Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 independently made British black-and-white science fiction-horror film drama directed by Arthur Crabtree, and starring Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Michael Balfour, and Kim Parker.

It was produced by John Croydon and Richard Gordon for Amalgamated Productions. The screenplay by Herbert J. Leder was based upon Amelia Reynolds Long's 1930 short story "The Thought Monster", originally published in the March 1930 issue of Weird Tales magazine. The film was released in the U.K. by Eros Films; in the U.S. it was released in June 1958 by MGM as a double feature with The Haunted Strangler (1958).

Screenwriter Leder was originally set to direct the film, but being American, was unable to obtain a British work permit in time, so Crabtree replaced him as director. Thompson later said that when the director showed up on the first day of shooting and looked at the script, Crabtree claimed it was not the film he had been hired to direct, as he did not do "monster" films. After a heated argument with the producers, Crabtree left the set and did not show up for several days. In the interim, Thompson himself directed the film.

Fiend Without a Face was made entirely in England. Its Canadian setting was chosen because it would appeal to both American and British Commonwealth movie audiences, while still being easy to replicate using the English shooting locations. U. S. Air Force stock aviation footage was also used to establish the military base setting and to pad out the film's meager running time. The producers used primarily expatriate American and Canadian actors working in the United Kingdom, plus a few British actors dubbed by Americans.

A reviewer for Harrison's Reports wrote in May 1958, "Up until the last two reels, this British-made science-fiction-horror program horror melodrama is fairly interesting in the usual fantastic sort of way, because it deals with unexplained, invisible monsters who strangle their victims and supposedly suck out their brains and spinal cords. During the final fifteen minutes, however, the picture, instead of being mystifying or horrifying, is just plain revolting, to an extent that even those with strong stomachs may not be able to take it ... Because of its excessive gore, the picture is too unpalatable to be classified as entertainment."

In contrast, a reviewer for Motion Picture Daily in June 1958 wrote, "This entry in the science fiction, horror division sweepstakes is well and logically constructed, capably acted and directed with an eye toward building suspense. The cast is substantially unknown but exploitation of the horror angle is indicated and should be effective."

Later reviews concentrated on the low production values and lack of a cohesive plot, but with a 67% "Fresh" rating at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Fiend Without a Face now is considered one of the best B movies of the 1950s.

James Rolfe called the film the "best killer brain movie ever" and stated that "it may be the goriest film of its time".

Leonard Maltin noted the film's "horrific climax, [and] good special effects." Marcella Papandrea of The Super Network said, "While the film gets off to a bit of a rocky start, it finds its footing fairly quickly though and it becomes quite immersive and intense."

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Arthur Crabtree's Quatermass-style shocker starts off pretty ordinarily but, once the flying spinal cords whip into throat-choking action, the screams you hear may well be your own! British to the core, despite the pseudo-American trappings and fading Hollywood actor Marshall Thompson taking centre stage."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Tepid shocker with well-organised mobile brains."

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Dreary horror film whose only (considerable) interest lies in the special effects, ahead of their time."

Box office

According to MGM records, Fiend Without a Face was released on a double bill with The Haunted Strangler. Together, the two films earned $350,000 in the United States and Canada, and $300,000 in England and elsewhere. The estimated production budget for Fiend Without a Face was £50,000 ($,000); MGM realized a profit of $160,000 on the movie.

While Fiend Without a Face was not a major hit, it was one of the more successful British films released in the U.S. in 1958. Unexpectedly, it performed better in the South, Midwest, and California than in the Northeast, where U.K. imports were usually more well received. MGM was also surprised by market research showing Fiend Without a Face to be a "stronger draw by far" than its companion release, The Haunted Strangler, which failed to generate much audience interest.

The online website Dread Central offered an October 2013 update from Frumkes on his Fiend Without a Face remake:

The website also posted a still from a fundraising trailer that Frumkes had shot for the remake with director Franco Frassetti. As of April 2023, that remake has yet to materialize.

Montreal-based filmmaker Rémi Fréchette produced, co-wrote and directed a web series (2013) and a horror comedy feature film (2014), both called Les Jaunes, which shared the themes and images of Fiend Without a Face, including the military aspects, rural setting, and energy-based brain creatures. In Les Jaunes, an epidemic of yellow crawling brains threatens the lives of the inhabitants of Fort Vince, a reclusive Northern Quebec town.

Home media

The Criterion Collection, a video company known for its painstaking restorations of various film classics, released a deluxe DVD edition of Fiend Without a Face in 2007, having previously released it on LaserDisc.

A high-definition video transfer, created on a Spirit DataCine from a 35 mm film print, was struck from the film's original negative. Thousands of pieces of dirt, debris and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. For optimal image quality, Criterion also encoded the dual-layer DVD-9 at the highest possible bit rate. The film's original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit, and audio restoration tools were used to eliminate clicks, pops, hisses and crackles.

Criterion added these bonus DVD features to their release:

  • A new widescreen 1.66: 1 transfer with a complete digital picture restoration enhanced for 16×9 hi-def televisions.
  • Audio commentary: a conversation with executive producer Gordon and genre film writer Tom Weaver.
  • An illustrated essay on British science fiction/horror film making by film historian Bruce Eder.
  • A collection of movie trailers from various Gordon films: Fiend without a Face, The Haunted Strangler, Corridors of Blood, First Man into Space and The Atomic Submarine.
  • Rare still photographs and ephemera, with audio commentary.
  • Vintage advertisements and lobby cards.
  • New English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired.
  • A new DVD cover art design by David Cohen.

See also

  • List of cult films

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009. New York: New American Library, 2009 (originally published as TV Movies, then Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988. .
  • Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies, American Science Fiction Movies of the 50s, Vol II: 1958–1964. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1986. . Warren's original double-volume work was revised and new material added, including a foreword by Texas science fiction writer Howard Waldrop. It was reprinted in 2009 by McFarland as a single, oversized hardcover "21st Century" volume of 1040 pages.
  • Weaver, Tom. The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon. Albany, Georgia: Bear Manor Media, 2011. .
  • Fiend Without a Face an essay by Bruce Kawin at the Criterion Collection