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Shanks (film)

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Director
  
William Castle

Music director
  
Alex North

Duration
  

Country
  
United States

5.8/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Fantasy, Horror

Producer
  
Sheldon Schrager

Writer
  
Ranald Graham

Language
  
English

Shanks (film) movie poster

Release date
  
October 9, 1974 (1974-10-09)

Cast
  
Marcel Marceau
(Malcolm Shanks / Old Walker),
Tsilla Chelton
(Mrs. Barton),
Philippe Clay
(Mr. Barton),
Cindy Eilbacher
(Celia),
Biff Manard
(Goliath),
Helena Kallianiotes
(Mata Hari)

Similar movies
  
Curse of the Puppet Master
,
Silent Movie
,
Children of Paradise
,
Dummy
,
Mr. Plastimime
,
The Last Butterfly

Tagline
  
A new concept in the macabre in which the Good come out of the grave and the Evil are sent to fill the vacancy.

Shanks 1974 fair use clip


Shanks is a 1974 American horror film about a puppeteer able to manipulate dead bodies like puppets. Mime Marcel Marceau, in his first major film role, plays the titular Malcolm Shanks. It was the last film directed by producer-director William Castle.

Contents

Shanks (film) movie scenes

31 days of horror shanks 1974 day 14


Plot

Shanks (film) movie scenes

Malcolm Shanks (Marceau) is a deaf, mute puppeteer who lives with his cruel sister (Chelton) and her husband (Clay). His skill with puppets is noticed by a doctor who takes him on as a lab assistant. The doctor's experiments involve reanimating the dead and controlling them like puppets. When the doctor dies unexpectedly, Shanks continues the experiments to exact revenge.

Cast

Shanks (film) wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters56071p56071

  • Marcel Marceau as Malcolm Shanks / Old Walker
  • Tsilla Chelton as Mrs. Barton
  • Philippe Clay as Mr. Barton
  • Cindy Eilbacher as Celia
  • Helena Kallianiotes as Mata Hari
  • Larry Bishop as Napoleon
  • Don Calfa as Einstein
  • Biff Manard as Goliath
  • Production

    Marceau, who had for decades before performed in his signature white face makeup and without speaking, both spoke and appeared without makeup for this film. He played two roles: Malcolm Shanks, who could not speak, and Old Walker, who could. He had appeared in 20 shorts and films in small and cameo roles, often as his mime character Bip. Director William Castle took an interest in him after watching him perform the pantomime "Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death" and approached him with the script for Shanks, saying it dealt with similar themes. Said Marceau of the script, "it was exactly what I had been looking for."

    Reception

    Film critic Roger Ebert described the film as a disappointment, though he credited Marceau and his performance, describing it as "always interesting and sometimes gruesomely funny"

    Awards and nominations

    Conductor Alex North was nominated for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score for the 47th Academy Awards in 1975.

    References

    Shanks (film) Wikipedia
    Shanks (film) IMDb Shanks (film) themoviedb.org