The Tingler

"Ghastly Beyond Belief!"

1959 1h 22m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 205

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

“Ghastly Beyond Belief!”

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Cast

Vincent Price
Dr. Warren Chapin
Philip Coolidge
Oliver 'Ollie' Higgins
Judith Evelyn
Mrs. Martha Ryerson Higgins
Darryl Hickman
David Morris
Pamela Lincoln
Lucy Stevens
Patricia Cutts
Isabel Stevens Chapin
William Castle
Prologue Host (uncredited)
Bob Gunderson
Ryerson - Screaming Convict (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Castle
Writers: Robb White
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Directed by William Castle, shot by Wilfrid M. Cline. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Von Dexter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chester W. Schaeffer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Price and Philip Coolidge and Judith Evelyn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Ghastly Beyond Belief!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Castle directs. Wilfrid M. Cline behind the camera. Von Dexter scores. Chester W. Schaeffer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
367 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by William Castle, shot by Wilfrid M. Cline. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Von Dexter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chester W. Schaeffer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Vincent Price and Philip Coolidge and Judith Evelyn carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Ghastly Beyond Belief!".
9IMDB entry: tt0053363 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "adultery", "deaf-mute", "lsd", "autopsy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Wilfrid M. Cline
Original score: Von Dexter
Editing: Chester W. Schaeffer
Makeup / hair: Hazel Keats
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $250,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Tingler (1959)

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William Castle

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Community reviews

What people are saying

dennyjt2022-07-25
★ 6/10
William Castle was a master showman and this was his grandest triumph. He loved a gimmick, in this case Percepto, a device fitted beneath theater seats to enhance the climactic scenes by giving the patrons a short, sharp shock! Vincent Price, at his most maniacally deluded, is a pathologist who says he has discovered fear produces an actual physical creature that only be overcome by the release of a scream. He hopes to get his hands on someone who has died of fright to test his theory and this proves simpler than one might think, thanks to the company he keeps. It is a mad, nightmare of a horror that hurtles through scenes of capital punishment, a bad LSD trip (first time on film), an unfaithful wife, a silent movie theater (showing Tol'Able David, a true classic), younf love and a cheap looking monster. Even though the story is patently absurd, this is a fun-filled thrill ride, even without the threat of an electric jolt!
Sierbahnn2026-05-05
★ 7/10
There's something to be said about line delivery in horror movies when the lines aren't panicked and screaming, but understated and build tension rather than relieve it. The conceit of this plot is ludicrous, of course, but it is fifties surrealism and it has a meta concept to it, which is very weird and rewarding. The movie is quite a little gem for its genre and I highly recommend it.