Indestructible Man

Plot synopsis:
We open with a scene of the indestructible man on top of gantry crane at an electrical power generating station and the credits. Lt. R. Chasen is dictating his report of the case and tells the story of the Indestructible Man in flashback.We are outside the gates at San Quentin prison in California. This is the final stop for Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney, Jr.); he is scheduled for execution in the gas chamber the next day. He is visited by his attorney, Paul Lowe (Ross Elliott). Lowe tells Benton his appeal was unsuccessful. Benton, while not surprised, is angry. He calls him a liar and a double crosser. Benton was part of a gang that stole $600,000 in an armored car robbery that Lowe masterminded. Two of his accomplices turned state's evidence, at the urging of Lowe. But Benton hid the money from his gang, and Lowe wants it. He tries to convince Benton to give it to him, but Benton vows to take revenge on all involved and take the location of the money to the grave.Down in Los Angeles, in a seedy bar, Joe Marcelli (Ken Terrell) and Squeamy Ellis (Marvin Ellis) are having a drink and listening to the radio report of Benton's pending execution. In his office at police headquarters, Lt. Chasen (Max Showalter, credited as Casey Adams) is reading the local paper when Capt. John Lauder (Stuart Randall) enters his office. Chasen is told that with Benton's execution the case is being marked as closed and he will be reassigned. Chasen spent a year on the case and is not happy to have it end without the recovery of the money. He vows to continue working on the case on his own time, as he is convinced Lowe was the mastermind.Chasen pays a visit to the local strip club to talk to Eva Martin (Marian Carr), the "girlfriend" of Benton's, hoping to get some information. Eva informs him that she and Benton were not involved. He was seeing her roommate, and when the roommate left town, she and Benton just struck up a friendship. She is emphatic that she was unaware of his criminal past and any knowledge of the robbery. Satisfied, he exits the club. He notices Lowe walking towards the club. He pretends to have his shoes shined while hiding behind a magazine so he can spy on Lowe. Lowe enters the club, walks upstairs and enters Eva's dressing room. The time is 5:00 p.m. and Benton has been executed. Eva feels bad for Benton and retrieves a letter he left for her in case he was executed. But before she can examine the contents, she's called back to the stage for her finale. She leaves Lowe behind in the dressing room. He quickly opens the letter and finds a very cryptic map with an "x" marking the location of something. He palms the map and puts a $50 bill back in the envelope and seals it. We are told in voiceover that its a map of the sewer system and the location of the stolen money.In San Francisco, Dr. Bradshaw (Robert Shayne) a "distinguished Biochemist is making preparations for a final experiment which he hoped would lead the way to a cure for cancer." His assistant (Joe Flynn) arrives with the body of Benton. He procured the body from a local mortuary under questionable circumstances. Bradshaw prepares the body, takes a blood sample, and wheels him into the machine. He runs 287,000 volts through the body. They intend to dissect the body after the experiment. The voltage causes his heart to start beating. Bradshaw dismisses it as "a shock reaction, it can't last." They pull the body out of the machine. Bradshaw sends his assistant out for some medications while he examines the body. Benton begins to move, much to Bradshaw's astonishment. He appears alive and aware of his surroundings. He sits up, then stands, and then knocks Bradshaw out with a mere brush of his arm. We are told in voiceover that the voltage burned out his vocal chords, rendering Benton mute. The voltage increased his strength. In his bid to escape the lab he pushes a door off its hinges. Bradshaw wakes as Benton returns to the lab. Bradshaw tries to reason with Benton. His assistant returns, shocked that Benton was up and walking around. Bradshaw warns him that Benton is violent. Bradshaw tries to take a blood sample, but the needle bends; his skin is a solid mass of cells. Benton attacks and kills Bradshaw and his assistant. Benton decides he wants to return to Los Angeles and seek revenge on his three accomplices.Chasen returns to the strip club to see Eva again, but this time it is a social call. They go out on a date to a burger joint. She tells him her life story, he reciprocates. Chasen has been tailing Lowe, and eavesdropping on some of his phone conversations. He is intrigued by just one. He watches Joe Marcelli cross the street, on a pair of crutches, for a meeting with Lowe. In the bar, Joe gets into a confrontation with an old lush (Madge Cleveland) and Harry, the bar owner (Robert Foulk). Lowe has a job for him--to help him recover the money. They are to meet the next day.Benton is walking along a quiet road on his way back to