Experiment in Terror (1962) User Reviews

Great thriller from Blake Edwards

[FilmOtaku · 7/10 · 20 April 2004]

Since my exposure to Blake Edwards beyond his comedies has only been `Days of Wine and Roses', which is one of the most depressing films I've ever seen, I wasn't sure what to expect in the way of a thriller from a director who I largely respect. `Experiment in Terror' which stars Lee Remick and the always great Glenn Ford, turned out to be an outstanding and slick film which was thoroughly enjoyable.

While the story, about a bank teller who is threatened with the kidnapping of her younger sister if she doesn't steal 100K from her employer, and the FBI agent (Ford) who tries to both protect her and find out who the extortionist is, does not rely on cheap thrills in order to create suspense. Rather, the black and white film and noir-like shadows help build the tension while not taking away from the story. The cinematography is extremely crisp, and, like many well-made noir films of the 40's-mid 60's, you can almost imagine each frame as a beautiful photograph.

While I'd never heard of this film until coming across it on one of the movie channels, it is well worth looking for.

--Shelly

Solid Crime Story With Nice Cast

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 11 February 2006]

Although it's two hours long and there is nothing much resembling today's blood and guts-action-a-minute thrillers, this 1960s crime story still entertains, thanks to an interesting cast.

Sure, they could have chopped off 15 minutes of this to make it a bit tighter but watching Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Stefanie Powers and Ross Martin isn't all bad, especially Remick, a gorgeous woman with one of the sweetest, softest voices I've ever heard. Powers, 19 when she filmed this, was easy on the eyes, too. Martin is effectively creepy as the asthmatic killer and Ford is good as the no-nonsense FBI man after him. I look at Ford as one of the better and underrated actors of his generation.

The DVD also shows off some nice film noir-type photography to its best. The clothing, cars and hairstyles might be a little out-of-date but the dialog isn't, and it's refreshing to watch a crime film without today's profanity laced through it.

Overall, it''s solid film-making.

Excellent and suspenseful

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 8 February 2006]

Glenn Ford is an FBI agent; Lee Remick is the victim of someone she's never seen in "Experiment in Terror," directed by Blake Edwards and also starring Stefanie Powers and Ned Glass. Remick is very effective as a plucky bank teller who's approached from behind and told to steal money from the bank where she works. The only thing she can tell the FBI is that it's a man who has heavy, asthmatic breathing.

Ross Martin plays the criminal. He's a thief and murderer; he also is in love with a Chinese woman and is paying for her son's operation. Her terrorizes Remick and her sister (Powers). Martin really died too soon. He was a wonderful actor, and this was a great role for him.

Glenn Ford is a dream FBI agent, and why do I think there are no FBI agents like this? He's gentle, kind, and concerned, not to mention handsome. He has a nice chemistry with Remick.

There are some great scenes in "Experiment in Terror." One of the best takes place in the apartment of a woman who makes mannequins; and several take place right at the beginning, when Martin accosts Remick and later surprises her in her home. The scene in which he kidnaps Stefanie Powers is downright scary. Powers is unbelievably young here, but she was a good actress even then and gives a convincing performance.

The big scene takes place in Candlestick Park which several posters have written about. Not having their expertise, I won't.

I really love the atmosphere Blake Edwards created in this film, and I love the casting of Ford, Remick, Martin, and Powers. This is a fine film, definitely worth a watch if you want to see how good movies are made. Suggested rather than shown violence, no special effects, black and white - yet it still works.

"A successful experiment in terror."

[bengleson · 29 September 2002]

There are so many things to praise about this frightening little picture. The performances are uniformly excellent. San Francisco is captured in a 40 year old time capsule yet the fear and terror are as vivid in 2002 as they must have been in 1962. Ross Martin is an able and elusive villain with some ability to engender loyalty in friends. As has been noted, the terror visited on Lee Remick's character Kelly Sherwood, is real and intense and persistent. In an age that equates terror with fanaticism and major special effects, all that this little noir required was poor breathing, a telephone, skilled camera work, great performances and a slam-bang script. Bravo.

Exciting thriller crackles with suspense , thrills , and first rate performances.

