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and sound.
Inreality,
HypnoVistawas yetanother
threadbaremarketinggimmickused bydistrib
kevin
heffern
ma-Television
an
teaches
in the Meadows
Southern Methodist
in the Division
School
of Cine
of the Arts at
have
Reviewof
Quarterly
appeared inCinemaJournal,
He is co
Film and Video, and other publications.
screenwriter and associate
producer of the docu
mentary feature Divine Trash, which won the Film
56
an extended
audience-hypnosis
sequence inAlliedArtists'TheHypnoticEye
(1959); and "Percepto," themost famous of
producerWilliam Castle's gimmicks, inwhich
viewersofColumbia's The Tingler(1959)were
wired
subjected tomild electricshocks from
theaterseats. Inaddition to these hypnosis
themedpublicitystunts,these films,and doz
ens of others, fromShock (1947) to Invasionof
theBody Snatchers (1955), from/Ufasa Teen
age Werewolf{i^si) toHouse on Haunted Hill
(1958) and Peeping Tom (1959), replaced the
traditionalevilmanipulatorof the thriller
and
themad scientistof the horrorfilm,
with the
schemingormisguided psychiatrist.
Jencovich argues
that a crucial
compo
54-2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
1930s
had made
1940s,
younger moviego
with genre con
for
ventions thathad sustained the horrorfilm
outlandish plots and
decades. The increasingly
publicitystuntscharacteristicof the hypnosis
filmswere a response to both of these develop
ments. Finally,the hypnosisfilms'use of the
figureof the evil psychiatristand the incorpora
tionof hypnosisand magic intopublicitydis
courses
represent
a particular
inflection of nar
?. COLOR
Ltd.
of horror and
science
fiction. Jen
As would
many
genre
other examples
cinema
of the peri
od, thiscycleoffilmsofferssignificantinsight
of theaesthetic,
intothe complex interweaving
and
economic
historiesof
technological,social,
American filmduringthe industry's
precipitous
and sustained decline inbox-officeattendance
afterthewar. Thiswas a timewhen themajor
studios cutback drasticallyon production,and
theatersoftenfoundthemselveswith little
54-2-3
due,
expensive
nology
blockbusters
such as widescreen,
showcasing
stereo
sound,
tech
and
color.Productionfellsteadily:479 features in
1940,379 in1950, 271 in1955, and an all-time
lowof 224 in1959.4The effortsof exhibitorsto
withstand thisperiod of fewerreleases and
decliningattendance includedstrategiesas
diverse as cultivatingtheyouthaudience,
financing
and
sensa
tionalizingtheiradvertising.
Both exhibitorsand distributorsactively
courted theyouthaudience, bymid-decade the
most loyalbox-officepatrons. By the summerof
1957,movie attendance byyoungadults and
middle-aged patrons had drasticallydeclined.
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
57
a week
once
or more
are 10 to 19 years
well-off,and perhaps
familythat isfinancially
which intendsto send him (orher) to college."5
ofAIP,point
JamesNicholson and Sam Arkoff,
ed out toMotion PictureHerald in1957 thatthe
filmsofferedto theyouthaudience "must not
seem
to have
genres?horror,
fiction, action-adven
book versions.6
peal
to younger
audiences.
In 1956,
the exhibi
was
seen
as a
because
without
a star, even
58
lovers. Ugh!'"10
independent
of stars or even
narra
saw
Consequently,
the 1950s
shooting,
and editing?and,
54-2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
trons."17
Thiswishful referencetomind control
and addiction isnot coincidental.By the end of
the decade,
exhibitors
and
trade
journals were
nival attraction.
exhibitors
and
trade publica
and
motivations
unconscious
Owners
of America,
an exhibitor
trade organiza
tion,hiredpromotionalconsultantClaude Mun
do as an administrative
assistant.