Los Angeles, when he sees a beautiful woman (Rita Green) standing next to a car with a flat tire. As he approaches, Carnie (Eddie Marr) pops out and introduces himself. He tells Benton the car has a flat tire, and he has no tools to change it. Benton pushes the two aside and lifts the car up. Carnie replaces the tire and expresses interest in hiring Benton for his carnival act. Benton kills Carnie and steals the car and continues on his trek for Los Angeles. The police respond with roadblocks. When Benton encounters one, he attacks and kills the two policemen and continues on his way.The next morning Chasen reports in with the Captain. He is informed he and the rest of the force are going on 24-hour duty. Benton, back in Los Angeles, stops by the strip club to see Eva. Eva is shocked to see Benton. He shows her a tattoo to prove his identity. He sees his envelope and opens it. She explains that all it contained was a $50 bill and that Lowe was there when she opened it. Benton leaves and intends to get Squeamy and Joe. Eva calls the police. She asks for Chasen, but is told he is out. She leaves a message that Benton is alive. Immediately she calls Squeamy Ellis and tells him the same, but he doesn't believe her. He did think Benton arranged a hit man, so he takes the warning seriously enough to make arrangements for a quick escape from his apartment down the fire escape. Benton hops on Angels Flight funicular and rides up to Squeamy's apartment. When he hears Benton outside his room he makes good his escape. Eva arrives in time to see Benton at Squeamy's apartment window. Joe, unaware of Benton's escape, is on his way to see Squeamy. Having no money, he bypasses Angels Flight, and walks up the stairs on his crutches. Benton sees his prey from the window and leaves the apartment to confront him. Joe sees Benton just outside the apartment, and tries to escape, but his bad foot slows him down. Benton lifts him up and throws him down a flight of stairs, killing him instantly. The police arrive and shoot Benton, but with no effect at all. Benton kills the policeman.Next on his list is the attorney. He enters the Bradbury Building, and takes the elevator up to Lowe's office. He breaks in and disables the phone. Benton is delighted that Squeamy decides to visit Lowe at his office. As Ellis exits the elevator, Benton is there waiting for him. Ellis empties his revolver into Benton then backs into the elevator. Benton grabs him, lifts him overhead, walks over to the railing and tosses him down five stories to the lobby below. When Eva arrives at the Bradbury Building she sees a crowd gathered around the body of Squeamy Ellis. A short time later, Launer and Chasen arrive and are told the killer must have been wearing a bullet-proof vest. Launer and Chasen are told of a reported sighting of Benton in the Valley. They question a woman (Marjorie Stapp). She describes Benton and the murder of her boyfriend.When Lowe hears a radio report in his car about the death of Joe and that Benton was identified as the killer he stops by the strip club to see Eva. Eva isn't there, but Francine (Peggy Maley) is filling in for her. Francine tells Lowe that Eva is at Police Headquarters. Lowe drives over to the station, and Eva tells him both Joe and Squeamy are dead and Benton is alive. Lowe immediately demands police protection. Chasen demands to know where the money is located. To guarantee his own safety, Lowe provokes arrest by slugging the Sergeant (Roy Engle).Chasen devises a plan to get Lowe to speak. He intends to release him from custody and let Benton track him down. Captain Launer is very reluctant to approve, but finally agrees to the plan. It works and Lowe talks. That leads them to the sewers and the exact location of the money. Benton has been traveling around in the Los Angeles storm drains as the police zeroed in on his exact location. They were advised that a flamethrower might be an effective weapon. Benton locates the money and starts stuffing it into his coat. One police officer shoots him with a bazooka, but it only slows him down a little. Launer recovers the money from the strongbox. When next he is spotted they employ the flamethrower. Other than melting his face a little, it has no effect on stopping him. Benton makes his way to the power station and commandeers a gantry crane. The crane brushes against a large transformer and a surge of electricity passes through the crane killing Benton.Back in Chasen's office, he finishes up his report and closes the case. He asks the Captain for a little time off. Chasen and Eva are back at the burger joint in his car on a date. He informs her he had arranged her dismissal from her job. He tells her being his wife will take up all her time. They kiss.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
Lon picks up some quick pocket money playing Charles "Butcher" Benton (we are never told how he got the nickname and maybe are better off for not knowing) a career criminal railroaded to the gas chamber by his ex-partners.
