The Tingler
Ghastly Beyond Belief!
1959 | 82m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | William Castle |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Robb White |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Jul 29, 1959 |
|---|---|
| Director: | William Castle |
| Writer: | Robb White |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Horror |
| Keywords | adultery, deaf-mute, autopsy, lsd, cheat on husband, black and white, creature, pathologist, human experiment, fright, adulterous wife, spinal column, psychotronic film, movie theater, frightened woman, gimmick, weird tale, weird science, spine breaker |
| Production Companies | Columbia Pictures, William Castle Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $250,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| Dal McKennon | Projectionist (uncredited) |
| Leon Alton | Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited) |
| Gertrude Astor | Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited) |
| Richard Barthelmess | David Kinemon (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| Gail Bonney | Member of Silent Movie Audience (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) |
| Clarence Straight | Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited) |
| Ernest Torrence | Luke Hatburn (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Robb White | Screenplay |
| Clarence Peet | Property Master |
| Von Dexter | Original Music Composer |
| Chester W. Schaeffer | Editor |
| Phillip Bennett | Art Direction |
| Milton Stumph | Set Decoration |
| Hazel Keats | Makeup Artist |
| Monty Westmore | Makeup Artist |
| Herb Wallerstein | Assistant Director |
| John P. Livadary | Sound Supervisor |
| Harry D. Mills | Sound |
| William Castle | Director |
| Wilfrid M. Cline | Director of Photography |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| William Castle | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 14 | 21 | 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 15 | 33 | 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 9 |
| 2024 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 6 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 5 |
| 2024 | 10 | 13 | 30 | 6 |
| 2024 | 11 | 9 | 21 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 8 | 17 | 6 |
| 2025 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
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!