54-2-3
At a crucial moment
early
in
amazing
years,
is about
who
has slept
to awake:
for twenty-five
this!" He
Don't miss
/ SUMMER/FALL
appearance
2002
59
exists
remained
that have
regimes"
co-present
by a
is characterized
confrontation,"
the onscreen
and
re
This
spectacle.
manner
of a fairground
tury. The
psychiatrist's
face. Werner
considerably
more menacing
Krauss'
look almost
other cen
60
regime,
"diegetic
absorp
con
by spatio-temporal
forms such
from narrative
familiar
the novel
as
mark
with brio."24 As a
"undertaken
master
in Gaudreault's
strateur,
of illusions
(ormon
This suggests
phrase).
spatial
and
temporal
continuum.
of the cinema
the co-presence
of attrac
involved
a complex
reciprocal
relation
and
narrational
the overarching
and
features
of a presen
on the narrative's
status
as a tale,
of the pro
thealmost ritualizedforegrounding
cesses
screen.22
second
is characterized
tion,"
agents
Exhibition
spectacle.
of narration,
even
54.2-3
the embodiment
of
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
these
the classical
of attractions,
"theatrical
empha
of shock or sur
sizing
In an
of unfolding
prise at the expense
a
universe."25
ating
diegetic
a story or cre
of
inWarning
Shadows
program
in the 1930s
"masters
of ceremonies"
in the 1950s.
These
and
1940s,
and
for the
eruptions
in Richmond,
run forAIP's
The zombie
eyes.27 The
had hollow
fly's green
eyes.
In addition,
borrowed
the more
governed
used
promotion
the theatrical
horizontal?We
voice
who
magician,
erup
determines
were
(as
is also
fair,William
us with
Castle,
itinerant sorcerers
3). Gunning
remain
closed
diegesis
spective
the attempt
space
used
strategies
to break open
of the screen,
of the main
to extend
tiveness,
age
dressed
as Dracula,
models
Frankenstein,
and
implicit sadism
l/l/erewo/f
producer
Herman
the gruesome
Cohen
doubt
and misogynis
the film's
Museum,
or actors
or other
54?2_3
youth parlance,
lessly conceived
(1924).29
of the horror
distributors
of theirpromotionsfora timefaroutstripped
anythingattemptedby themajor studios. Teen
the en
inBen-Hur
attractions
by
of a
of the
exhibitorsto promotethe horrorfilm
1950s was
cine
mesmerize
common
in the classical
ma:
he gives
an example
Samuel
has noted
ma of attractions
By the mid-1950s,
One
Filmgroup,
distributors
the
the Holstenwall
smaller
by hyperbole and a
a method Sam
often characterized
catalog
and
International,
Interna
of American
Crown
Strong
cen
by distributors.
what we
one of
and spec
those
of a
the impression
light, creating
Vir
Voodoo
a healthy
in the display
a green
was
feature of horror
Theater
RitzTheater inTiffin,
Ohio, promotedTheFly
(1958) byenclosing thebox officeexcept forthe
speaking hole inthe front.Insidethe box office
ously
before
woman
figures, vari
Caligari-like
displays.
week
(1922), Mystery
often a prominent
The Booker
stimulated
charac
ster were
ginia,
recurred
decades,
in between,
standing
hypnotist-monstrateur
instance
display
the serving of
cocktails.'"26
'courage
dominates
and
that
has argued
Gunning
system.
in the cinema
or trickster)
in a magician
textual features
/ SUMMER/FALL
before
as well
as
the screenplay
its HypnoVista
was written.
gimmick,
"It actually
2002
poster.
6l
Below
this, iswrit
^um^^s^s^
^IfPIsssg^^^^Kj
ten "HypnOvista,"
with a sinister,hypnotizing
eye inthe centerof the "o." Then, below this,a
breathless
elaboration
"SEE-the
Vat of Death!
See-The
Bin
Fantastic
of the genre's
low-cultural
status.
The
cultural scene.
Concurrent
with
thefilm industry's
attemptto reachout forau
diences (pun intended)throughbaroque stunts
and outrageous gimmickswas the controversy
over subliminaladvertising,partof a larger
concernover the increasingly
sophisticated
means
of alleged
mind
of consumers
were
being manipu
62
?jj^^i
?oml?:?rLeagTt
Ce?ter
(195^'w,sdcoj|sin
that provid
of clinical
over a modern
ismore
and academ
than metaphor
ad agency,
a tense
tweedy
54-2-3
Research,
Inc.,
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
Hudson
It is
a thirty-room
field-stonemansion where you
are apt to see childrenwatchingTVsets. The TV
roomhas concealed screens behindwhich un
seen observers sometimes crouch,and tape
recordersare planted about to pick up the chil
dren's
happy
or scornful
comments."32
of advertising
in nineteenth-century
prospective
"The desire
their companies.
appeal
part of con
America."