The cast is great, apart from Lon Chaney and Robert Shayne (NEANDERTHAL MAN, INVADERS FROM MARS, etc) there is also Ken Terrell (ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN), Casey Adams (THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD) and don't go for popcorn or you'll miss an unbilled Joe Flynn as a lab assistant.
A bizarre scientific experiment brings him back to life via a massive dose of electricity, which destroys his vocal cords but makes his skin impenetrable, thus becoming the `Indestructible Man.' The story revolves around the Butcher seeking revenge on those who double-crossed him and a zealous police lieutenant chasing he and a missing $600,000 down, with said policeman, (the versatile Casey Adams), falling in love with the Butcher's would-be love interest, (Marion Carr).
Now as to the Noir aspects, the film is shown in a semi-documentary style like many Film Noir movies and features the usual narration--this time by the detective working on the case.
This is another one of these "not bad" sci-fi/horror/crime/drama/whatever you want to label it 1950s B-films.The cast actually has some fine actors, men like Casey Adams who starred in "Niagara" with some no-name dames called Marilyn Monroe and Jean Peters, and Lon Chaney, a familiar name among fans of this genre.The is the tried-and-true revenge story.
Oh, the assistant is Joe Flynn, also of TV fame (McHale's Navy.) I'm telling you, this had a pretty good cast.Well, Charles "The Butcher" Benton (Chaney) is brought back to life, much to the surprise of the doctor and his assistant.
Lon Chaney Jr.'s presence completes the circle.Insert the preceding Frankenstein ingredient into the Maltese Falcon, dumb it down a bit but not too much, and you have "Indestructible Man" in a nutshell.Keep an eye out for Max Showalter as the Lieutenant on the killer's trail.
Chaney Jr. starred in several really good horror gems ("Spider Baby", "House of Dracula") but also in many overlooked B-movies like this "Indestructible Man".
Even though filmed on a minuscule budget, "Indestructible Man" is a very entertaining crime/horror movie with fairly good acting and a couple of nice special effects.
The body of a violent criminal, 'Butcher' Benton(Lon Chaney Jr), is accidentally brought back to life and the speechless bad man is determined to kill the three people responsible for his ride in the electric chair.
Lon Chaney's face will remind you of jello as too many close-ups of Chaney's face dominate this cheesy, very low budget film.Chaney is Butcher Benton a penny ante criminal who's been set-up by his lawyer and gangster pals.
Fans of his will be interested to know that this is a semi of remake of Man Made Monster (1941) the movie which typecast him in horror genre.Here he plays a robber sentenced to death and he has the nickname Butch so I assume he also killed people, he's bought back to life via a Frankenstein type way but the electricity has damaged his vocal cords, fans of Chaney Jr will know that because of his alcohol problem he often asked for his dialogue be eliminated, entirely if possible so apart from the opening scene he has no dialogue.
The detective hot on his trail is Max Showalter and he narrates the story similar to Friday in the TV show Dragnet.While everything else in the movie is fine the good work of the cast and crew is tainted a little bit the silly romantic sub plot with the detective and Chaney's ex girlfriend played by Marian Carr, in my opinion it seemed forced and didn't do anything for the story.All in all a must see for fans of Lon Chaney Jr or fans of 1950's B horror movies..
