THE PROJECTED MAN (1966) Reviews and overview

  

‘A billion volts of death in every finger!’

The Projected Man is a 1966 British science fiction horror film starring Bryant Haliday (Devil Doll; Curse of the Voodoo; Tower of Evil), Norman Wooland, Mary Peach and Ronald Allen.

The Projected Man will be released on Blu-ray on January 30 via Scream Factory. The transfer will be from a new 2K scan of the film’s interpositive.

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• Interview with director Ian Curteis (new)
• Interview with actress Mary Peach (new)
• Interview with art director Peter Mullins (new)
• Interview with sound editor Brian Blamey (new)
• Interview with composer Kenneth V. Jones (new)
• Original UK opening (standard definition)
• Deleted scenes (standard definition)
• Radio spot
• Theatrical trailer
• Still gallery

Discovered by Alex Gordon as an unproduced screenplay by Hollywood writer Frank Quattrocchi, The Projected Man was directed by Ian Curteis; it would be the first theatrical film that he would direct. However, due to his lack of experience, he ran into several problems during filming. As the film fell behind schedule and the budget kept increasing, he was fired during the film’s final stages. Producer John Croydon replaced him; however, Croydon remained uncredited as the producers did not wish to publicise the problems that had occurred on set.

The film was released in the US by Universal, on a double-bill with Island of Terror.

Doctor Paul Steiner (Bryant Haliday) and Doctor Christopher Mitchell (Ronald Allen) work on a projection device that enables them to transmit any object within a few miles of the machine. While they find the device works with inanimate objects, the living creatures they use it on always seem to die. When Doctor Patricia Hill (Mary Peach) arrives, she helps them fix the error, making Steiner think the problem has been solved. Meanwhile, Doctor Blanchard (Norman Wooland), Steiner’s boss and head of the institute he works for, is being blackmailed by Mr. Latham (Derrick De Marney), who wants credit for Steiner’s discovery. He forces Blanchard to demand Steiner to give a premature presentation to Professor Lembach (Gerard Heinz).

Steiner, Mitchell, and Hill feel they are ready to present, but at the event, Blanchard sneakily places acid on the machine, causing an explosion. The funding for Steiner’s project is ended instantly, however, Mitchell later discovers that the device has been tampered with. Steiner goes to Blanchard’s house. He presents the men with the evidence that his machine was deliberately tampered with, and Lembach allows him to have another chance…

Reviews:
” … certain aspects of its story never quite get around to making much sense, but it’s much faster- paced and more tautly directed than most of the 50’s monster-rampage movies from which it takes its cues. The acting is well above the average for movies of this type, and the special effects are excellent, considering the constraints of The Projected Man’s obviously low budget.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“British horror thriller with scientific overtones would have been more watchable with faster pacing and less superfluous material.” John Stanley, Creature Features Movie Guide

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“The title monster is sufficiently different in appearance to anything I had seen before, the laboratory actually looks like a proper laboratory and equipment rather than the contents of someone’s garage. There’s some explosions at the end , a brief view of some bare breasts and more than a few unintentional laughs.” Tim Rogerson, The Shrieking Sixties

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“Nearly the whole first half is spent on annoying arguments at the research center. The second half commences with a decent lab scene and then turns into a monster-on-the-loose story, like First Man into Space. But even this second half wastes itself with annoying people meandering around, trying to figure out what’s happening.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film

Buy The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon book: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

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