54-2-3
Productions
contract
The productshortage,
nationaldistribution.35
which affectedboth first-run
and subsequent
runtheaters,had led to calls forexhibitorsto
financetheirown productions,enough fora
in nineteenth-century
Howco
for a magical
sumer goods'
hidden
vertising
of "Psycho-Rama,"
/ SUMMER/FALL
year-round
supply,
and
several
regional
and
social
critics, who
saw
the
entertainment
and themyste
growthof horrific
riousmentalmanipulations of the culture in
dustryas fundamentallylinked.Forexample,
the 1957meeting of theNationalAssociation of
Radio and TelevisionBroadcasters' Code Re
view Board issuedwarnings to broadcasters
thatboth the use of subliminalperceptionand
the "use of horrorforitsown sake" by late
nightmovie programswere to be eliminatedby
subscribersto theCode. Ina similarspirit,the
NewYorkAssembly twiceconsidered legislation
banning the commercialuse of subliminalper
ception,once in1958 and again in1959.36
ProducerWilliam Edwardsgave a trade
2002
63
and
the exaggerated
noticeable
"su
praliminal"symbols. (Thisdemonstrationwas
latermade intoa prologue forthefilm.)Of
this was
course,
hucksterism,
a second-feature
the top-feature
consciously_Look
un
picture
save
how
that way."37
of the pro
With itstherapeuticinvestigation
tagonist,Sheila, the narrativeofMy WorldDies
Screaming
moss-covered
In a bargain
version
University.
lying on a psychiatrist's
shown
messages
relives a re
Figure 4. Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell)
trauma
childhood
under
pressed
hypnosis inMy
World Dies Screaming (1958). G. William Jones
of the be
trauma
screen, we
ways
a place of unspeak
at the side of the
who
tombstone
to a world
that died.
most
common
A
figures,the frontdoor swingsopen by itself.
handheld camerawalks up the stairsas the
voice-over
continues:
to
interlocking
spaces
into an alcove,
The camera
stops,
and
and Sheila
says,
"I know
64
in her unconscious.
hidden
memory,"
voice:
coming
"Whenever
couch,
us to entertain, we
reject
it,we
erase
it from our
the Precon
process
to the viewer.
nevertheless
dread
palpable,
unexplainable
and horror.
Sheila suffersfrom
memoryblackouts and
she plans to leave Switzerlandto go back to the
UnitedStates with her new husband, Phillip.
The film'scentralenigmaswill be drawn from
twodistinctbut relatedgenres: the psychologi
cal thriller
provides the neuroticprotagonist
whose unconsciousmust be probed forthe
traumaresponsible forher symptoms;and the
female gothic
furnishes
the mysterious
charac
54-2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
narrative.
explained
that "certain
audience
members"
in books
and magazine
articles.
The
drunken mistress
Museum.
Many
of these murderous
props
"black museum"
sinister monstrateur
Bancroft
a Teenage
54-2-3
physically
as well
as mor
Werewolf.
Bancroft'sentreatyforRicktomurder the
fianc?ewho threatenstheirrelationshipisal
most identicalto the linesspoken byDr. Bran
don to theyoung teenagewerewolf: "Rick,do
you rememberhow itwas the lasttimeand the
timebefore that?The freedom,the strength,
the black terrorinothersbut not inyou?The
masteryyou sharedwithme? [...] All thiswill
be ours once
again."
natural
are taken
over which
presides
Roll
is de
as mas
guillotine.
capitated inherbed bya jerry-built
from the secret
reinforced.
up your sleeve.
police
look on.
/ SUMMER/FALL
screenwriter
2002
65
Read Wood
I'm seeing
the white
sugges
These women
at home
later mutilate
in gruesome
"accidents,"
One woman
rinses
into an electric
ran, and
a third
washes her facewith sulfuricacid.39
A police detectiveand his partner,a criminal
psychologistfromthedepartment,investigate
themutilations,while thedetective's girlfriend
of herown afterher
begins an investigation
best friendisdisfiguredafterappearing on
stagewith Desmond. Near theend of thefilm,a
five-minute
sequence
juror'strick:theveryproducts thatDesmond's
femalevictimsare conditionedto believewill
make thembeautifulare transformedintotools
of scarificationand self-mutiliation
through
Desmond's hypnoticpower.The punishment
visitedon thesewomen isextremeeven by
modem standards (fig.6), and themutilation
scenes
are staged
beauty-care
in a manner
commercials
identical
to
inwhich
a woman
"washes"
with an
iden
ticalhairstyleapplyingmascara to herrighteye,
inperfectsymmetry
with thewoman onscreen,
as ifshe were looking intoa mirror(fig.7). The
tag line reads,
er over women."41
pow
strik
audience
as well.
