THE ELECTRONIC MONSTER

Peter Illing and Mary Murphy

THE ELECTRONIC MONSTER (aka Escapement/1958). Director: Montgomery Tully.  

Insurance investigator Jeff Keenan (Rod Cameron of G-Men vs the Black Dragon) is looking into a movie star's strange death, when he comes across a clinic that is doing new work in mental health. Dr, Maxwell (Meredith Edwards) and his wife, Laura (Kay Callard of A Woman Possessed), are helping patients "escape" via a device that plays soothing tapes -- including ballets that seem rather erotic -- directly into the brain. However, Paul Zakon (Peter Illing), who owns a movie studio -- and is engaged to Keenan's former girlfriend Ruth (Mary Murphy of Finger of Guilt) -- as well as the aforementioned clinic, has less benign uses for the Maxwells' experiments. Anyone who takes too close a look at the goings-on at the clinic winds up dead. 

Rod Cameron and Mary Murphy

The Electronic Monster has some interesting ideas in it, but in general the picture lacks suspense and thrills. The presence of lead Rod Cameron makes this British production seem even more like a lackluster TV show. It is very hard to believe that Ruth would have ever gotten engaged to Zakon. Zakon's colleagues include Dr. Hoff, a nasty Nazi (Carl Jaffe), and the nerdy hit man, Blore (Carl Duerling). Montgomery Tully also directed The Third Alibi.  

Verdict: One you can miss **.