All is not well at the La Salle Detention Home for Girls where juvenile delinquents (all white and wholesome looking, and some played by actresses in their 30s) live in a dorm-like residence. It actually looks like a fairly decent place to be reformed except for the creepy screams occasionally heard in the night, usually followed the next day by an announcement that a girl has died. The new girl Anna is particularly fragile and has a heart murmur, and two gals, nice girl Tracy and tough cookie Big Marge, take a liking to her. That night, a scream is heard and a death by heart attack is announced the next day. Tracy goes to social worker Carol Adams to express her concern about the increasing death rates and when she decides to investigate, staff members, including the chief administrator Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) and the nurse Mrs. Ford, are not happy. When Marge mouths off to Mrs. Ford, she is put in isolation and labelled a possible psych case. Supposedly concerned about Anna's health, Ford puts her in the infirmary, then we see the tall, creepy mute staff member Eric carry her off in the night. We soon learn that all the members of the staff are scientists born over 200 years ago. They are staying alive by draining "bioelectric energy" from young women which enables their cells to be rejuvenated, but killing the women. But they have recently discovered that this process will only work for so long, and Eric is the first one to fall prey to the main weakness—the slow petrification of the flesh, which will lead to death. We see Anna go through the process and that night at bedtime, her body is found hanging from the rafters in the dorm. Tracy is certain she would not have committed suicide, and when Carol keeps digging into death records, Ford replaces her with psychiatrist Jess Rogers. As Carol packs up her things, she shares her concerns with Jess; he becomes concerned as well and asks her to stay as an assistant. Even as the staff have to deal with these suspicions, another member, Dr. Cooper, begins deteriorating and expresses doubts about continuing their project. But Murdock will not be deterred; he's willing to sacrifice Eric but not himself. When Jess finds out what’s going on, Murdock's days may be numbered, and he might turn into the title character.
In terms of story and acting, this B-movie works well enough. But, my God, this is a drab, ugly film which plods along predictably. It's an interesting premise, though once the process is a given, we get no fleshing-out of the idea, no probing into the plight of people striving to be immortal. Some reviewers mention the film's unique melding of Gothic horror, science fiction, and teenagers, but it's done lackadaisically, generating little interest. It's unimaginatively directed by Laszlo Kardos and cheaply produced by Sam Katzman. The black & white widescreen DVD print is in great shape, allowing us to fully appreciate the poor production values. The dorm and the offices are cheap looking sets, though the exteriors look to have been shot at a college campus. The girls in need of reform are all as squeaky clean as Annette Funnicello, and Eric's stone-face makeup is barely adequate. The acting is much better than the film deserves. Victor Jory, who had a long and full career (Gone With the Wind, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Miracle Worker) goes for dignified and misunderstood evil rather than campy histrionics and is not bad. Likewise for Paul Cavanagh, a British character actor with over 150 credits, who is even better as Cooper who eventually opposes Jory's plans. Charlotte Austin as Carol is fine, and William Hudson (the pitiful husband in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) as Jess is very good—he's no hunk but he is B-movie handsome which counts for a lot in my book. Jean Wiles and Tina Carver are fine as Tracy and Marge (I was sorry that Marge's character gets sidelined so quickly).The very busy Ann Doran gives Mrs. Ford a little polish but she is generally a little too low-key. The climactic action manages to work up some excitement, but overall this one is pretty blah. Pictured are Jory and Hudson. [DVD]
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