The name
AlliedArtistsused to promotethisgimmick,
"HypnoMagic," condenses themotifsof hyp
nosis
and sorcery
into a single
phrase.40
mirror
idea
of thebuyermagically transformed
by the con
66
54-2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
thedamage done,
themirrorand registering
and the entrancedMarcia lookingintothemir
rorat Desmond approaching frombehind, use
identicalcompositions (fig.8).
Writingthreeyears beforeTheHypnoticEye,
Packard
quoted
an unnamed
ad executive
who
cosmetic
manufacturers
lanolin,
James Vicary
to investi
them.43
Library.
several
minutes
in Desmond's
stage
feature Desmond,
act.
on
in The
54.2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
67
directly
as the narrative
to a complete
stop.44 Inmedium
mond announces
that members
comes
Desmond
instructs
close-up,
strobing
cre
ating a vertiginousflickeringintheauditorium
as a spectral soprano voice plays on the
soundtrack.
member
of
the cinema:
68
of the audi
tempt to cause
ous when
practitioners.
shot, Des
doctor or who
recommended
to
look di
you by your doctor [he turns
rectly into the camera], not even in a mo
tion-picture theater. Thank you.
spectacularly,Psycho.
Inmany respects,themarginal but commer
ciallysuccessful low-budgetfilmsof the late
1950s and early1960s were prescientabout the
would
changes theAmericanfilm industry
over
next
two
the
decades.
The
promo
adopt
tionalgimmicksof the hypnosisfilmsand the
other featuresof thisnew cinema of attrac
tions, includingthe special effectsof the 1950s
monster and invasionfilms,foundtheirway
intothe diegesis of thegenre filmsof the 1970s
and 1980s inthe increasingly
elaborate special
effectsthatwere, formany films,oftenthe sole
focusof publicity.The "juvenilization" (inTho
mas Doherty'sphrase) ofmovies and theirthe
atrical
audiences,
begun
in the 1950s,
contin
ues to thisday.
Several distributionstrategies innovatedby
smallerstudios fortheirdownscale genre re
leases became increasingly
characteristicof
major-studio strategies intheNew Hollywood:
publicityand promotionalbudgetswould come
to dwarfthe productionbudgets ofmany re
leases. Inaddition, the hugemulti-screen
opening, used forhorrorand sci-fidouble bills
inthe 1950s and 1960s, would be adopted for
major studio releases, and many high-profile
studio filmswould play the largertheatercir
cuits duringfallowperiods inthe release calen
dar. For these
and other
reasons,
the low-bud
54.2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
oftheGermanFilm(Princeton:
History
Psychological
Princeton UP, 1947) 66.
22. Wheeler Dixon, in It Looks at You: The Returned
Gaze of Cinema (Albany: State U of New York P, 1995),
suggests a broad range of functions that can charac
(hereafterMPH) 22 October
Edition; 230
1955: *3; and "Product Shortage?1960
Features, Only 6 Over 1959," Variety 14 Sept. i960:4.
5. "P?litz Research Study Uncovers theTypical
Frequent Movie-Goer1 as Bright Teen-Ager," MPH 23
Nov. 1957:15.
6. "AIP Heads Set Sights on Teenage Patron,"
MPH 25 May 1957: 20.
1957:31.
28. "Psychology Breaks
Sept.1958:
54-2-3
(New
Nov. 1959:17.
9. "Film Shortage Stems fromStar Shortage,"
MPH 24 Mar. 1956: 26.
10. United States Sen. Select Committee on Small
966.
Arous (1958).
36. "New York Legislature Acts on Subliminal Ads,"
MPH 22 Mar. 1958: 26; "N.Y. BillWould Ban Sublimi
nal Advertising," MPH 12 Dec. 1959:17.
37. "Subliminal Absurdity." MPH 8 Mar. 1958:7.
38. The interview is posted on Weaver's website,
Monster:
Astounding
horror26.html.
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002
http://www.bmonster.com/
69
70
54-2-3
/ SUMMER/FALL
2002