To my surprise, 1959’s 4D Man is not about my grades for the first quarter of my senior year of high school, when I was at my most disillusioned and unmotivated. Instead, it is about a scientist (Robert Lansing) who discovers he can move through solid surfaces. Naturally, this drives him mad and makes him a threat to his girlfriend, among others. That’s just the kind of natural character progression in such a film of that era: magical powers -> diabolical evil.
It is his brother (James Congdon) who actually made the discovery initial, showing Lansing a block steel with a pencil through it. I find it interesting Lansing just automatically accepts as real something that looks like nothing other than a pencil cut in half and the halves glued to opposite sides of the block.
In his lab, Lansing tries to replicate the experiment and succeeds a bit too well. In the best moment in the movie, he finds his fingers have also gone through the dense metal. I found myself getting uncomfortable and fidgety as he tries to pulls his fingers back out. The feeling he is right on the edge of panic is palpable.
Still, he manages to extract his digit, and he will repeat this feat to Congdon later. What is most surprising is Lansing succeeds that time despite the battery not yet being hooked up. Similar to how quantum particles do not have a state until observed, this scientist can push the particles of his body through other solids using his mind.
An unfortunate side effect of these powers is Lansing ages considerably each time he employs them. But then he regains his youth and energy by touching others and using his power to consume their lifeforce. If that reminded you of the 1985 Tobe Hooper film of that name, you’re not alone. No, sorry, I meant “you are alone”. That movie sucked.
There is a great deal of goofy 50’s sci-fi “science logic” in this picture. An impenetrable metal also factors into the plot, and I seem to recall this material is also not susceptible to heat. Regardless, this sounds like something you wouldn’t be able to make into other things, which makes one question the purpose of it. It brought to my mind the concept of an acid that can eat through anything, so the challenge would become how to store it.
For that matter, there’s an element of the plot which bothered me in the same way I can never fully accept “invisible man” movies. In those pictures, why is the invisible person usually able to conveniently have whatever clothing they are wearing also become transparent? Similarly, I doubted Lansing’s ability would transfer to his clothes or the belongings on his person, and yet they do.
One element of the film which doubtlessly alienated some young viewers back then is so much of the runtime is devoted to the love triangle between the brothers and fellow scientist played by Lee Meriwether. This Miss America of 1955 is quite the looker, but I was pleasantly surprised she was cast here as a fellow scientist. Unfortunately, the role is still rather thankless, as she is little more than the object of affection for the brothers, as well as lecherous suggestions made by co-worker Robert Strauss, a future HR disciplinary case waiting to happen. The worst moment for her character in the film is when she abruptly seems to lose all capacity for thoughts other than love, as she playfully bounds around Congdon like an overenthusiastic puppy.
But then, this type of role was typical for such a film of the 1950’s, and there is much more here which is also solidly of that era. I liked the stylized, yet minimalist, opening credit sequence which has near-subliminal imagery. Somewhat less successful is the jazz score, which sometimes feels inappropriate and is even unintentionally humorous at time. But the worst is the narration, which is mercifully confined to the first few minutes of the runtime. This is that weird kind of “word jazz” I always associate with Rod McKuen, as a deeply serious voiceover artist muses upon “A man…the idea…the equipment…” How about the inability to form complete sentences? I though the voice would go on to say, “A man…a plan…Panama…” One touch I really liked are the posters in every room of the scientific facility, encouraging suspicion there are spies everywhere. Given the McCarthy red scare would have been fresh in many minds when this was made, I suspected this might be a commentary on that folly.
The real reason anybody would have seen this at the time is for the special effects. Largely, they are not among the best I have seen from the era, but they still hold up for the most part. The best one is the aforementioned moment where Lansing’s fingers are trapped in that block, but it is his performance which really sells that. Most of the other occasions where he uses his powers were likely accomplished using hand-animated mattes. One of the most effective bits is also the simplest, as him reaching through a plate-glass window is suggested by a laser-like light across the part of his arm supposed traversing that barrier.
Overall, I wasn’t that impressed with 4-D Man, though I still enjoyed it. The script is silly, though not as much as many such pictures of the era. The performances are just OK but, once again, this is using similar fare of the time as the yardstick. And the “science” in this sci-fi seems no more or less dodgy than what I expected. But the one thing I did not expect is a guy who can move through walls. I always thought the fourth dimension was supposed to be time, so why isn’t this guy travelling into the past and/or future?
Dir: Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
Starring Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon
Watched on Kino Lorber blu-ray