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 20 September 2010]

This thrilling movie deals with two sisters threatened , a killer and a FBI agent who pursues him . Coming home late one night Kelly (Lee Remick) is attacked in her garage by an asthmatic nasty named Red Lynch (Ross Martin) who convinces her he knows of all her daily life , particularly her employment at the bank where she works as bank teller. He terrorizes her into agreeing to help him rob the office a lot of money or he says he will murder her and also the teenager sister Toby Sherwood (Stefanie Powers) who lives with her . Then Kelly agrees but out of threat calls the FBI and speaks with Agent Ripley , a stalwart G-man (Glenn Ford), but the lines goes dead when the psychopathic extortionist comes into the house and attacks Kelly again . The FBI agent is hot on the trail of sadistic murderous , fighting the clock .

This stylish picture is packed with intrigue , nail-biting suspense, thrills , chills and formidable interpretations with acting uniformly magnificent. Taut noir thriller has an asthmatic psycho killer excellently played by Ross Martin who steals the show and gives an unnerving portrait of evil . Gorgeous Lee Remick as accosted woman , an effective Glenn Ford as obstinate Inspector and a likable and very young Stefanie Powers . Classic musical score by Henry Mancini , Blake Edwards's usual . Evocative cinematography in black and white with ominous atmosphere by Philip Lathrop , reflecting splendidly the San Francisco locations. The motion picture is stunningly produced and directed by Blake Edwards . After successful drama as ¨Days of wine and roses¨ and directly following ¨Breakfast at Tiffanys¨ , Blake launched himself in a new direction with this suspenseful movie . Edwards went on filmmaking sophisticated slapstick comedies as ¨Pink Panther¨, ¨ A shot in the dark¨ and ¨The great race¨ and another thriller as ¨The Carey treatment¨ . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching . The tension grabs hold of you from the start to the end and maintains you on the edge of your seat .

A Film That Lives Up To Its Title

[Rich-99 · 9/10 · 14 April 1999]

"Experiment in Terror" is a superb example of how to scare the hell out of you without a trace of gore, blood or gratuitous violence. For all intents and purposes this is a police procedural where the aim is to track down a stalker/blackmailer/murderer. Filmed in black and white the film revels in darkness and uses it to create its more unsettling moments. Imagining what we are barely seeing in the dark and letting our imaginations run wild is scarier than seeing a graphic depiction. Ford and Remmick turn in excellent performances under Blake Edwards' deft direction. Best of all is Ross Martin as the world champion heavy breather. Martin is generally known for more lighter roles but his rather sinister turn here is very fine. Stark photography, often at night, and a subtle yet unsettling score by Henry Mancini are icing on the cake. To be watched with the lights out.

Late Film Noir, well done, falls short of the top

[a666333 · 7/10 · 20 January 2011]

When I saw that this was directed by Blake Edwards and with music by Henri Mancini, I was a bit worried but things turned out OK. Edwards works wholly within the established conventions of the film noir genre and he is very competently supported by camera and lighting work. There is no brilliant innovation but everyone definitely knows what they are doing. Mancini's music is completely appropriate and as good as one could ask for.

Thus, if you are studying film noir and how to produce such films, this is a good representative technical example. In 1962, the elements, however well executed must have been very familiar to its audience. However, if you are coming to it without having seen many others, it will grab you.

In fact, the opening scene will grab anyone. The various elements work very well and the viewer is pulled right in. However, the strength of that opening scene is one of the reasons the film falls short of a top rating. Great suspense and sense of threat is created there but it cannot be sustained. Instead of building to a crescendo, we are dropped solidly into the deep water but allowed to meander our way to the shallows until we emerged relatively relaxed at the end. The film does throw in twists and turns that keep you guessing at times but the level of tension ebbs away. The contrast with other films of this type that succeed in genuinely having you on pins-and-needles toward the end is strong.

One of the reasons for that could be that we see Ford and his FBI colleagues so numerous and well mobilized on the case. Much of the film consists of their earnest investigations and support of the intended victims. We thereby get the sense that they will inevitably prevail. We also see Ross Martin's villain as multifaceted and not as all-threatening as he might be despite the very convincing start up.

The acting as noted by others is good from top to bottom and in the case of Martin, top notch. If we could only get that more often today!!

Did this inspire David Lynch?

[jwaterman · 9/10 · 10 July 2003]

Just saw this movie for the first time and the DVD transfer just released is fine.

From the moment this film opens, I couldn't help but wonder how many times Lynch has seen this movie. Those of you who've seen Experiment should know what I mean.

