Sleazy Exploitation at its Finest

The Film: The Hypnotic Eye (Allied Artists, 1960). Directed by George Blair. Screenplay by Gitta and William Woodfield. Starring Jacques Bergerac, Allison Hayes, Marcia Henderson, Joe Patridge, Guy Prescott. Running time: 79 minutes of pure joy.

When I first saw it: I can't exactly remember, but I'm quite certain Ronald Reagan was president at the time.

A few words about the film: The Hypnotic Eye is one of those films that you have to see to believe. It's genuinely entertaining. It was filmed in Los Angeles and has that great 1960 look about it (probably because it was made in 1960). The film features a shrink who smokes pipes (Guy Prescott), a macho police detective (Joe Patridge), the police detective's girlfriend (Marcia Henderson), a stage hypnotist called Desmond with a thick French accent that puts Pepe Le Pew to shame (Jacques Bergerac) and his hot assistant (Allison Hayes of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman fame). The premise: Several women who have seen Desmond's stage show end up disfiguring themselves in horrific ways. Turns out all these women not only saw the stage show, they were called up on stage by Desmond to be hypnotized. While they were under his spell, the prick leaned over and whispered in their ears, telling them to mutilate themselves in unthinkable ways. We follow the police detective and the shrink as they close in on Desmond. In order to trap Desmond in the act, the cop allows his dish of a sweetheart to be hypnotized by the maniacal Frenchman.

Why I dug it: This is a great gimmick film, in the tradition of William Castle's gimmick movies. The ads boasted: "NEW AUDIENCE-PARTICIPATION THRILL HYPNOMAGIC - It makes YOU part of the show..." As noted above, the film isn't very long (a minute short of 80 minutes), and there is never a dull moment. I stayed up late for this sucker back when I was a teenager in suburban Holladay, Utah, and I can honestly say it was worth waiting up for. I recorded the film on VHS and watched it over and over again. Before reviving this blog, I gave the film one more viewing and it still holds up beautifully after all these years. I've noticed it's available on DVD. Looks like I'm going to visit eBay after I finish this entry so I can once again relive the pleasures of Hypnomagic!

Parting Shot: The very least that can be said about The Hypnotic Eye is that it's the best non-William Castle gimmick film ever made. The exteriors shot in Los Angeles give the film a wonderful noirish look, ripped straight out of the pages of James Ellroy (the demon dog would dig this film... I just know it). The self-mutilations are actually still quite shocking. Even today - a half century after the film was made - they can make the viewer squeamish. And as if all this isn't quite enough, there is a twist ending. Grade: B.