The Face of Marble

1946 "The last gasp in chillers!"
4.9| 1h12m| NR| en
Details

The story of Dr. Charles Randolph, a scientist dedicated to deciphering the secrets of life and death. Aided by assistant David Cochran, Charles conducts experiments that have horrifying side effects. Charles's lonely wife, Elaine, is frightened by his work, and in order to protect her, housekeeper Maria unleashes a torrent of voodoo that wrecks havoc.

Director

Producted By

Monogram Pictures

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Reviews

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
dougdoepke For a horror movie, it's pretty hard to come up with a fresh version of reviving the dead. Here well-intentioned scientist Carradine wants no monsters, just an opportunity to give folks a second chance. Of course, things turn out otherwise, when a revived mastiff dog walks through walls on his way to ripping out throats. It doesn't help that creepy housekeeper Maria has her own voodoo plans, while a romantic triangle emerges between Carradine's wife Drake and lab assistant Shayne plus his girl Wriston.Sound complicated. Yes, too bad the script didn't pare down and concentrate on creepy aspects. And I agree with others—we should see more of Carradine who's quite effective in restrained fashion. On other hand, there are those crackling Frankenstein arcs, better than expected for cheapo Monogram, while the spectral images passing through walls are also well done. However, maintaining a spooky mood with a more boffo ending would have really helped. Then too, I could have used more of the marble faces that are both novel and unsettling. But then, this is a low-budget quickie that still manages a few compensations.
Michael O'Keefe Pretty nice black & white horror film starring the great John Carradine as Professor Charles Randolf, a prominent brain surgeon, who retires to his mansion on a cliff that overlooks the sea. Randolf summons one of his best students, scientist David Cochran(Robert Shayne), to partner with him in an obsessive project. The mad professor wants to revive a dead brain. A drown sailor washes up on the shore becoming a perfect subject. The brain is revived; but the sailor's hair turns white and has a face that looks like it was chiseled out of marble...only to die. The dumped body is found and Inspector Norton(Thomas E. Jackson)comes to the mansion asking questions. There is Randolf's wife Elaine(Claudia Drake), the butler Shadrach(Willie Best) and a house maid Maria(Rosa Rey), who dabbles with voodoo. But this will not stop the experimenting. Apt atmosphere that sustains interest. Also in the cast: Maris Wrixon, Neal Burns and Donald Kerr.
Michael_Elliott Face of Marble, The (1946) * 1/2 (out of 4) Boring horror film has John Carradine playing a scientist who's so caught up in bringing the dead back to life that he doesn't notice his wife and assistant are getting it on. Carradine is quite mute in this outing, which is a shame and the story is boring and by the numbers. It really would have been a lot better had Carradine gone over the top and brought some life to the film. There's really no life or energy in this film, which is why the viewing will wish he'd turn into marble. This Monogram film hasn't yet turned up on DVD but you can find it at various online stores.
JoeKarlosi I thought I read somewhere that this was the last Monogram production, but whether that's true or not it doesn't matter, because if it wasn't, then it should have been. It's a deadly dull affair starring John Carradine with some gray in his hair to make himself appear like an older scientist who is experimenting with the aid of his young apprentice (Robert Shayne) in bringing the dead back to life. Every time their subjects are revived, they seem to have a whitish face like marble as they are lying strapped to the laboratory table (big deal). Carradine manages to restore his faithful dog to life after it's dead, and the mutt gains an unusual ability to walk through walls in a ghostlike fashion (wooooooooohhhh). That's about all she wrote. For an ultra-cheap Monogram quickie, this thing at least actually utilizes a more fancy-schmancy lab setup than is usually allotted. The funniest running joke in the movie is that the "older" doctor Carradine constantly refers to his "young" assistant Shayne as "m'boy" when, in fact, Carradine was actually 40 and Shayne was 45 when they made this! * out of ****