The Dead Talk Back (film)

The Dead Talk Back
Year	1957
Directed by	Merle S. Gould
Produced by	Merle S. Gould
Written by	Merle S. Gould
Music by	Van Phillips
Studio	Headliner Productions
Cast	Aldo Farnese Laura Brock Scott Douglas Myron Natwick
Run time	65 minutes
Riffed in	Experiment #603

“	The devil! That man is the devil himself!	”
	- Christopher Mattling

For the episode, see MST3K 603 - The Dead Talk Back.

The Dead Talk Back is a 1957 crime thriller that was written, directed, and produced by Merle S. Gould.

Plot

Dr. Henry Krasker is an amateur inventor and criminologist with a fascination for the occult. He lives in a boarding house with several others, and is attempting to develop a device that can communicate with the deceased.

Renee Caldwell is a bored underwear model who resides at the boarding house where Krasker lives. When she is murdered on the front porch, pierced by a curtain rod fired from a crossbow, the police launch an investigation to determine the identity of the assailant. Henry Krasker offers his assistance, but his friend police Lieutenant Lewis decides to use more traditional methods.

The authorities interrogate the residents of the boarding house and eventually track down Tony Pettini, a photographer who had worked with the victim. He attempts to flee from police, but he is caught and questioned. This fails to provide any useful new evidence and the investigators become desperate for any new leads.

Under the aegis of the police, Krasker calls a meeting of the boarding-house residents. They all adjourn to his laboratory for a "seance" in which he pleads with the spirit of the victim to name her murderer. The killer, unnerved, confesses.

Cast

• Aldo Farnese as Henry Krasker
• Scott Douglas as Lt. Lewis
• Myron Natwick as Raymond Milburn
• Laura Brock as Renee Caldwell
• Kyle Stanton as Christopher Mattling
• Curtis Roberts as Frits Kreuger
• Mat Maracco as Harold Younger
• Sammy Ray as Tony Pettini

Notes

• This is one of two fictional movies produced & directed by Merle S. Gould. The other film is entitled The Body is a Shell, which also dealt with supernatural elements. It starred Andre Farnese, the brother of Aldo. Gould also made a documentary about Nostradamus that was narrated by Basil Rathbone.
• The boys who live in the boarding house were played by Dennis and Ronald Gould, the sons of producer-director Merle S. Gould.
• This is the only film credit for most of the cast. Only Myron Natwick (Raymond Milburn) and Scott Douglas (Lt. Lewis) have a significant number of other film roles.
• This film was made in 1957, but was not released. In 1993, it was discovered by a home video distribution company.
• This was among the first films to explore the concept of Instrumental Transcommunication (the supposed real-time communication with the dead), or Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Later such films include Poltergeist and White Noise.
• The route that Tony Pettini takes through Los Angeles when being pursued by Lt. Lewis is implausible. From identifiable landmarks, it starts at 6519 Hollywood Blvd., with Tony jaywalking to the south side after passing the Academy Theater. After a cut, he's back on the north side going west past Whitley Ave. After a brief shot showing some unidentified open space, he passes Grauman's Chinese Theater (several blocks west from the previous identifiable point). Almost immediately after that shot, Tony has somehow arrived in a parking lot between Wilcox Ave. and Schroeder Blvd., just south of his starting point on Hollywood Blvd.