The Tingler

1959
X
1h 22m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

10K

YOUR RATING

Watch the trailer for the horror film The Tingler, starring Vincent Price.

Play trailer2:18

2 Videos

99+ Photos

Horror Sci-Fi

An obsessed pathologist discovers and captures a parasitic creature that grows when fear grips its host.An obsessed pathologist discovers and captures a parasitic creature that grows when fear grips its host.An obsessed pathologist discovers and captures a parasitic creature that grows when fear grips its host.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

10K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

David Kinemon
(archive footage)
(uncredited)

Gail Bonney

Member of Silent Movie Audience
(uncredited)

William Castle

Prologue Himself - Host
(uncredited)

Pat Colby

Member of Silent Movie Audience
(uncredited)

George DeNormand

Member of Silent Movie Audience
(uncredited)

Amy Fields

Member of Silent Movie Audience
(uncredited)

Bob Gunderson

Ryerson - Screaming Convict
(uncredited)

Dal McKennon

Projectionist
(uncredited)

Clarence Straight

Member of Silent Movie Audience
(uncredited)

Ernest Torrence

Luke Hatburn, in clip from Tol'able David
(archive footage)
(uncredited)

Director
- William Castle
Writer
- Robb White
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Pamela Lincoln and Darryl Hickman, who play the young suitors, actually got married on November 28th after the Tingler release on July 29th 1959. They had two children, and divorced on December 8th, 1982.

Goofs
In almost every scene in which the Tingler appears, the wires maneuvering it are visible.

Quotes
Isabel Stevens Chapin: There's a word for you.
Dr. Warren Chapin: There are several for you.

Alternate versions
Originally released with a short sequence filmed partially in color. It is the scene when the deaf-mute Mrs. Higgins (Judith Evelyn), terrified by unknown forces, runs into a bathroom to hide and sees blood coming from the faucets of her sink and her bathtub filled with blood. Everything else in the scene is black and white except for the blood, which appears in garish red color - a typical William Castle gimmick. Current US and UK home media releases and television broadcasts include the restored partial-color sequence. The short sequence appears much grainier than the rest of the film due to the optical processes involved in achieving the composite effect.

Connections
Edited into FrightMare Theater: The Tingler (2016)

User reviews141

Featured review

Classic '50s b-grade surrealism.

William Castle's 'The Tingler' is one of the most extraordinary horror movies ever made. Low budget, silly script, bad dialogue, uneven acting, gimmicky to the extreme (with or without "percepto"), but it STILL manages to amaze. It's a kind of trojan horse, being a cheesy b-grade thriller with a hidden core of surrealism almost worthy of Bunuel or Cocteau.

Memorable performances from horror legend Vincent Price as the scientist obsessed with explaining the strange phenomenon he labels "the tingler", and Judith Evelyn (who had a bit part in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window') as a bizarre deaf mute who owns a silent movie theatre, elevate this above most of Castle's overrated output. The classic acid trip scene (I think the first ever), the memorable short colour sequence, and the William Burroughs-like monster make this something really special. Not to be missed!