Director William Castle was renowned for his cinematic gimmicks; in his final film, Shanks, the novelty was the casting of French mime Marcel Marceau in the lead. The fact that the star remains silent throughout speaks volumes about the film's quirkiness, and how much you enjoy it will depend on whether you appreciate abject eccentricity for the sake of it. Having developed a fondness for the absurd, I found the film to be an enjoyable and charming experience - like something that Tim Burton might have made during his early years as a film-maker.
With a silent star, it's only apt that Castle treats Shanks like a silent film, introducing chapters with title cards, using occasional sepia tones, and allowing his performers' physicality to be the focus of the movie. Marceau shines in two roles: as deaf-mute puppeteer Malcolm Shanks, and wealthy Old Walker, who hires Malcolm to help him in his scientific experiments at his mansion. Malcolm is only too happy to work for Walker, since it gets him away from his shrewish step-sister, Mrs. Barton (Tsilla Chelton), and her alcoholic husband (Philippe Clay), who are mean to him; besides, Old Walker's experiments in reviving dead animals via implanted electrodes gives Malcolm the opportunity to be paid for his unique set of skills, the puppeteer deftly controlling the movements of reanimated frogs and chickens with a special hand-set (a small black box with three dials).
When Malcolm arrives at work to find Old Walker has passed away during the night, he realises that he is out of a job, and so inserts the electrodes into the dead man's body, giving him the appearance of life. As the reanimated Old Walker, Marceau makes full use of his agility, moving awkwardly and robotically; the effect is both amusing and macabre.
Malcolm is interrupted by a drunken Mr. Barton, who turns up at the mansion, demanding money. The puppeteer seizes the chance to rid himself of this horrible man by controlling his reanimated chicken (not a euphemism); face bloodied from the bird's pecking and clawing, Barton tumbles down some stairs and dies. Malcom then reanimates Mr. Barton and, through a twist of fate, also does away with, and subsequently revives, his nasty step-sister. To keep up appearances, Malcolm takes the dead couple for a stroll through the town, where he meets his teenage friend Celia (Cindy Eilbacher), whom he takes for a picnic. When Celia suddenly realises that she is in the company of dead people, she is horrified, but Malcolm assures her that she is safe; having calmed the girl, he takes her to the mansion where he organises a party to celebrate her birthday.
The fun comes to an end, however, when the party is crashed by a gang of bikers, who attack Cindy and tie up the puppeteer. When Malcolm escapes, he finds Celia's lifeless body lying in the undergrowth and exacts revenge.
Described in the opening credits as a 'grim fairy tale', Shanks is precisely that, a bizarre fantasy laced with black humour that doesn't end happily ever after. At times, it feels like a movie aimed at children, until one remembers that it is dealing with the very unsavoury and disrespectful idea of treating the dead like puppets. While Malcolm's relationship with Celia, a good thirty years his junior, is seemingly intended as innocent, one can't help feeling a little uneasy about such a creepy old guy hanging out with a pretty blonde girl in pigtails. And the ending, in which Malcolm brings Celia back to life so that he can dance with her only adds to the unsettling vibe, at least until the whole thing is revealed to have been a story being told by the puppeteer (dressed unnervingly like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) to an eager audience of kids.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for the ghoulish moment when dead Mrs. Barton accidentally severs her own finger while cutting Celia's birthday cake, and for reanimated Mr. And Mrs. Barton doing a Charleston-style dance.
With a silent star, it's only apt that Castle treats Shanks like a silent film, introducing chapters with title cards, using occasional sepia tones, and allowing his performers' physicality to be the focus of the movie. Marceau shines in two roles: as deaf-mute puppeteer Malcolm Shanks, and wealthy Old Walker, who hires Malcolm to help him in his scientific experiments at his mansion. Malcolm is only too happy to work for Walker, since it gets him away from his shrewish step-sister, Mrs. Barton (Tsilla Chelton), and her alcoholic husband (Philippe Clay), who are mean to him; besides, Old Walker's experiments in reviving dead animals via implanted electrodes gives Malcolm the opportunity to be paid for his unique set of skills, the puppeteer deftly controlling the movements of reanimated frogs and chickens with a special hand-set (a small black box with three dials).
When Malcolm arrives at work to find Old Walker has passed away during the night, he realises that he is out of a job, and so inserts the electrodes into the dead man's body, giving him the appearance of life. As the reanimated Old Walker, Marceau makes full use of his agility, moving awkwardly and robotically; the effect is both amusing and macabre.
Malcolm is interrupted by a drunken Mr. Barton, who turns up at the mansion, demanding money. The puppeteer seizes the chance to rid himself of this horrible man by controlling his reanimated chicken (not a euphemism); face bloodied from the bird's pecking and clawing, Barton tumbles down some stairs and dies. Malcom then reanimates Mr. Barton and, through a twist of fate, also does away with, and subsequently revives, his nasty step-sister. To keep up appearances, Malcolm takes the dead couple for a stroll through the town, where he meets his teenage friend Celia (Cindy Eilbacher), whom he takes for a picnic. When Celia suddenly realises that she is in the company of dead people, she is horrified, but Malcolm assures her that she is safe; having calmed the girl, he takes her to the mansion where he organises a party to celebrate her birthday.
The fun comes to an end, however, when the party is crashed by a gang of bikers, who attack Cindy and tie up the puppeteer. When Malcolm escapes, he finds Celia's lifeless body lying in the undergrowth and exacts revenge.
Described in the opening credits as a 'grim fairy tale', Shanks is precisely that, a bizarre fantasy laced with black humour that doesn't end happily ever after. At times, it feels like a movie aimed at children, until one remembers that it is dealing with the very unsavoury and disrespectful idea of treating the dead like puppets. While Malcolm's relationship with Celia, a good thirty years his junior, is seemingly intended as innocent, one can't help feeling a little uneasy about such a creepy old guy hanging out with a pretty blonde girl in pigtails. And the ending, in which Malcolm brings Celia back to life so that he can dance with her only adds to the unsettling vibe, at least until the whole thing is revealed to have been a story being told by the puppeteer (dressed unnervingly like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) to an eager audience of kids.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for the ghoulish moment when dead Mrs. Barton accidentally severs her own finger while cutting Celia's birthday cake, and for reanimated Mr. And Mrs. Barton doing a Charleston-style dance.