The score, the angles, the subdued dialogue all help to create one heck of a moody, brooding piece of work. I couldn't agree more with some of the other IMDB comments here...this is a great piece of film noir, if not the last great piece of film noir for a particular generation!

What I so admire about classic film-making from years past is how directors, like Blake in this instance, don't or couldn't resort to gratuitous blood and nudity to creat atmosphere. Unlike Lynch, who exploits graphic gore and nudity, Blake thrills with mere thoughts of sexual deviency and violence.

The opening scene to Experiment is one I shall not forget soon! As our villain forces himself on Remick and proceeds to dirty her ears with the filth of what he could do to her is just simply incredible film-making. It reminded me of the scene from Lynch's Wild at Heart where Dafoe's character has Dern's character in his filthy clutches. Except in Experiment, I think it works even better...why? Because there were no profane words or over-the-top characterizations, just simple text and superb acting that later matches a villain who seems quite normal as he strolls the streets of San Fran. I really believed the characters in this film...Blake puts everyone in context.

Congrats to Blake Edwards on his only serious movie...I wish you had done more! And, Mancini is as sly as ever on the score. I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this movie and am happy to have it as part of my DVD collection. Although, I'd love to see Criterion get a hold of this one...I'd love to learn more about the history of this film.

Above Average Thriller from the 60's

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 21 October 2017]

When the bank clerk Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) arrives home after hours, she is intimidated by a stranger that knows her routine habit. He threatens Kelly and her sister Toby (Stefanie Powers) to force her to heist $100,000 from her bank; otherwise he will kill her. Kelly does not see his face but notes he is asthmatic. Kelly succeeds to lure the criminal and contacts the FBI agent John 'Rip' Ripley (Glenn Ford) that advises Kelly how to behave and assigns a group of agents to keep Kelly and Toby under surveillance. But when Toby is abducted by the stranger, Kelly tries to stay calm to help the FBI to catch the criminal.

"Experiment in Terror" is an above average thriller from the early 60's in a noir style directed by Blake Edwards and with Glenn Ford, Lee Remick (whom we all miss so dearly) and Stefanie Powers on the lead roles. The story has flaws but the storyline is excellent and Ross Martin performs a great villain. When Lee Remick's character Kelly is attacked for the first time, her eyes are impressive even in a black- and-white film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Escravas do Medo" ("Slaves of the Fear")

Before the concept of "serial killer" really caught on.

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 22 October 2006]

This is the film that really established character actor Ross Martin as a superb performer. Up to 1962 he had become a face on television shows, such as a couple of episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. But he was possibly best known for appearances on PANTOMINE QUIZ, which showed his own wit and talents - but very lightly. He had not been given a sizable acting part in a film, and Blake Edwards cast him here as "Red" Lynch, the asthmatic criminal mastermind, who uses and abuses women across the country, leaving their bodies as his calling card.

In 1962 there had been several cases of spree killers in recent years, such as Starkweather in Nebraska only five years earlier. But the last serial killers of note were probably the "Lonely Hearts Killers" Beck and Fernandez in the late 1940s. But to find one like Lynch, who criss-crosses the country and leaves victims, one would have to go back to the 1920s or so, with figures like Charles Pazram, Albert Fish, and Earle Nelson. But (except for Pazram, who occasionally committed burglaries), most of the serial killers concentrated on depraved sexual killings of one type or another. One would have to go back to H.H.Holmes to find one like the fictional Lynch, forcing his victims to assist him in thefts or robberies. As for the concept of these special multiple killers as "serial killers", the title had not become popular with the public in 1962. It really was not until the 1980s, with figures like De Salvo, Corona, Dahmer, Gacy, and Bundy that people started to discuss killers who moved about and killed over several states over a long period of time as in a special category.

Lynch also has two other characteristics. One is that he is asthmatic. The idea of any villain having a physical condition that might gain him or her sympathy was a new one (but Blake Edwards always has a habit of thinking ahead on his movie characters). Secondly, Lynch turns out to be a hero to at least one little family. Despite his propensity to murderous rage and violence, he actually cares for a young sickly boy and his mother. This too, by the way, is not unusual among serial killers. They can pick out somebody to be domestic with - a kind of oasis of quiet and apparent normality in their world of violence.

