The Tingler
Encyclopedia
The Tingler is a 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....

 horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

-thriller film by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

/director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 William Castle
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....

. It is the third of five collaborations with writer Robb White
Robb White
Robb White was a writer of screenplays, television scripts, and adventure novels; most of the latter had a maritime setting — often the Pacific Navy during World War II. White was best known for juvenile fiction, though he has proven popular with adults as well...

 and stars Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...

, Darryl Hickman
Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...

, Patricia Cutts
Patricia Cutts
Patricia Cutts was an English film and television actress.-Biography:Born in London, Cutts was the daughter of the writer-director Graham Cutts. Her first roles were small parts in American films such as I Was a Male War Bride and The Man Who Loved Redheads and the television shows Alfred...

, Pamela Lincoln
Pamela Lincoln
Pamela Lincoln is an American actress who played many roles in television and film. She was married to Darryl Hickman The marriage ended in divorce. They had two children...

, Philip Coolidge and Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn was an American stage and film actress. She was born Evelyn Morris in Seneca, South Dakota.Evelyn appeared on Broadway in the following plays:* The Shrike as "Ann Downs"...

.

The film tells the story of a scientist who discovers a parasite in human beings, called a "Tingler", which feeds on fear. The creature earned its name by making the spine of its host "tingle" when the host is frightened. In line with several other Castle horror films, including the 1958 Macabre
Macabre (1958 film)
Macabre is a 1958 thriller film directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Jacqueline Scott, and Susan Morrow. It is considered Castle's first foray into using the promotional gimmicks that later made him famous...

and 1959 House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted...

, Castle used gimmick
Gimmick
In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature...

s to sell the film. The most well-known for The Tingler was called "Percepto!", which featured vibrating devices in some of the theater chairs which activated in time with the onscreen action.

The Tingler received mixed reviews and is generally considered a camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...

 cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...

.

Plot

A pathologist, Dr. Warren Chapin (Price), discovers that the tingling of the spine in states of extreme fear is due to the growth of a creature that every human being seems to have, called a "Tingler"; a parasite which lives by attaching to a human spine. It curls up, feeds and grows stronger when its host is afraid, effectively crushing the person's spine if curled up long enough. The host can weaken the creature and stop its curling by screaming.

Movie theatre owner Oliver Higgins (Coolidge), who shows exclusively silent films, is an acquaintance of Dr. Chapin. Higgins's wife Martha (Evelyn), who is deaf and mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...

, dies of fright after weird, apparently supernatural events have occurred in her room. During her autopsy, Chapin removes the Tingler from her spine. The centipede
Centipede
Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...

-like creature eventually breaks free from the container they held it in, and is released into the theater that the deaf mute woman was running before she died. Chapin wishes not to tell anyone, knowing it would start a panic. The Tingler latches onto a woman's leg, and she screams until it releases its grip. Chapin controls the situation by shutting off the lights and telling everyone in the theater to scream. When the Tingler has left the showing room, they resume the movie and go to the projection room where they find the Tingler and capture it.

After they have contained the Tingler and have returned to Higgins' house, it is revealed that Higgins is the murderer; he frightened his wife to death knowing that she could not scream because she was mute. Knowing that the only way to neutralize the Tingler is to reinsert it inside Martha's body, Chapin does so. After he leaves, Higgins, who has admitted his guilt to Chapin, is left alone in the room. As if by supernatural forces, the door slams shut and locks itself, and the window opens, echoing what happened just before Martha was frightened to death. The Tingler causes the body of Martha to rise from the bed. Martha "stands up", and stares at her husband. Higgins is so terrified that he is unable to scream. The screen fades out, and there is the sound of someone (presumably Higgins) falling either in a faint or dead.

Film prologue

Much in the manner of Universal's
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 groundbreaking Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...

