Forgotten B&W Horror Movies #7: Indestructible Man

With this 7th installment in the Forgotten B&W Horror series, we take a look at a little known movie starring one of the most iconic horror figures of all time - Lon Chaney, Jr. Indesctructible Man (1956) tells the story of an executed criminal named Charles "Butcher" Benton (played quite well by Chaney) who is accidentally restored to life by a scientist and his electrical experiments. Of course, Butcher's body was stolen from the San Francisco mortuary for use in these experiments. Butcher returns to life with enormous strength and the ability to withstand physical punishment that would kill an ordinary man. Unfortunately, Butcher's indestructibility comes with a price - he is completely mute and possibly a little insane. Sound familiar? It should, since it's an obvious ripoff of much of the premise for the Frankenstein series of movies. Heck, even the movie poster shows the Indestructible Man with green skin reminiscent of Frankenstein's Monster. Why This Movie Has Been Forgotten Indestructible Man, despite the inclusion of Lon Chaney, Jr., would probably make my list of "Completely Forgotten B&W Horror Movies" (if I actually had such a series of articles, that is). Before I began writing my current series of articles, I had never actually heard of this movie - and believe me, I've watched thousands of horror films and television shows. The main issues with this movie are the long and boring climatic chase scene, and the sappy and completely unnecessary "hero meets girl, hero marries girl" plot line. If you can ignore those two problems (which obviously most people couldn't), it's not a bad movie. Why Horror Fans Should Watch This Movie It's a decent Frankenstein remake using GE parts. I'm not kidding; you actually see GE parts being used in the laboratory of Professor / Doctor Bradshaw (sadly, this is not one of those wonderful mad scientist laboratories that I love so much). The movie is filmed, and even narrated, like one of the classic detective noir stories. Surprisingly, this really adds to the atmosphere of the entire film thus making the whole experience that much better. Plus, you get to experience such classic detective story names as Squeamy Ellis and Joe Marcelli. Max Showalter, who stars as Lt. Dick Chasen (one of the most uncomfortable names I can think of), is one of the true great but unknown names in movies and television. With a cinematic resume that stretches from his days as a toddler sitting in the theater while his mother played the piano for silent films to the role of Pat Riley in the all-time classic "It's a Good Life" episode of the Twilight Zone (you know the one - it features Billy Mummy wishing people into the cornfield) to his final performance as the obnoxious Grandpa Fred in the classic Sixteen Candles, Max Showalter (a.k.a. Casey Adams) is easily one of the more prolific actors in history - but nobody knows it. You get to hear such classic lines as "Well, not exactly dinner, but a hamburger might be a good idea." Who'd thunk an American movie would have EVER considered a hamburger as something less than a meal? Popeye's pal Wimpy is probably still spinning in his grave over this sacrilege. By the way, the hamburgers are eaten at a drive in restaurant called Nowhiches. I'd love to hear more about this place if anyone has some info. The close ups of Chaney's eyes when he's in the midst of an insane-killer type of frenzy are simply terrific. If you ever see this look in someone's eyes...RUN! Marian Carr (as love-interest Eva Martin) is gorgeous. And finally, it's got Lon Chaney, Jr. in it. If you don't love Chaney's work, you probably aren't a fan of horror films. Indestructible Man is not bad, but the element of terror is completely missing. While Butcher does kill some innocent people, it's hard to relate to the victims because there are so few "everyman" types of people that are killed. Still, it's a decent enough movie and if you love horror films you are obligated to see every Lon Chaney, Jr. movie ever made. If you would like to watch Indestructible Man you may view it at this link.