Minor sci-fi horror flick about an executed murderer (Lon Chaney, Jr.) brought back to life by a scientist (Robert "Inspector Henderson" Shayne).
This movie tells the story of a man whom the authorities call 'The Butcher' (Lon Chaney Jr.) who is scheduled to be executed at the State Prison without revealing where the stolen loot is hidden.
It's never as bad as Ed Wood's films, but it's a gem.Lon Chaney Jr. Plays the Butcher a convicted killer, who is put to death by the electric chair.
HE'S NOT DEAD...he's just p***** off now and it's time to get revenge on the low life ex-gangster friends of his who helped set him up.In a way I look at Chaney and this film as the original Terminator.Besides the film's campy charms and numerous close-ups of Chaney's worn, fleshy face the film boasts some interesting location work showing an area of Los Angeles complete with cable cars, called Angel's Flight levelled in the late 50's in a down-town revitalization project.I know some others have rated this low...
300,000 Volts Of Fun. I did get to have one wacky film experience over the weekend, and that film was the 1956 Lon Chaney, Jr. outing "Indestructible Man." This movie was originally shown as part of a double feature for the kiddies back when, paired with one of my favorite sci-fi shlock adventures ever, "World Without End," for one truly mind-boggling afternoon at the movies.
He is indeed put to death, but soon after, his body is sold to a scientist (Robert Shayne, who most viewers will remember from his role of Inspector Henderson on TV's "Adventures of Superman," and whose work I recently enjoyed in the 1953 film "The Neanderthal Man") who is doing experiments regarding a cancer cure.
(I wish MY name were Dick Chasen!) He is played by an actor whose face you will recall, and whose name is sometimes given as Casey Adams, and sometimes as Max Showalter; you will probably best recall him from his role in the Marilyn Monroe breakthrough film "Niagara." Ultimately, Dick teams up with Butcher's last galpal, a burlesque dancer played by Marian Carr, who seems to wear nothing but her burlesque outfit wherever she goes, providing the film with some undeniable visual appeal....OK, I'm not gonna lie to you and say that "Indestructible Man" is a quality film, but at 70 minutes, it surely never does wear out its welcome.
As for Chaney, he gets very little dialogue in the film, which dialogue is limited to his prison cell, before he is put to death; after he is revivified, his vocal cords have apparently been burnt to cinders by those 300,000 volts, forcing the big lug to limit his acting to grimacing, and squinting up his eyes in a fairly menacing manner.
Lon Chaney, Jr. stars in this most low budget science fiction/noir thriller about a man who comes back from the dead with no voice and more of a one track mind that Moose Malloy in Murder My Sweet.
When scientists Robert Shayne and Joe Flynn make an under the table deal for the body, they shoot it with electricity, Frankenstein style, and Chaney comes to life, even though his vocal cords have burned to a cinder and has no voice.
His skin and bones have become almost like Superman, he's truly an Indestructible Man.The film is narrated by Max Showalter the detective on the original armored car heist.
Bullets bounce off him just like Superman, even a flame thrower just burns him, and a bazooka only slows him down a bit.There are two female roles of importance, Marian Carr as Chaney's girl friend as described by the papers and her best friend and fellow stripper Peggy Maley who always has a good wisecrack in any film she's ever in.You can't rate the film all that high, the production values are almost non-existent.
Lon Chaney Jr. gets to play a caricature composite of some of his father's great horror role as a vicious criminal brought back to life by mad scientist Robert (Inspector Henderson) Shayne.
Benton coming back from the dead to get his share of the loot,all of it, from an armored car robbery that he was set up for and framed by his double-crossing partners mob lawyer Paul Lowe, Ross Elliott, and small-time hoods Squeamy Ellis, Marvin Ellis, and Joe Marcelli, Ken Terrell.
A pretty hilarious piece of trash in which Lon Chaney plays an executed murderer called "Butcher" Benton who goes on the rampage after being revived from the dead by a scientist trying to cure cancer.
Otherwise, this one is criminal.** Indestructible Man (1956) Jack Pollexfen ~ Lon Chaney Jr., Max Showalter, Marian Carr.
INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN stars Lon Chaney Jr. as Charles "The Butcher" Benton, who is sentenced to die in the gas chamber, after being double-crossed by his former partners in crime.
Horror legend Lon Chaney Jnr plays The Butcher, a criminal who gets executed but is unintentionally brought back to life Frankenstein style in an illicit experiment to cure cancer.
Very low budget B picture with Lon Chaney Jr. Filmed not so much like a horror film, but as a film noir with a twist.It's actually a decent story and is rather well played out, considering the budget.Chaney over acts and does some crazy mugging and sometimes the closeups don't match up.It's almost like an ED direction.Still, it's easy to forgive because you can get into the story.Here's the plot"Butcher" Benton goes to his death in the state prison, cursing the three men who double-crossed him following an armored-car hold-up; "Squeamy" Ellis, Joe Marcelli and Paul Lowe, his attorney and leader of the gang.
In this case it is Lon Chaney Jr. as armed robber Charles Benton, betrayed by two other bank robbers who turned state's evidence at the request of sleazy lawyer Paul Lowe, who wants a fall guy for the robbery and a chance at a smaller split for the 600K payroll heist for which he hired the three thieves in the first place.
Lon Chaney takes on the title role of a Los Angeles criminal named Butcher Benton, who is on death row and taking the rap from two of his traitorous cohorts who turned state's evidence against him at his trial.
Although Lon Chaney has a couple of fun lines early in the picture, once he comes back to life he plays it ominously mute, like an unstoppable electrified Frankenstein monster of brute power, with quivering maniacal eyes.
This one gets hold of the recently executed body of a vicious killer named Butcher Benton (Lon Chaney Jr) and brings him back from the dead.
Meanwhile a detective is closing in, helped by Benton's former girlfriend.Aside from some dull romantic interludes between the cop and the girlfriend, the film moves along at a decent pace, helped by some good location work around LA and an effective, even sympathetic, performance from Chaney.
If Benton had simply escaped from prison - without being resurrected, without being made indestructible - the core plot of a desperate man hunting down the rats who double-crossed him would still be there, and would locate the movie firmly in film noir country..
Fans of "Dragnet" will find this sci fi offering to be equally entertaining.Lon Chaney Jr. is perfectly cast as Charles 'Butcher' Benton, a man who is scheduled to die in the gas chamber, but who vows to kill his lawyer and his accomplices who turned State's evidence and get back the $600,000 he stole from an armored car robbery.
Tracking the reborn "Butcher", who now has immense strength and is impervious to most weapons, is dedicated detective Dick Chasen (Max Showalter)."Film noir crossed with 'Frankenstein'" is indeed a great way to describe this goofy but irresistible plot, which is supplemented by Showalters' frequent narration.
(She plays Eva Martin, a burlesque performer who had spent some time with our villain, and is soon romanced by our hero.) The solid supporting cast also includes Stuart Randall as the police captain, Robert Foulk as a bar owner, Roy Engel as a desk sergeant, Lyle Latell as a cop, Joe Flynn as Shaynes' assistant, and two other very sexy ladies, Peggy Maley and Reita Green.Entertaining to watch, especially for Lon Jr. fans and B movie fans in general.As has been pointed out, this is somewhat similar to an earlier Lon Jr. vehicle, "Man Made Monster".Seven out of 10..
Lon Chaney stars as Charles "Butcher" Benton who is a criminal who dies and a scientist conducts an experiment and he gets resurrected.
This is one of those unbelievable, low-budget horror films from the 1950s that's "so bad it's good."  Lon Chaney, Jr., on the downslide of his career, plays Charles "Butcher" Benton with so much fierce conviction that he carries the rest of this poorly acted and directed programmer.
Scientific experiments accidentally revive an executed criminal (Lon Chaney Jr.) and make him impervious to harm, prompting him to seek revenge on his former partners.IMDb calls this a "horror" and "science fiction" film.