(1931), William Castle
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....

 opened the film with an on-screen warning to the audience:
"I am William Castle, the director of the motion picture you are about to see. I feel obligated to warn you that some of the sensations—some of the physical reactions which the actors on the screen will feel—will also be experienced, for the first time in motion picture history, by certain members of this audience. I say 'certain members' because some people are more sensitive to these mysterious electronic impulses than others. These unfortunate, sensitive people will at times feel a strange, tingling sensation; other people will feel it less strongly. But don't be alarmed—you can protect yourself. At any time you are conscious of a tingling sensation, you may obtain immediate relief by screaming. Don't be embarrassed about opening your mouth and letting rip with all you've got, because the person in the seat right next to you will probably be screaming too. And remember—a scream at the right time may save your life."

Production

The financial success of House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted...

was reason enough for Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 to produce The Tingler. Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...

 was on board again, this time with Darryl Hickman
Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...

 playing his assistant and newcomer Pamela Lincoln playing his sister-in-law. Patricia Cutts
Patricia Cutts
Patricia Cutts was an English film and television actress.-Biography:Born in London, Cutts was the daughter of the writer-director Graham Cutts. Her first roles were small parts in American films such as I Was a Male War Bride and The Man Who Loved Redheads and the television shows Alfred...

 played Price's beautiful but unfaithful wife, Isabel.

Director William Castle was never one to miss an opportunity for publicity. He convinced Hickman, who was Lincoln's real life fiancé, to join the cast as her fiancé in the film. At first Hickman declined but finally agreed after Castle convinced him it would help Lincoln's career. According to Hickman, Castle did such a good job of convincing him it would help Lincoln that he did the part for no salary. Hickman, who was 5'10", was required to wear lifts in his shoes for the scenes with 6'4" Vincent Price to offset the disparity of their heights.

Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn was an American stage and film actress. She was born Evelyn Morris in Seneca, South Dakota.Evelyn appeared on Broadway in the following plays:* The Shrike as "Ann Downs"...

 was hired at the request of Price, who previously worked with her on Broadway. She also received attention in another prominent "non-speaking role" as the suicidal "Miss Lonelyhearts" in Hitchcock's
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

 Rear Window
Rear Window
Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...

(1954). Dal McKennon, who played the projectionist (uncredited in the film), had a successful career as the voice of many screen and TV characters, including "Buzz Buzzard" in the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...

 cartoons and "Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...

" in the TV clay animation series. Jack Dusick, makeup artist for The Tingler, was the father of singer/actress Michelle Lee
Michelle Lee
Michelle Lee may refer to:*Michelle Leslie , Australian model who also works under the name Michelle Lee*Michele Lee , American actress and singer*Michelle Lee , a fictional recurring character in the TV series NCIS...

.

Robb White
Robb White
Robb White was a writer of screenplays, television scripts, and adventure novels; most of the latter had a maritime setting — often the Pacific Navy during World War II. White was best known for juvenile fiction, though he has proven popular with adults as well...

, the story author, said he was inspired to write The Tingler after seeing one of the rubber worms makeup artist Dusick designed for House on Haunted Hill. There are, however, no rubber worms in the release version of House on Haunted Hill.

White had experimented with LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

 at UCLA after hearing about it from Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...

 and decided to work it into the script as well. It is the first depiction of LSD use in a major motion picture. At the time the drug was still legal. The title of the book Vincent Price's character reads before taking LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

—"Fright Effects Induced By Injection Of Lysergic Acid LSD25" —is printed on the back cover of the book, not the front. This appears to have been done intentionally for a better shot for the expositional title of the book explaining the effects of LSD to the audience.

The Tingler was Price's second and last outing with Castle and the fifth performance that would ultimately brand him as "The Master of Menace".

The movie playing in the theater when the Tingler escapes was the 1921 silent film Tol'able David
Tol'able David
Tol'able David is a 1921 American silent film based on the Joseph Hergesheimer short story. It was adapted to the screen by Edmund Goulding and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures....

.

Gimmicks

William Castle became famous for his movie gimmicks
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....

