Movie Time: The Hypnotic Eye

It's Movie Time! 

Since it's October and we're counting down to Halloween, the Saturday edition of Movie Time will look at horror films, sinister cinema that we chill your heart, freeze your soul and rend your fragile mind with fear and terror!

Like THIS!

Settle down now. I'm sorry to give you such a fright.

Today's post is about a horror film released in February 1960 called.... The Hypnotic Eye!

This movie stars Jacques Bergerac, Allison Hayes, Merry Anders, Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, and Ferdinand "Fred" Demara.

No, you never heard of ANY of these people.

Neither have I.

Which gives you some idea of what we're dealing with here. 

Beautiful women are doing some bad shit to themselves.

A young woman puts shampoo on her head but instead of lowering her hair into a sink full of water lowers it instead over a lit gas burner setting her hair on fire. And now she's on fire!

Actual scene from the movie! Geez! 

Another woman sets out to apply lotion to her face but what the hell? It's acid! 

There are about a dozen women who have mutilated themselves with NO idea as to why.  

Detective Dave Kennedy puzzles and puzzes until his puzzler is puzzed out and he can't suss what links these women and why they are doing these horrible things to themselves.

Then Dave gets dragged by his girlfriend Marcia Blaine to see the stage show of the famous hypnotist Desmond and his assistant Justine! 

Dave is a major league sceptic of hypnotism. It's all just a con, a scam, a fake out, you see? Don't be a sucker!

But as he watches Demond hynotize a woman into levitating (huh?), Marcia wonders is hypnotism might explain this case Dave is working on. 

Dave consults his psychiatrist friend Dr. Philip Hecht, who is an expert on hypnosis.  He disapproves of the use of hynosis for cheap party tricks because it's unethical and he doen't get invited to those sorts of parties.

Still,  Dr. Phil concedes hypnotism would explain the compulsion of all those women to mutilate themselves and have no memory as to why.  And Dave wonders if Desmond might be the dastardly devil behind it all.

Marcia gets all Nancy Drew and checks on Desmond herself,returning for another show and volunteering for Demond's act. Marcia thinks she's resisted his hypnotic charms.

Such as his post hypnotic suggestion to return to his dressing room after midnight.  She tells Dave and Dr. Phil about Desmond's hypno voodoo and suspects he's the one behind all those women hurting themselves. But more evidence is needed.

Marcia volunteers to keep her date with Desmond while Dave and Dr. Phil follow.  

When Marcia arrives at Desmond's dressing room, she gets hypnotized for real. Uh oh! 

And now we're off... for a night on the town.

Desmond takes Marcia out to a nice restaraunt.

Then off to a beatnik coffee-house to hear poetry.

And they go dancing.

Followed by a return to Marcia's place where Desmond is ready to engage in a little wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, who's your daddy, know what I mean, yeah, yeah?*

*Sex.

Now Dave and Dr. Phil are still following all this and you might wonder how long they're gonna let this play out.  Dr. Phil say he needs more information (as he surreptiously fondles himself) while Dave not knowing that Marcia is hypnotized for real is doing all this shit with Desmond of her own free will. 

God, this guy is making us Daves look bad.  Hey Detective Dave, it's the 1950's (it's 1960! Oh shut up!)! You need to go up there and defend the honor of your woman.

Marcia is saved from the sex. Desmond gets cock blocked by Justine!

Oh I get it! 

Desmond hypnotizes women to fuck them.

Justine uses that hypnotism to fuck with them!

It's Justine who is causing the women to hurt themselves.  

Seems Justine's beautiful visage is but a mask, hiding her disfigurement.

Well, if she can't be beautiful, neither can anyone else! 

Dave and Dr.Phil finally get off their asses to save Marcia from Desmond and Justine but they escape. 

"Obey Desmond!
Your will belongs to Desmond!
Your booty belongs to Desmond!
Desmond gotta have it!"  

The movie wraps up at the theater for another of Desmond's hypnotism shows where Dave and Dr. Phil bust his con wide open. 

Desmond goes all Phantom of the Opera and abducts Marcia. 

There's a chase on the backstage catwalk. There's danger, the threat of death, actual death and more actual death and good Lord, how will this movie end?

With a lecture, that's how.

Seriously, a lecture.  

The movie ends with Dr. Phil telling the audience in the theater (and presumably us watching this movie) to never let themselves be hypnotized except under medical supervision and only with the permission of Major League Baseball.

And so ends The Hypnotic Eye!

Class, read the next chapter in your text book and there will be a test next week.  

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department

I commented at the start of this post that The Hypnotic Eye did not star anyone who had heard of. 

Unless you count Allison Hayes (Justine) who was responsible for the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman which you may recall caused the loss of the best spaghetti in town.

Must...DESTROY...
BEST...spaghetti in town!

And Jacques Bergerac (Desmond) was Ginger Rogers ex-husband.  So I guess that's... a thing. 

The Hypnotic Eye is surprising brutal for it's time with it's depiction of women mutilating themselves and the harsh trauma for those who survived.  

The film is burdened with some wooden performances for the lead  roles.  Jesus, Detective Dave is SO slow. 

Credit due to the make up and special effects people. The post mutilated women are terrifying and the effect of the woman with her head on fire is still horrifying and intense.  

Now we must go. But YOU, you will enter into a trance where you will believe this post is the most clever thing you ever read and you will experience a warm glowing reverenance for me, Dave-El and....

A craving for pancakes.