From the start of the picture, the villain is shown and not shown. We see Martin's lips moving in their threatening manner when he confronts Lee Remick in her suburban garage, informing her how easy it is for him to get at her and her sister Stephanie Powers, unless she agrees to help rob her business for Lynch's/Martin's sake. The scene is mostly in the dark - like evil snatching at Remick (which it really is). Martin's features are only revealed later in the film, as Glenn Ford slowly pulls the clues together. But he gets real mileage with the little we occasionally see - watch him on the phone, accusing Remick of talking to a cop. He makes the word "cop" sound like a slang term for a venereal disease.

Remick is a woman who is very reluctant to get police help, especially as this unknown fiend has threatened her sister as well as herself. She goes to Ford (the local FBI man) and almost is lost to further openness about her danger, but Ford is soon aware of a second woman who also was trying to contact him - one that he was too slow to respond to - whom he finds as a corpse. Soon he is openly seeking out Remick, and gradually getting her to trust him and the Bureau to assist her and Powers.

All of the leads are fine in this, as well as Ned Glass in another one of his off-beat supporting roles. Here, as "Popcorn" he is an informant who has to be treated like he is a detective if you would get information from him - and he is prickly about this.

The suspense never lets up, as "Lynch"/ Martin seems to keep one step ahead of the authorities up to the conclusion at a baseball game. It is an exciting climax for a good thriller. And afterward, while Martin never had the full movie stardom his talents deserved, he was more than just an interesting "face". Artemus Gordon was around the corner, and television fame beckoned.

Elaborately staged thriller runs out of credibility toward the end...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 26 August 2010]

I have to agree with another review which wondered why ROSS MARTIN didn't just rob a bank himself if he wanted that $100,000 so badly, instead of terrorizing a young bank clerk (LEE REMICK) and her not too bright sister (STEPHANIE POWERS). Her sister walks right into the robber's den, completely unaware that his phone call is a hoax.

Otherwise, Blake Edwards has directed this taut yarn with skill--a yarn which would have been even tighter if the suspense hadn't been dragged out to interminable length. Many stretches of film go on too long before the key point is made, as for example with the woman who has an unusual occupation.

There are several edge of the seat moments, but this could have had even more impact if the pace were quickened rather than slowed down in spots toward the segment of the film that deals with the sister's kidnapping. At that point, it loses some of its credibility.

Good performances help sustain whatever suspense there is, especially from LEE REMICK, GLENN FORD, ROSS MARTIN and NED GLASS.

Skillfully directed but needed a tighter script.

Night And The Foreboding City

[Noirdame79 · 8/10 · 11 December 2006]

While director Blake Edwards is not predominantly known for his thrillers, this 1962 noirish entry is gripping and frightening - particularly the first hour. Henry Mancini provides an unnerving "mod" score similar to the one he would for Stanley Donen's "Charade" a year later. Shot in black in white, restored to widescreen format on DVD, the San Francisco locations (including the Golden Gate Bridge and Candlestick Park) gives this film a interesting aura.

Lee Remick is a young bank teller named Kelly Sherwood, who lives with her teenage sister, Tobey (Stefanie Powers). One night she is accosted in her own garage by an asthmatic psychopath, "Red" Lynch (Ross Martin, menacingly frightening), who promises to kill her and her sister if she doesn't go along with his scheme to rob her bank. He informs her that he is aware of her every move and is not afraid to resort to violence if she does not go along with his scheme. The shaken young woman contacts FBI agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) who does all that he can to protect the sisters and explore every angle he can to bring Lynch down. He soon discovers that this sadistic criminal has a penchant for women who can get him loot, and then leaves their battered corpses for all their effort. Nancy Ashton (Patricia Huston) is one such lady who contacts Ripley for help but her fate is already sealed (watch the eerie, voyeuristic sequence in her mannequin filled apartment - shiver).

It begins to drag a bit in the second hour, with the introduction of a Chinese woman, Lisa (Anita Loo) who is an unwitting file cabinet for Lynch - the evil killer is paying for her handicapped son's medical treatment. While this element may not have been needed, Ford's interaction with the boy is utterly touching, as is his concern for Kelly and her younger sibling. When Lynch is able to catch hold of Tobey for leverage, he debates whether to molest her or not (forcing her to undress), but for some reason, cannot go through with it. With Kelly in the crossfire, Ripley and his fellow agents close in on him in a memorable climax in Candlestick Park's baseball stadium.

