Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Only hours away from execution, Charles “Butcher” Benton vows revenge on his double-crossing lawyer and the two partners in crime who turned states evidence to convict the robber. Paul Lowe, the lawyer, is trying to get Benton to tell him where the stolen $600,000 is, but Benton clams up saying he’ll take care of the money after he’s taken care of his enemies. Never mind the waiting gas chamber.
When the deed is done, a shady morgue worker takes a payoff to look the other way while a scientist’s assistant makes off with the body. The scientist, Prof. Bradshaw, is working on a cure for cancer. He injects some fluid into Benton’s body, then shocks him with electricity. Whether his cure for cancer works or not, we don’t know. His procedure does have an unexpected side-effect though: it brings Charles “Butcher” Benton back to life.
The shock has singed his vocals chords, but it’s also made him incredibly strong and, as the title suggests, indestructible. With this new and unexpected turn of events, “Butcher” sets off on a rampage back to LA to exact his revenge.
Meanwhile Lt. Dick Chasen, although no longer on the Benton case, is still determined to find the real brains of the operation and rescue the stolen loot. With the help of Benton’s gal pal Eva, a burlesque dancer with a heart of gold, they set out to crack the case and stop the Butcher.
Hmm. Looking back over that, this movie seems like it might not be so bad. It might even offer some real excitement.
Sadly, such is not the case.
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN was DULL CITY.
I wonder sometimes if moviemakers know, while they’re making something, that it’s crap. Or do these people go into the deal thinking they’re really making something worthwhile?
Let’s face it, Lon Chaney Jr. wasn’t much of an actor. Like Bela Lugosi, he made a name with a big role (1941’s THE WOLF MAN although it was far from his first role) and rode the crest of that wave for a long time afterward. It didn’t hurt that he had a father who was an incredible star in the horror genre. For the most part, however, Chaney Jr. played the lummox and spent most of the movie just being old, out of shape, and sweaty. I haven’t decided yet whether it was a good thing the Butcher couldn’t talk after his resurrection. I mean, listening to Chaney Jr’s uninspiring delivery is bad, but is it worse than watching him try to convey his meaning by flaring his eyes at the camera in an attempt to show rage?
Another con, for me, was Max Showalter as Lt. Chasen. Providing narration for the movie, as well as being the hero, Showalter gave a decent enough performance. It was nothing special, nothing memorable (Chasen’s basically a cardboard cutout character, indistinguishable from any other lead cop in a similar movie), but . . . I just couldn’t help, every time he came onscreen, seeing him in his final role as Grandpa Fred from SIXTEEN CANDLES. When he’s schmoozing Eva in his car on their first date, I can’t stop hearing him tell Grandma Helen, “I better get my magnifying glass!” When he’s outlining his plan to his Captain for getting Paul Lowe to confess his part in the robbery, he’s telling Long Duk Dong, “You don’t spell it son, you eat it.” It was very distracting.
But the real misery in THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN isn’t in the actors, it’s the story. At 71 minutes, this movie is about 30 minutes too long. So much time is spent watching the Butcher stumble around the streets of LA or Eva in her dressing room, or, worse, Paul and the goons talking about how the Butcher’s coming after them, don’t be surprised if, halfway through the film, you find yourself trying to mentally balance your checkbook or make your grocery list. Holy God this movie dragged on forever.
Although director Jack Pollexfen spent another 10 years in Hollywood, this was his last directing gig and that doesn’t surprise me at all. Writers Vy Russell and Sue Dwiggins, likewise, would only go on to script one more movie (1964’s THE ATOMIC BRAIN) before focusing on other aspects of the business, production secretary for Dwiggins, while Russell, after BRAIN, seems to have dropped out of the business altogether.
I can see where the idea for the movie was probably a good one--it might make a decent half-hour TWILIGHT ZONE or something, but even then you’d have to wrap it up with something really original--but there’s just not enough here to drag out for over an hour. And get an actor with a more expressive face than Chaney Jr. There’s a reason his most famous role had him covered in fur; he’s got all of two expressions, DUH and WHY I OUGHTA! In the end, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN just doesn’t hold up against . . . well, pretty much the rest of the horror genre. Totally forgettable.
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