On 4 July 2022, I watched the 1959 sci fi movie 4D Man, as recommended to me a few days previously by Facebook friend Paul Clacher – and I enjoyed it very much.
Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr, produced by Jack H. Harris, and released in 1959 by Universal-International, 4D Man is based upon an original idea by Harris, and it has also been variously entitled The Evil Force and Master of Terror in re-released form. It concerns the incredible discovery by maverick scientist Dr Tony Nelson (played by James Congdon) of how to induce any object to enter a so-called 4-dimensional state, in which it can pass through any other object.
However, his older, embittered brother Dr Scott Nelson (Robert Lansing), also a scientist yet perpetually overlooked by his employer, steals Tony's discovery and uses it upon himself, but with drastic consequences. Yes, Scott can now pass through solid objects, enabling him to steal a huge amount of money from a nearby bank, but every time he enters the 4-dimensional state, even for just a moment, he ages dramatically.
Scott subsequently finds that he can reverse this aging process by touching another person, for in so doing Scott drains that person's life-force, killing the person by inducing in him or her extreme old age. Now a serial killer in order to survive, Scott soon becomes a wanted man by the police, but can Tony, from whom Scott stole this double-edged discovery, come to his rescue? And what about Scott's girlfriend Linda Davis (Lee Meriwether), whom Scott earnestly wishes to marry, even though he realises that it's only his brother Tony that she has eyes for? Let's just say that the ending of this film is not at all what I'd been expecting, instead providing a deliberately novel twist.
The version of 4D Man that I viewed apparently had a scene missing, in which Scott reportedly attacks a gang of thugs in a sleazy bar to devastating effect, but it is still an engrossing watch, spoilt only by an incessant and very loud jazz soundtrack that resolutely plays on, and on, and on, interminably, even in the most inopportune and inappropriate moments, thus destroying any sense of suspense or drama, which is a great shame. By contrast, the special effects are very good for the late 1950s, readily accomplishing the several 'walking through walls' scenes and other 'slipping through solid matter' set pieces that are integral to this movie's central storyline.
Apart from Lee Meriwether, who was making her film debut here, but whom I most readily recall as Catwoman in the 1960s movie version of the popular Batman TV show starring Adam West (and in which Catwoman was initially played by Julie Newmar, later by Eartha Kitt), none of the actors or actresses were overly familiar to me. Nevertheless, they put in perfectly acceptable performances, in particular a very intense, driven interpretation by Lansing (for whom this was his film debut too) as the principal protagonist. Interestingly, Lansing wouldn't have been given the part had the original choice for it not been so difficult to work with that he was summarily dropped – a certain Steve McQueen…
All in all, I found 4D Man to be an unusual, memorable sci fi movie, which I'm very glad to have learned about and watched. And if you'd like to view an atmospheric official trailer for it on YouTube, be sure to click here.
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