Unlike the gratuitous violence and nudity often found in films today, "Experiment In Terror" relies on plot development, effective camera angles and concentrated performance in order to bring out fear in the viewer, and for the most part, it does it in spades. Ford's courageous, quiet embodiment, Remick's strong yet gentle performance and Stefanie Power's moving, sweet vulnerability give this taut movie all that it requires. And Ross Martin is the perfect villain - menacing, stalking, cold-blooded, manipulative, and deadly! And by all means, keep the lights on! The DVD features subtitles and two trailers, "The Big Heat" and "The Lady From Shanghai".

No-nonsense thriller

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 19 April 2004]

There's nothing in the least splashy about this crime thriller. No car chases, so squib charges, no fireballs, no big fat ugly guns, and very little violence, but it gets the job done in ways that make you nostalgic for the pre-junk period.

It's crisply photographed in wide screen black and white. Mancini's score leans heavily on cool low woodwinds and piano and is used sparingly. Decent use is made of San Francisco locations without that pastel tourist mecca being thrust in your face. I do wish, though, that some day a good movie would have a scene shot in my favorite pub, The Edinburgh Castle on Geary. I've only seen another of my favorites in one movie, Julius's in the Village, before it went gay. A scene was shot there for "Next Stop, Greenwich Village," I think. I wonder if my initials are still scratched on the men's room wall. It was a filthy saloon festooned with cobwebs and may not have been painted in the last quarter of a century. Where was I?

Oh yes, "Experiment in Terror." Well, the acting is like the rest of the movie, solid, professional, craftsmanlike. Stylishly attractive Lee Remick, a bank teller or cashier or something, is coerced by asthma-riddled Ross Martin into stealing lots of cash from the bank. Contrary to instructions, she contacts FBI agent Glenn Ford. Ford and his colleagues go about coaching her in how to respond and what to do next. There are some unforeseen slip-ups along the way. The landlord of a murder victim's apartment is introduced as an early lesson in how to portray a gay guy on screen.

Martin kidnaps Remick's younger sister, Stephanie Powers, and hauls her away to a deserted clothing storehouse where, during a scene of intense expectation, he makes her undress. The men in this early 60s audience may have been panting to see more of the teen-age Powers, but all they get to see is an unflattering bra and half slip that look like they were issued by the United States Army. Well, I didn't say the movie was perfect.

But seeing her undress reminded me that women are built differently from men, entirely aside from reproduction. If a dress zips up the back, a woman can reach over her shoulder to the zipper with one hand, and up behind her back under her ribs with the other, and unzip the dress using both hands. No human male is capable of such contortions, not even those who wear dresses. Pardon my divagations but the voices tell me to do it.

Maybe a bit too much time is spent at the ballgame in Candlestick Park. I was never a Dodger fan, even when they were in Brooklyn. And one closeup of Don Drysdale's face goes a long way, although he pitches one ball that makes me leap in my seat a little. Some spectacle is added to the shoot out but it still comes across as forced and a little dumb. Martin is alone in the middle of Candlestick Park, surrounded by cops and covered from above by a police helicopter. He's been cool and under control all along. But what does he do now? He panics and begins shooting at the helicopter.

Martin isn't a one-dimensional villain though. He is having an affair with an attractive Chinese woman, attends church with her, and is fond of her son to the extent of paying for the kid's hip operation, visiting him, bringing him presents. It's this sign of humanity that trips him up at the end. A touch of humanity is also given to Ned Glass as an informant who sells criminal information to the highest bidder. He's all business. But after coming face to face with Remick and her threatened sister, he decides not to sell his information to the papers but to hand it over to the police to use as they will. This costs him his life. And the cops look dispassionately down at his body and one of them remarks, "Well, I guess you can't expect to live forever in his line of business." No good deed goes unpunished.

You should see this if you have the time. If it's never gripping, it's still never less than interesting. Fans of current action movies might not enjoy it much. It's in black and white, and nobody's head gets wrenched out of its socket.

Experiment results in a C-

[funkyfry · 5/10 · 9 October 2002]

The top-notch score by Mancini can do little to lift this thriller above the norm. Solid script, effective if unoriginal photography and directing. But shouldn't somebody have told Blake Edwards that loud ringing noises cease to startle an audience after the first couple of uses? In fact, I noticed a movie audience not unnerved but just annoyed by this early 30s cheap thrill effect.

