USA, 1959
82m
35mm film, black and white, colour, 1.37:1 [negative ratio], 1.85:1 [intended ratio]
mono, English
An American horror film directed by William Castle.
Premise
Pathologist Dr Warren Chapin's researches discovers that fear in humans generates a creature that he names “the tingler” and which grows at the base of the spine, causing its victim to die of shock. The only way to defeat the tingler is to scream – “Scream for your lives!”
Credits
Crew
Directed by: William Castle
© MCMLIX [1959] by Columbia Pictures Corporation
A William Castle production
Produced by: William Castle
Written by: Robb White
Assistant Director: Herb Wallerstein
Director of Photography: Wilfred M. Cline
Film Editor: Chester W. Schaeffer
Music by: Von Dexter
Recording Supervisor: John Livadary
Sound: Harry Mills
RCA Sound Recording
Art Director: Phil Bennett
Set Decorator: Milton Stumph
Associate to the Producer: Dona Holloway
Cast
Vincent Price (Dr Warren Chapin)
Judith Evelyn (Martha Higgins)
Darryl Hickman (David Morris)
Patricia Cutts (Isabel Stevens Chapin)
Pamela Lincoln (Lucy Stevens)
Philip Coolidge (Oliver ‘Ollie' Higgins)
Gail Bonney, Clarence Straight [audience members] *
William Castle [himself] *
Pat Colby, Amy Fields [young couple in audience] *
Bob Gunderson [condemned man] *
Dal McKennon [projectionist] *
Alternative Titles
Gyseren – Denmark
Il mostro di sangue – Italy
Schrei, wenn der Tingler kommt – West Germany
Värisyttäjä – Finland
Links
Extracts included in
It Came from Hollywood (1982)
Scream for Your Lives! William Castle and The Tingler (1999)
References
Periodicals
- Chiller Theatre no.16 (2002) pp.30-33, 37 – interview with Bob Burns (Bob Burns remembers horror king William Castle and The Tingler by Tom Weaver)
- Delirium no.24 (2020) p.13 – illustrated review (Tol'able Fear! by Nigel Parkin)
- Empire november 1998 p.102 – review
- Fangoria no.143 (June 1995) pp.11-18, 70-72 – illustrated article (The Tingler – Down your spine by Tom Weaver)
- Flesh and Blood no.9 p.65 – review
- Monsterscene no.6 p.46 – review
- Shivers no.39 p.27 – review
- Video Watchdog no.11 p.37 – note
Books
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.124-125
- The Columbia Checklist: The Feature Films, Cartoons, Serials and Short Subjects of Columbia Pictures, 1922-1988 by Len D. Martin p.359
- Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982 by Michael R. Pitts pp.254-256
- English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 by Jonathan Rigby p.76
- The Films of Vincent Price by Iain F. McAsh pp.14; 41
- Merchant of Menace: The Life and Films of Vincent Price by Denis Meikle pp.105-111; 357
- Monster Kid Memories by Bob Burns and Tom Weaver pp.97-106 – article
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.494 – credits
- Step Right Up!… I'm Going to Scare the Pants Off America by William Castle pp.150-153
- Vincent Price: The Art of Fear by Denis Meikle pp.56-59; 222-223
- Vincent Price Unmasked by James Robert Parish and Steven Whitney pp.96-97; 208-209
- Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price by Jonathan Malcolm Lampley pp.40-44; 192-193
Other sources
- BFI Southbank Programme October-November 2019 p.48 – illustrated note
