4D MAN (1959)

4D MAN (1959)

Tagline: He Walks Through Walls Of Solid Steel And Stone... Into The 4th Dimension!

(Sci-Fi, Thriller, Stuff That Makes Magicians Jealous) [PG]

I don't believe it. I'm a cop. I work with facts. Now I have to start looking for something that saps the life out of a man like juice out of an orange.

In this one, a scientist named Dr. Scott Nelson’s brother Dr. Tony Nelson discovers a formula that allows him to pass through matter. Only his brother Scott is the one that uses it. As a side effect however he loses energy and ages really fast. Like a vampire, he needs to suck the life force from other people in order to reverse the aging process for himself but speeds up theirs to the point of fatality. Can they figure out how to cure him before he terrorizes the city killing everyone he encounters?

First off, it is very likely this movie’s plot led to the storyline of several other movies.  Possibly even the powers of comic characters like “Rogue”, from the X-MEN who didn’t come into existence till 1981. If you just excuse the Charlie Mackenzie from SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER poetry night music, this thing is a lot better. Sadly the music just really throws it off which may be part of the reason this movie really doesn’t seem to get much attention even in sci-fi fan circles.  

For the ’50s the effects are actually quite amazing and even surpass movies that came out a decade or more after. I mean this dude is reaching through stuff and other people and it’s all just pretty rad. There are a lot of aging effects used in this movie as well that are very effective. 

Most famous for ISLAND CLAWS and Star Trek, Robert Lansing delivers a fantastic performance with quite a bit of range as Dr. Scott Nelson. Especially as this movie ramps up, Scott goes from someone you would hang out with to someone you want to stay 100 feet from at all times. He basically got the role because Steve McQueen was deemed difficult to work with while working on THE BLOB. Lee Meriwether does a good job as a researcher and Dr. Scott Nelson’s assistant. Meriwether is an accomplished actress with 123 acting credits but is still best known for being “The Catwoman” in the 1966 BATMAN TV show.  James Congdon plays Dr. Tony Nelson and does a good job, but doesn’t stand out quite as much as the other two talents I mentioned. In the second half of the movie, he’s hardly featured at all. We also have an Elbert Smith sighting as Capt. Rogers. What is interesting about Smith’s career is that he was only in 2 movies ever, this one and 1958’s THE BLOB (also produced by Jack H. Harris). 

Pacing wise this movie is solid and to be honest, I really don’t have a single complaint about this movie outside of this goofy soundtrack they choose. If you can imagine STAR WARS with the GREASE soundtrack playing in the background, that gives you an indication of how out of place the music is. 

Overall however this movie is intriguing and successful in accomplishing the mission of bringing something cool and well-executed to the screen. This movie deserves a lot more respect in regards to being part of the sci-fi conversation when it comes to the 50s. 

For me, this is a 5 out of 7 and could have been a 6 out of 7 with a better soundtrack. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF FAIRVIEW PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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