The first scene, with Remick trapped in her garage by a man who tells her she must rob $100,000 for him from the bank where she works or he will "do something" to her or her younger sister, is a stunner, but it gives away any surprises (and thus the possibility of real suspense) the rest of the film might have had to offer. Even the conclusion, with Glenn Ford and the other FBI men tracking the killer through a crowd (looks murky, you can't even tell what's happening) and onto the center of the baseball field, is contrived and generates no suspense. I mean, what's less suspenseful than a bunch of cops shooting a guy down in the middle of a field?

One of the worst Blake Edwards movies I've seen (and I'm a fan, I LIKE his movies..... when they're good).

Good but flawed

[jridings · 6/10 · 6 November 2008]

This is a good movie, a thriller, but there needs to be a lot of "suspended disbelief" on the viewer's part to make it work for you. And there are some unexplained circumstances that make the viewer pause and wonder. For example, the villain, played by Ross Martin, seems to be an evil genius who is a master of disguise, manipulation, and eluding the police and FBI. But if he's such a genius, why doesn't he rob the bank himself? And why is is trying to get a naive, inexperienced, lowly teller to do it? That just bothered me through the whole movie. It didn't fit. The energy he put into manipulating a naive teller into pulling a big bank heist could have been better put to use by doing the job himself. It's not a minor point I'm making; it's enough to get in the way of the movie. If that was better explained, it would have made it a much better film. I realize the point wasn't just a bank heist plot, it was terrorizing a scared woman into doing it. But it's a loose end that should have been better addressed.

Ross Martin is Sensational! Best scenes even filmed at a baseball stadium!

[irish44 · 10/10 · 11 July 1999]

It's San Francisco in the very early 1960's. We've never heard of Inspector Harry Callahan of the SFPD. The Giants have recently moved to town from New York. When they play the Dodgers, it's always a sellout. And tonight, the Dodgers are in town and Don Drysdale is pitching. Great night to be at Candlestick Park if you're a baseball fan, or if you're a psychopathic extortionist!

Ross Martin is absolutely terrifying as the asthmatic extortionist who kidnaps little sister Stephanie Powers and demands $100,00 from bank teller Lee Remick. Glen Ford gives perhaps his finest performance as the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Martin instructs Remick to deliver the payoff to a sold out Candlestick Park during a Giants-Dodgers game. Real major league stars make cameos during the baseball scenes.

The late Ross Martin is sensational! If you've never seen this film, I promise you won't be disappointed.

bank teller forced to steal from unknown assailant

[rogerjillings · 7/10 · 7 April 2005]

Glossy thriller concerning pretty bank teller Kelly Sherwood(Lee Remick)who's coerced into embezzling $100,000 by a unseen asthmatic killer who will threaten to kill her young sister Toby(Stephanie Powers)unless she agree's to the demands,F.B.I agent John Ripley(Glenn Ford)is assigned to protect them & foil the blackmailer.Atmoshphic tension build's through out the film as the bank teller is under scrutiny by the assailant at all times & watching her every move & a game of cat & mouse is played out.which heighten the suspense right to the nerve-racking conclusion.Blake Edwards bird eye camera view direction add to the paranoia.

One of the few

[lisagcollins58 · 9/10 · 11 January 2015]

This movie is one of the few that I remembered from childhood! I watched it on TV and was stunned by the presentation of the characters and the direction of it. The scenes were just creepy, and intense and I just loved it! I was SCARY GOOD, and when I saw it on a late night movie thrill fest I just had to watch it again, since I hadn't seen it since I was a kid. And it made me shiver just like it did the first time. For anyone who is a fan of the film noir genre this is one to watch and enjoy. Turn down the lights, get a glass of wine or your favorite tea, and make sure the doors are locked because this will give you that "Who's there?" feeling.

The G-Man and the Bank Teller...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 27 March 2007]

Asthmatic psychotic terrorizes pretty San Francisco bank teller and her kid sister after hatching a plan to get the working girl to steal $100K from her job. Written by the Gordons via their book "Operation Terror", this crime-drama from director Blake Edwards has a sterling black-and-white look, a fine Henry Mancini score, and good performances by a first-rate cast. Unfortunately, the script feels half-finished, with details and subplots never made clear. A great deal of time is spent examining the psycho's relationship with an (innocent?) Oriental woman and her ailing son (there's also a tie-in to the case with the murder of a local woman who painted mannequins, yet the sequence appears to be included solely to feature her corpse hanging amongst the fake limbs and torsos--stylish but distracting). There's a lot of chatter amongst Glenn Ford and his G-men about whose money victimized Lee Remick will actually be removing from the bank, yet when the time comes she seems to be acting all alone (with suspicious eyes on her). Edwards paces the film carefully, steadily, though in the beginning this slow build works against the scenario's effectiveness (this may lose some restless viewers before the movie even gets cooking). The locale is wonderful, and Remick and Ford have a nice rapport, even if nothing is built upon their obvious attraction. When the big finish comes, it's unsatisfying; we're left pondering all the empty bases the screenplay failed to cover. **1/2 from ****

