Audience Member
A Hammer Films Collection, What more can anyone ask for, Oh Barbara Payton is also in this, so it gave me 2 reasons to watch it. This is the first movie about cloning a person. It is adapted from William F. Temple's novel of 1949, which itself was an expansion of his short story 'The Four Sided Triangle' published in 1939! In this version, Dr. Bill Leggat, with the assistance of his childhood friends Robin and Lena, builds a 'reproducer,' a matter duplicator. Bill, however, has always been running second to Robin in Lena's affections, and when she marries Robin, he becomes distraught, and decides to 'reproduce' her. She finally agrees, since he promises her that the reproduced Lena will be wiped clean of any memories, and will start life anew. He then runs off with the cloned Lena, whom he calls Helen. Unfortunately for Bill, she does retain at least some of her original memories and love for Robin.
The critical dramatic theme, of course, is how the new Lena, Helen, deals with the fact of her existence. More of the movie should have been spent on this. The problems emerging from the self-awareness of the clone have been treated not only in Temple's story and novel, but also in John Varley's short story 'The Barbie Murders' (1978), Stanislaw Lem's amazing descriptions in his novel 'Fiasco' (1987), and Natalya Banderchuk's poignant performance as the constantly being recreated Hari in Tarkovsky's deviant but brilliant movie version of 'Solyaris' (1972) -- also written by Stanislaw Lem.
Here the dramatic burden falls on Barbara Payton as Lena/Helen, also to be seen in the split identity themed 'Bride of the Gorilla' (1951). She does a fair job of expressing her mixed feelings of being re-created, finally opting for an aborted suicide. An all consuming fire in Bill's barn / laboratory dooms Bill and Helen, though in the short story the reader is left puzzling whether it is Lena or Helen who survives.
This film is like a too long episode of 'The Outer Limits,' which would have neatly telescoped this 81 minutes into a fast moving 52, the way that the episode 'Specimen: Unknown' (1964) is a condensed version of 'Day of the Triffids' (1963); or 'The Man Who Was Never Born' (1963) shortens a multi-themed two hour movie into a quick one hour; or Harlan Ellison's episode 'Soldier' (1964) gives us 'The Terminator' (1984). Here the laboratory sequences of perfecting organic matter re-creation go on too long; the entire development of the 'reproducer' could have been shortened, although all of the lab scenes tell us this is really a science fiction movie with a strong character focus like the best of 'The Outer Limits. 3 Stars 2-1-13
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
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Audience Member
In many ways, Four Sided Triangle presages later sci-fi classics like The Fly, which would come out five years later in 1958. However, instead of the mutations of The Fly, this early Hammer film pursues a doppleganger storyline. Four Sided Triangle concerns a pair of young scientists who create a matter duplicator. Of course, the two scientists love the same woman, and hence one of them decides that perhaps she can be duplicated as well. While Four Side Triangle looks forward to the sci-fi classics of the 50s in both Britain and America and features some genuinely provocative ideas, it failed to ever become compelling to me. Instead, it frankly bored me as it plodded through its overly predictable plotline towards its inevitable climax.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
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Audience Member
Rather silly and formulaic, with a narrator that should've been strangled.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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Audience Member
This is a pretty well made film. It involves human cloning, which must have been far ahead of it's time in 1953. It drags at parts, but over all a very entertaining film
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
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Audience Member
Pretty kick ass twilight zoney type film.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
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Audience Member
In a way, this is something of a precursor to The Fly (which was made 6 years later) - except this one involves experiments in molecular-duplication rather than in molecular-transportation. It's an early Hammer production and is very, very British. Overlooked and recommended.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
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