''Four Sided Triangle'' is a 1953 British

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, interstellar ...

directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

, adapted from the 1949 novel by

William F. Temple William Frederick Temple (9 March 1914 – 15 July 1989) was a British science fiction writer, best known for authoring the novel-turned-film ''Four Sided Triangle''. Early life and career Temple was born in Woolwich in 1914.Mike Ashley, "Intro ...

. It stars Stephen Murray,

Barbara Payton Barbara Lee Payton (born Barbara Lee Redfield; November 16, 1927 – May 8, 1967) was an American film actress best known for her stormy social life and battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. Her life has been the subject of several bo ...

and James Hayter. It was produced by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

. The film dealt with the moral and scientific themes (not to mention "mad lab" scenes) that were soon to put Hammer Films on the map with the same director's '' The Curse of Frankenstein''. ''Four Sided Triangle'' has most in common with Fisher's ''

Frankenstein Created Woman ''Frankenstein Created Woman'' is a 1967 British Hammer horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein and Susan Denberg as his new creation. It is the fourth film in Hammer's ''Frankenstein'' series. Where ...

'' (1967).

Plot

Dr. Harvey, a rural physician, breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

to relate an unusual occurrence that happened in his village. The bulk of the story is told in flashback. Bill and Robin are boyhood friends who compete for the affections of Lena, a beautiful girl about their own age. Lena's family moves away, and in adulthood the two men become scientists. They collaborate on the Reproducer, a machine that can exactly duplicate physical objects. Lena returns to the village, and Bill and Robin's forgotten childhood feelings return. In time, they abandon their work on the Reproducer, and Robin leaves the village to learn his family's business. Bill is disappointed to discover that Lena loves Robin and intends to marry him. Hoping that he can win Lena's affections, Bill convinces her to allow him to use the Reproducer to create a duplicate of her. The experiment succeeds, and Bill names the duplicate "Helen". Because Helen is an exact copy, when she is introduced to Robin she also falls in love with him. Bill believes that electro-shock therapy can be used to erase Helen's knowledge of Robin. Not wishing to compete with Lena for Robin's affections, Helen agrees to the therapy. Bill convinces Lena to help him with the procedure. The process proceeds as planned, but the apparatus overheats, explodes and causes a terrific fire. Robin and Dr. Harvey arrive in time to rescue a woman from the fire. Bill and the other woman perish in the flames. Harvey, having been briefed on the situation by Robin, discovers that the woman has amnesia. The two men wonder whom they have saved. Dr. Harvey recalls that Bill had to start Helen's heart with a device that he attached to the back of her neck, leaving two scars. Robin is relieved to find that there are no marks on the neck of the woman they rescued: It is Lena.

Production details

''Four Sided Triangle'' was an early effort by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. The laboratory set includes "a welter of retorts, alembics, rheostats and plain, old neon tubing". This chaotic, improvised laboratory setting has been contrasted with the sophisticated labs portrayed by Universal Horror pictures of the 1930s. The picture relies on a minimum of trick photography and special effects, which may have been compromised by its limited budget. Two days of the five-week schedule were filmed in August, 1952, at

Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a World Heritage Site and tourist location with approximately ...

, and photographed for

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

magazine of the 30th. of August, that year by George Douglas.

Differences from the novel

''Four Sided Triangle'' features some differences from the original novel by

. In the novel, the duplicate (named Dorothy and nicknamed Dot) falls into depression for being married to Bill while she's in love with Robin. She has a breakdown and has to go on holiday with Bill to recover. When they return, Bill starts working on a power generator which explodes, killing him. Lena tries to convince Robin to accept both her and Dot, but he refuses. A couple of weeks later, Lena and Dot have an accident while diving in a river. One of them dies and the other is seriously injured. Dr. Harvey and Robin are startled when they discover that the surviving woman can't recall anything after the duplication, and suppose she's repressing all the painful memories, so she may be Dot. Dr. Harvey finds in Bill's notes about the marks on Dot's neck and tells Robin, convincing him that the survivor is Lena. In an epilogue, he reveals that he also discovered a note in which Bill recalls that, during her holiday, Dot had undergone plastic surgery to erase the marks, which means there is in fact no way of knowing whether the survivor is Lena or Dot. Dr. Harvey destroys the note, enabling Robin and Lena (or Dot) to remain happy in the certainty that the survivor is Lena.

Cast

(Lena Maitland/Helen) * James Hayter (Dr. Harvey) * Stephen Murray (Bill Leggat) *

John Van Eyssen John Van Eyssen (born Matthew John Du Toit Van Eyssen, 19 March 1922 – 13 November 1995) was a South African born actor, agent and film production executive. He moved to Britain following the Second World War, attending the Central School ...

(Robin Grant) *

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later rem ...

(Sir Walter) *

Glyn Dearman Glyn Dearman (30 December 1939 – 30 November 1997) was an English actor, originally a child actor, whose career spanned almost two decades, including the eponymous '' Jennings'' in BBC ''Children's Hour'' "Jennings at School". Dearman is perha ...

(Bill as a child) * Sean Barrett (Robin as a child) * Jennifer Dearman (Lena as a child) *

Kynaston Reeves Philip Arthur Reeves (29 May 18935 December 1971), known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series. Early life Reeves was born in London on 29 May 1893 ...

(Lord Grant) * John Stuart (Solicitor) * Edith Saville (Lady Grant)

References

Sources

Hearne, Marcus & Jonathan Rigby. ''Four Sided Triangle: Viewing Notes'' (accompanying R2 DVD release)

External links

* * {{Terence Fisher 1953 films 1950s science fiction films British science fiction films Films directed by Terence Fisher Films scored by Malcolm Arnold Films shot at Bray Studios Films set in England Hammer Film Productions films Films based on science fiction novels Films based on British novels British black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films