A taut psychological thriller

[Aldanoli · 9/10 · 5 August 1999]

Before Ross Martin became the amiable Artemus Gordon on "The Wild, Wild West," and before Blake Edwards began making those Pink Panther movies, they joined up for this complex, thoroughly convincing story of a sadistic thief who terrorizes bank teller Lee Remick to gain her complicity in a heist. Edwards makes effective use of the San Francisco locations, of Glenn Ford's portrayal of a tough FBI agent, and of Henry Mancini's jazzy score to weave this taut, psychological suspense tale.

A Movie of Parts

[dougdoepke · 28 January 2012]

No need to recap the plot. Director Edwards had a good feel for the bizarre, starting with his seminal TV series Peter Gunn (1958-61), which featured a number of bizarre characters unusual for 50's TV. Here, that flair shows up, for example, with the proto-human manikin scene and with Red Lynch in scary drag. In my book, Edwards was a more innovative force in Hollywood than he's been credited with.

This is a decent thriller, a big hit on first release. But seeing it now, it seems much of that initial drawing power came from the many bizarre little touches novel to audiences of the time. Because, as a thriller, the movie is stretched too long and paced too deliberately to be really effective. Add to that a couple of dangling sub-plots—the unexplained manikin lady and the extraneous Asian mother and son—and you may wonder what went on in the writers' room. And, of course, there are those puzzling aspects to the crime, well enumerated by other reviewers.

I suspect another reason the film's over-stretched was to accommodate big name Glenn Ford, then at the height of his popularity. He does a good job here as the relentless FBI agent. But truth be told, those sequences could have been profitably shortened with a lesser-known actor since the role is basically a routine cop one.

All in all, this is a movie of fascinating touches and parts rather than a tightly sustained whole. Thus, it's still worth seeing. But for good, sharp impact, there are some better ones from that same period still around, e.g. Narrow Margin (1952); Beware, My Lovely (1952); The Killer Is Loose (1956). So catch up with them if you haven't already.

The Streets of San Francisco

[BaronBl00d · 7/10 · 31 May 2008]

Above-average thriller directed by Blake Edwards about a young bank teller(Lee Remick) and her younger sister(Stephanie Powers) being terrorized into stealing from the bank or suffer the consequences. On the case is FBI agent Glen Ford. Edwards does a marvelous job creating tension throughout the film. The haunting, wonderful musical score by Henry Mancini helps create the seedy soul of the crime, the conflict, and the persona of the killer. The streets and hills of San Francisco as well as Candlestick Park(?)are effectively used almost as a separate character. The brisk pace, the credible story, and the excellent acting by Remick, Ford, and in particular Ross Martin add immeasurably to the overall mood. Remick is lovely and strong as the woman being blackmailed into stealing money or die. Powers is okay. Ford, using some restraint, gives a nice, even performance. Edwards deserves most of the credit here though as he definitely showcases his abilities as a director. The whole scene in the baseball stadium is decidedly nerving and wonderfully executed.

Tension. Terror. Dark. A classic!

[michaelRokeefe · 8/10 · 15 August 2014]

EXPERIMENT IN TERROR is a classic if there ever was one. Director Blake Edwards is excellent in keeping an audience tense and at the edge of their seats. Kelly Sherwood(Lee Remick)is a very nice looking bank teller that is forced into embezzling a cool $100,000 by an asthmatic psychopath. Miss Sherwood is confused at first and then the terror sets in, when the mysterious man threatens to kidnap her sister, Toby(Stefanie Powers),and use her as collateral. Kelly tries to stay calm, but terror hits the ceiling when the gasping for breath 'Red' Lynch(Ross Martin) threatens to kill the young sister. The terrorized bank teller decides to take a chance with getting in touch with the F.B.I. and agent John Ripley(Glenn Ford), will race with the clock to find Toby and catch the blackmailer before matters get worse.