, and The Tingler featured one of his best: "Percepto!". Previously he had offered a $1,000 life insurance policy against "Death by Fright" for Macabre
Macabre (1958 film)
Macabre is a 1958 thriller film directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Jacqueline Scott, and Susan Morrow. It is considered Castle's first foray into using the promotional gimmicks that later made him famous...

(1958) and sent a skeleton moving above the audiences' heads in the auditorium in House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted...

(1959).

Percepto: "Scream for your lives!"

"Percepto!" was a gimmick where Castle attached electrical "buzzers" to the underside of several seats in movie theaters where The Tingler was scheduled to be screened. The buzzers were small surplus vibrators left over from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The cost of this equipment added $250,000 to the film's budget. It was predominantly used in larger theaters.

During the climax of the film, The Tingler was depicted escaping into a generic movie theater. On screen the projected film appeared to break as the silhouette of the Tingler moved across the projection beam. The film went black, all lights in the auditorium (except fire exit signs) were turned off, and Vincent Price's voice warned the audience "Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic. But scream! Scream for your lives! The Tingler is loose in this theater!" This cued the theatre projectionist to activate the buzzers and give several audience members an unexpected jolt.

An alternate warning was recorded for Drive-in theatres; this warning advised the audience the Tingler was loose in the drive-in. Price's voice was not used for the drive-in version.

William Castle's autobiography Step Right Up!: I'm Gonna Scare the Pants off America erroneously stated that "Percepto!" actually delivered electric shocks to the theater seats.

Two Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....

 films contain scenes which reference the "Percepto!" gimmick: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...

(1990) and Matinee
Matinee (film)
Matinee is a 1993 period comedy film directed by Joe Dante. It is an ensemble piece about the home front in the Cuban Missile Crisis combined with a tribute to independent filmmaker William Castle. The film stars John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, and Kellie Martin...

(1993).

Fainting customers and medical assistance

To enhance the climax even more, Castle hired fake "screamers and fainters" to plant in the audience. There were fake nurses stationed in the foyer and an ambulance outside of the theatre. The "fainters" would be carried out of the auditorium on a gurney
Gurney
A gurney, known as a trolley in British medical context, is the U.S. term for a type of stretcher used in modern hospitals and ambulances in developed areas. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed on a wheeled frame which may be adjustable in height. For ambulances, a collapsible gurney is a...

 and whisked away in the ambulance, only to return for the next showing.

The Bloody Bathtub scene

Although The Tingler was filmed in black and white, a single color sequence was spliced into each print of the film. It showed a sink (in black and white) with bright red "blood" flowing from the taps and a black and white Judith Evelyn watching a bloody red hand rising from a bathtub filled with bright red "blood". Castle used color film to film the effect. The scene was accomplished by painting the set white, black, and gray and applying gray makeup to the actress to simulate monochrome.

Reception

Reviews of The Tingler were mixed, though it has been praised for its camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...

 qualities, with Time Out London calling the plot "ingeniously ludicrous". Lyz Kingsley of "And You Call Yourself a Scientist!" pointed out that "no film made before or after it quite matches it for its mix of the imaginative, the creepy, the funny, and the downright weird".

Classic-Horror said "the acting is fine, the direction is among Castle's best, and the script is semi-brilliant for the time", and Harvey O'Brien
Harvey O'Brien
Harvey J. "Harry" O'Brien was the fifth head college football coach for The Citadel Bulldogs located in Charleston, South Carolina and he held that position for five seasons, from 1916 until 1921. His career coaching record at The Citadel was 14 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties...

 of Harvey's Movie Review stated that "for all its flaws, The Tingler is very watchable and has been put together with enough canniness to be enjoyable on its own terms".

Not all reception has been positive. Howard Thompson of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

said "William Castle has been serving some of the worst, dullest little horror entries ever to snake into movie houses".

Availability

Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

released a Special Edition 40th anniversary DVD in 1999.
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