''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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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, mutants, i ...

in color by

De Luxe The De Luxe was an American automobile manufactured in 1907 by the De Luxe Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. The De Luxe was a high-priced vehicle for its day, retailing for around $5000 (). De Luxe took over the factory belonging to the Ki ...

, 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). Early life Harris was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, ...

(from his original

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

), 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 the 42nd United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1915 to 1920. As Counselor to the State Department and then a ...

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

, and James Congdon. The film was released by

Universal-International Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...

Plot

A brilliant but irresponsible

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches 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, philosophers engag ...

, 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 is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...

that he hopes will allow any object to achieve a fourth-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 Fire classification is a system of categorizing fires with regard to the type(s) of combustible material(s) involved, and the form(s) of suitable extinguishing agent(s). Classes are often assigned letter designations, which can differ somewhat b ...

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

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

, 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. He soon discovers, though, 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 realizes 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 were 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 newfound 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 did not 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 or nightclub. Variants on the term include "B-girl" and "juicy girl". Many bargirls work as a bar hostess, engaging individual customers in conversation. They may also provide them ...

. 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, which leaves Scott's fate undetermined.

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 Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016), known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ...

as Marjorie Sutherland *

Guy Raymond Guy Raymond (born Raymond W. Guyer; July 1, 1911 – January 26, 1997) was an American actor. When he was 15, Raymond debuted professionally as a comedy dancer. Before he became an actor, he danced for 14 years, sometimes performing solo and so ...

as Fred *

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

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

George Karas George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

as Sgt. Todaman (como George Kara) * Jasper Deeter as Dr. Welles *

Dean Newman Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

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 S. Yeaworth Jr. from a screenplay by Theodore Simonson and Kate Phillips, based on an idea by Irving H. Millgate. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first leading role ...

'' (1958), which was also directed by Yeaworth. Backing for the film came from non-industry sources and it was filmed in

Chester Springs, Pennsylvania Chester Springs is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is centered on West Pikeland Township, and extends into Charlestown Township, Upper Uwchlan Township, Wallace Township, East Nantmeal Townshi ...

. It was originally planned to be filmed in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

but the plan was scrapped due to lens problems. It was the film debut of Lee Meriwether and Robert Lansing. Young

also makes a small appearance in the film.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the film has an approval rating of 80%, based on five 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 Films shot in Pennsylvania American mad scientist films 1950s science fiction horror films 1950s English-language films 1959 independent films Films directed by Irvin Yeaworth 1950s American films English-language science fiction horror films English-language independent films