Filmed in San Francisco and making good use of iconic locales. There is very little time to realize this is a suspenseful two hour long movie. Ford is an acclaimed veteran of the screen, but Miss Remick is the star of this thriller. She is easy on the eyes and convincing in her bravery and vulnerability. Martin makes for a much feared and dark villain. And the music of Henry Mancini is haunting. In support are: Ned Glass, Clifton James, Roy Poole and Patricia Huston.

EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (Blake Edwards, 1962) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 10 April 2006]

This was a thriller I had been longing to watch for some time, having missed its sole TV showing several years ago. The fact that director Edwards does not typically dabble in the genre (albeit having learned his lesson from the masters extremely well) should excuse its occasional pretentiousness - most evident in the long two-shot at the beginning of Lee Remick's first encounter with Ross Martin and the similarly extended (and basically irrelevant) sequence in the mannequin lady's apartment prior to her murder.

The film's deliberate pace and methodical approach creates a riveting and unrelenting tension and the various subplots (focusing on Stefanie Powers as Remick's younger, liberated sister; Ned Glass as a sleazy police informer; the aforementioned and possibly nymphomaniac 'mannequin lady'; and Martin's Japanese 'family'), while making it longer than is perhaps necessary, are so well nurtured that they give the film an extra edge - thus further enhancing its essential quality. Acting is top-notch: Glenn Ford is one of Hollywood's most likable, reliable and underrated leading men; Remick and Martin (a memorable and complex heavy, who also gets to do his menacing act in drag!) are perfect as victim and aggressor.

Also, the film's pervasive noir-ish atmosphere (propelled by Henry Mancini's unusual score and superbly caught by Edwards and cinematographer Philip Lathrop) is indication that the genre wasn't quite done yet; indeed, EXPERIMENT IN TERROR can be seen as marking perhaps the transition point between old-style noir and the so-called neo-noirs spearheaded by POINT BLANK (1967).

Since I work as a bank teller myself, I'm always fascinated by caper films and, in this case, I couldn't help but empathize with Remick's plight; however, I found some aspects of the plot unconvincing: the bank manager's refusal to put up the ransom money, the fact that Remick was kept active on front-office duty during this nerve-racking period, Remick cramming $100,000 in two bundles into her little purse and, finally, the supervisor not noticing the missing cash from Remick's own till at the end of the day...

Experiment in Not That Much Terror

[rcraig62 · 5/10 · 22 May 2005]

Experiment in Terror is an OK movie, but it really doesn't rise much above the level of your basic TV movie-of-the-week. I guess I could nitpick on all the plot details that I just didn't get. Why would Lee Remick's first impulse be to call the FBI as opposed to the local police? It is San Francisco, after all, not some jerkwater small town operation. Why was she sneaking the $100,000 into her purse if the whole thing had been set up previously with Glenn Ford and her boss to take the money anyway? Why does Glenn Ford say, "Well, it's too bad about Popcorn" after Ford shoots that middleman who comes to answer the phone which is clearly not Popcorn (as the camera moves away, we see Popcorn, looking solemnly at the dead body with his bag of popcorn in hand)? At Candlestick Park, why doesn't Ross Martin have two seats together for himself and Remick, so he can just take the money and leave? Instead, he grabs her violently in the middle of an exiting crowd of about 50,000. Why does Martin gesture like he wants to rape Stefanie Powers, then, after she whimpers a little, he gives something like an 'Aw, shucks' reaction and just forgets the whole thing? What a sweetheart! And that story Martin tells Powers to get her to come running to him in the first place was just about the cheesiest ever.

The biggest problem with the movie is that, at no time in the picture did I think Lee Remick was in any kind of danger. Ford's G-man is on the case within the first 10 minutes of the film. The subplot involving the Asian woman and her son added nothing to the story. It's a complete throwaway. On the positive side, Ford, Remick, Martin, Ned Glass, and the guy who played Ford's sidekick are all very very good. Henry Mancini's score is terrific, as it nearly always is. The location shots in and around San Francisco of Fisherman's Wharf, Candlestick Park, etc. are gorgeous, and the opening tracking shot of Lee Remick driving over the Bay Bridge at night is absolutely spectacular. One more thing- toward the end, in the Candlestick Park sequence, the Giants are playing the Dodgers, and Vin Scully's voice is heard on the soundtrack briefly giving the Dodger radio call of the game. Those thirty seconds almost redeem the entire film.