Review of Experiment in Terror (1962) by James H — 09 Apr 2010

It's a tough sell to describe any film from 1962 as "frightening" to an audience today. We live, after all, in a movie world of three-dimensional buckets of gore -- not to mention terrorism in real life. So how about I just call "Experiment in Terror" "effective and creepy"? It's definitely that, in no small measure thanks to an unlikely director and a musical genius.

Blake Edwards, whom most people associate with comedy (the "Pink Panther" films), made just one excursion into the realm of suspense, and it was a doozy: "Experiment" stars Lee Remick as unfortunate bank teller Kelly Sherwood, targeted by asthmatic menace "Red" Lynch (Ross Martin) to steal $100,000 from the bank where she works. Lynch, to prod Kelly along, embarks on a systematic terror campaign, including the abduction of her younger sister.

Edwards filmed the movie in black-and-white, and his use of light and shadow is masterful; San Francisco at night never looked eerier. Bit by bit, Edwards reveals his villain to the audience: first shadows, then a closeup of a mouth, then a profile -- just as Lynch gradually escalates his threats against Kelly.

Aiding and abetting all of this is a hair-raising musical score, courtesy of Henry Mancini. Mancini's music is creepy and crawly, like footsteps slowly advancing up the basement stairs, making their way toward you in the dark.