ray release by Twilight Time (limited edition of 3,000) of the 1962 thriller Experiment in Terror serves as a reminder that, with the success of the Pink Panther franchise, director Blake Edwards left behind some solid credentials outside of the comedy genre. After the Pink Panther films took the world by storm, Edwards stuck with lightweight, amusing subject matters, but in doing so, often grabbed at low-hanging fruit. (Most of the Panther films have not aged nearly as well as we might think they have.) Edwards was a rising young director in '62, coming off the success of Breakfast at Tiffanys. The release of Days of Wine and Roses that year proved Edwards could direct drama as well as comedy, but with the success of the Panthers, Edwards only rarely dabbled in non-comedic genres. Curiously, in the early 1970s he did three dramas back-to-back: Wild Rovers, The Carey Treatment and The Tamarind Seed, then inexplicably never ventured outside of comedy again. Experiment in Terror is one of Edwards' least-heralded but most interesting non-comedies. The story finds Lee Remick as Kelly Sherwood, a beautiful young woman who leads a middle-class life, working as a teller in a San Francisco bank. She serves as guardian for her 16 year-old sister Toby (Stefanie Powers), who shares a house with her in the suburbs. Kelly's ordinary lifestyle comes to a shattering halt one evening when an unseen man grabs her from behind as she enters her garage. In a hushed but terrifying voice, he informs her that he is orchestrating a plan whereby she will steal $100,00 from her bank - or he will murder her. Although she is warned not to contact the police, she does precisely that- but her assailant seems to know her every move and physically terrorizes her. He also warns her that any other disregard for his instructions will result in her sister's death as well. Nevertheless, Kelly makes contact with San Francisco detective John Ripley (Glenn Ford), who advises her that she will be under constant surveillance and that she should pretend to comply with her assailant's instructions. All the while, the police search frantically for clues to the man's identity. As the story progresses, police efforts go awry, leaving Kelly and Toby at the mercy of the psychopath, who they learn is named 'Red' Lynch (Ross Martin)- a man who has killed previously. Lynch manages to outmaneuver police and kidnap Toby, thus forcing Kelly to go along with the plot to steal the money. The big payoff sequence comes when she is to deliver it to Candlestick Park baseball stadium where Lynch intends to get the stolen funds from her amidst the crowds attending the game.
What is refreshing about Experiment in Terror is the screenplay by "The Gordons" (Mildred and Gordon), the bizarrely credited team who had written the best-selling novel upon which the film is based. There are no super hero types in the story- just everyday people who find themselves thrust into a terrifying scenario. The police are dedicated, but make mistakes. Kelly and her sister try to be brave but are clearly scared out of their minds, as any normal person would be. Remick and Powers give very fine performances, as does Ford, whose low-key style has been disparaged in some quarters. However, his refusal to steal scenes makes his character even more convincing. Ford's talent was in underplaying his roles and this is the perfect example. The legitimate scene-stealer is Ross Martin as Lynch, a performance so powerful that it was actually utilized as a marketing gimmick. His name never doesn't appear in the opening credits or on the poster. However, director Edwards does reward him with the sole on screen credit in the final frames of the film. Martin's Lynch is a fascinating villain. He's clearly an ingenious criminal, staying one step ahead of police at every turn. Although he resorts to physical violence, he is pragmatic, promising Kelly a share of the loot if she cooperates in his scheme. Lynch is also a sexual predator and a man who thinks nothing of killing anyone who poses a threat to him. In the film's eeriest sequence, he stalks a female artist in her studio, which is strewn from floor to ceiling with mannequins, making for a particularly chilling atmosphere. Refreshingly, the screenplay doesn't make Lynch a one-dimensional character. When Ripley tracks down a woman who has been dating him, he finds she has an entirely different view of the man, as he has been inexplicably providing financial support for her hospitalized son.
The Twilight Time Blu-ray accentuates the gorgeous B&W cinematography by Philip Lathrop that grabs you from the opening sequence in which Kelly drives across the Bay Bridge. There is also a fine score by Edwards' frequent collaborator Henry Mancini that is presented on an isolated track. The extras include a selection of trailers and TV spots and an excellent booklet with notes by Julie Kirgo, who makes perceptive comparisons between this film and Cape Fear, which was released the same year. (Both movies center on how a stalker can destroy the lives of the innocent people he targets.) Experiment in Terror is highly recommended.
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