Despite the sappy acting of Max Showalter(Casey Adams),the story had a constant flow which kept you interested in the outcome of the Butcher's revenge on his crooked partners.Lon Chaney's performance makes you empathize with his predicament without the spoken word.
The poster looks as if Lon Chaney, Jr. is a man that can electrocute you with just his touch - and this film is not that way; the film's poster does NOT do this movie justice.I actually like this film.
You would have to watch the film to judge for yourself.If you like detective stories, film noir, crime stories, science fiction, horror and/or Lon Chaney, Jr. then you should like "Indestructible Man" - at least give the film a chance when you can get around to watching it.8/10.
It's low budget, but acting is pretty good, and the plot is also good and original.Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney Jr.) is a convicted killer, and is executed, but a scientist brings him back to life using high voltage.
This to me is one of Lon Chaney's best movies.Good '50s classic with interesting and original plot..
Indestructible Man (1956) ** (out of 4) A scientist brings an executed killer (Lon Chaney, Jr.) back to life who eventually goes on a killing spree in this minor cult classic.
The movie goes something like this: Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney Jr) is falsely convicted of a crime and executed.
Armored Car bank robber Butcher Benton (played by Lon Chaney Jr.), about to be set to the gas chamber, vows revenge on those who betrayed him including his attorney Paul Lowe and two other shady associates who turned state evidence against him.
And for a nine-year-old who worshiped at the shrines of Famous Monsters magazine and low-budget L.A. cop shows like "Dragnet" and "Code 3", this movie was damn near ultimate, especially when you got to stay up late to catch it on the Saturday night Creature Feature.Lon Chaney Jr. is clearly past his peak and he only has a few lines at the beginning, before the experiment that restores his life robs him of his vocal cords, but he manages to tap into the pain and rage that made his Lawrence Talbot so tragic a figure.
And then there were some great character turns - Inspector Henderson as a mad scientist assisted by Captain Binghamton (how my young mind reeled), Lassie sheriff Robert Foulk as the cynical, hardboiled bartender, Marian Carr as the good stripper and Peggy Maley as her greedy second, Ross Elliot as Benton's sleazy lawyer and Ken Terrell and Marvin Ellis as the accomplices (every 50's crime movie should have a guy named Squeamy in it), and the brief appearance of Eddie Marr as the huckstering Carney, who darn near made a career out of playing barkers in films like "The Hucksters" and "Roustabout" and TV shows like "Circus Boy" - all great stuff that just barely manages to make Adams and his wooden cop compadres bearable.So, I'm rating this a seven, even though I know that only those who were struck by this flick during their salad days are apt to agree with me.
The plot is a fun combination of the old time horror clichés from "The Walking Dead" and "The Man They Could Not Hang" era with the police procedure clichés and narration from cheap cop shows of the early television era, all filmed in a crude verite style still interesting for its glimpses of Los Angeles in the fifties.Stone killer Butcher Benton is set to die in the gas chamber.
And while the movie is only 70 minutes long, the stuff between the Lon Chaney scenes more often than not feels like padding.
Indestructible Man. A scientist, working on a cure for cancer, uses a machine which sends electric bolts into the confiscated corpse of executed armored car robber Butcher Benton (Lon Chaney, Jr).
While the movie didn't do a lot for me personally, Chaney's presence in the film supplied enough entertainment to watch it all the way through to the end..
After the criminal known as Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is put to death in the gas chamber, his body finds its way to the laboratory of a Professor Bradshaw.
This movie stars famous horror actor Lon Chaney Jr as the Indestructible Man who was well cast for the part considering he was still in decent shape.
Fortunately after he is executed a scientist obtains his corpse (somehow) and pumps him full of electricity and he comes back to life to wreak his avowed mission of death as the Indestructible Man. So he kills some people before being fried in a power plant after dodging the police and being shot a lot of times.
The Indestructible Man is played by Lon Chaney Jnr. who I would like to say gives an electric performance but no, he is rather flat, lumbering around and throwing his victims off high places.One of those places is the much filmed Bradbury Building in Los Angeles.