Indestructible Man
We open with a scene of the indestructible man on top of gantry crane at an electrical power generating station and the credits. Lt. R. Chasen is dictating his report of the case and tells the story of the Indestructible Man in flashback.We are outside the gates at San Quentin prison in California. This is the final stop for Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney, Jr.); he is scheduled for execution in the gas chamber the next day. He is visited by his attorney, Paul Lowe (Ross Elliott). Lowe tells Benton his appeal was unsuccessful. Benton, while not surprised, is angry. He calls him a liar and a double crosser. Benton was part of a gang that stole $600,000 in an armored car robbery that Lowe masterminded. Two of his accomplices turned state's evidence, at the urging of Lowe. But Benton hid the money from his gang, and Lowe wants it. He tries to convince Benton to give it to him, but Benton vows to take revenge on all involved and take the location of the money to the grave.Down in Los Angeles, in a seedy bar, Joe Marcelli (Ken Terrell) and Squeamy Ellis (Marvin Ellis) are having a drink and listening to the radio report of Benton's pending execution. In his office at police headquarters, Lt. Chasen (Max Showalter, credited as Casey Adams) is reading the local paper when Capt. John Lauder (Stuart Randall) enters his office. Chasen is told that with Benton's execution the case is being marked as closed and he will be reassigned. Chasen spent a year on the case and is not happy to have it end without the recovery of the money. He vows to continue working on the case on his own time, as he is convinced Lowe was the mastermind.Chasen pays a visit to the local strip club to talk to Eva Martin (Marian Carr), the "girlfriend" of Benton's, hoping to get some information. Eva informs him that she and Benton were not involved. He was seeing her roommate, and when the roommate left town, she and Benton just struck up a friendship. She is emphatic that she was unaware of his criminal past and any knowledge of the robbery. Satisfied, he exits the club. He notices Lowe walking towards the club. He pretends to have his shoes shined while hiding behind a magazine so he can spy on Lowe. Lowe enters the club, walks upstairs and enters Eva's dressing room. The time is 5:00 p.m. and Benton has been executed. Eva feels bad for Benton and retrieves a letter he left for her in case he was executed. But before she can examine the contents, she's called back to the stage for her finale. She leaves Lowe behind in the dressing room. He quickly opens the letter and finds a very cryptic map with an "x" marking the location of something. He palms the map and puts a $50 bill back in the envelope and seals it. We are told in voiceover that its a map of the sewer system and the location of the stolen money.In San Francisco, Dr. Bradshaw (Robert Shayne) a "distinguished Biochemist is making preparations for a final experiment which he hoped would lead the way to a cure for cancer." His assistant (Joe Flynn) arrives with the body of Benton. He procured the body from a local mortuary under questionable circumstances. Bradshaw prepares the body, takes a blood sample, and wheels him into the machine. He runs 287,000 volts through the body. They intend to dissect the body after the experiment. The voltage causes his heart to start beating. Bradshaw dismisses it as "a shock reaction, it can't last." They pull the body out of the machine. Bradshaw sends his assistant out for some medications while he examines the body. Benton begins to move, much to Bradshaw's astonishment. He appears alive and aware of his surroundings. He sits up, then stands, and then knocks Bradshaw out with a mere brush of his arm. We are told in voiceover that the voltage burned out his vocal chords, rendering Benton mute. The voltage increased his strength. In his bid to escape the lab he pushes a door off its hinges. Bradshaw wakes as Benton returns to the lab. Bradshaw tries to reason with Benton. His assistant returns, shocked that Benton was up and walking around. Bradshaw warns him that Benton is violent. Bradshaw tries to take a blood sample, but the needle bends; his skin is a solid mass of cells. Benton attacks and kills Bradshaw and his assistant. Benton decides he wants to return to Los Angeles and seek revenge on his three accomplices.Chasen returns to the strip club to see Eva again, but this time it is a social call. They go out on a date to a burger joint. She tells him her life story, he reciprocates. Chasen has been tailing Lowe, and eavesdropping on some of his phone conversations. He is intrigued by just one. He watches Joe Marcelli cross the street, on a pair of crutches, for a meeting with Lowe. In the bar, Joe gets into a confrontation with an old lush (Madge Cleveland) and Harry, the bar owner (Robert Foulk). Lowe has a job for him--to help him recover the money. They are to meet the next day.Benton is walking along a quiet road on his way back to Los Angeles, when he sees a beautiful woman (Rita Green) standing next to a car with a flat tire. As he approaches, Carnie (Eddie Marr) pops out and introduces himself. He tells Benton the car has a flat tire, and he has no tools to change it. Benton pushes the two aside and lifts the car up. Carnie replaces the tire and expresses interest in hiring Benton for his carnival act. Benton kills Carnie and steals the car and continues on his trek for Los Angeles. The police respond with roadblocks. When Benton encounters one, he attacks and kills the two policemen and continues on his way.The next morning Chasen reports in with the Captain. He is informed he and the rest of the force are going on 24-hour duty. Benton, back in Los Angeles, stops by the strip club to see Eva. Eva is shocked to see Benton. He shows her a tattoo to prove his identity. He sees his envelope and opens it. She explains that all it contained was a $50 bill and that Lowe was there when she opened it. Benton leaves and intends to get Squeamy and Joe. Eva calls the police. She asks for Chasen, but is told he is out. She leaves a message that Benton is alive. Immediately she calls Squeamy Ellis and tells him the same, but he doesn't believe her. He did think Benton arranged a hit man, so he takes the warning seriously enough to make arrangements for a quick escape from his apartment down the fire escape. Benton hops on Angels Flight funicular and rides up to Squeamy's apartment. When he hears Benton outside his room he makes good his escape. Eva arrives in time to see Benton at Squeamy's apartment window. Joe, unaware of Benton's escape, is on his way to see Squeamy. Having no money, he bypasses Angels Flight, and walks up the stairs on his crutches. Benton sees his prey from the window and leaves the apartment to confront him. Joe sees Benton just outside the apartment, and tries to escape, but his bad foot slows him down. Benton lifts him up and throws him down a flight of stairs, killing him instantly. The police arrive and shoot Benton, but with no effect at all. Benton kills the policeman.Next on his list is the attorney. He enters the Bradbury Building, and takes the elevator up to Lowe's office. He breaks in and disables the phone. Benton is delighted that Squeamy decides to visit Lowe at his office. As Ellis exits the elevator, Benton is there waiting for him. Ellis empties his revolver into Benton then backs into the elevator. Benton grabs him, lifts him overhead, walks over to the railing and tosses him down five stories to the lobby below. When Eva arrives at the Bradbury Building she sees a crowd gathered around the body of Squeamy Ellis. A short time later, Launer and Chasen arrive and are told the killer must have been wearing a bullet-proof vest. Launer and Chasen are told of a reported sighting of Benton in the Valley. They question a woman (Marjorie Stapp). She describes Benton and the murder of her boyfriend.When Lowe hears a radio report in his car about the death of Joe and that Benton was identified as the killer he stops by the strip club to see Eva. Eva isn't there, but Francine (Peggy Maley) is filling in for her. Francine tells Lowe that Eva is at Police Headquarters. Lowe drives over to the station, and Eva tells him both Joe and Squeamy are dead and Benton is alive. Lowe immediately demands police protection. Chasen demands to know where the money is located. To guarantee his own safety, Lowe provokes arrest by slugging the Sergeant (Roy Engle).Chasen devises a plan to get Lowe to speak. He intends to release him from custody and let Benton track him down. Captain Launer is very reluctant to approve, but finally agrees to the plan. It works and Lowe talks. That leads them to the sewers and the exact location of the money. Benton has been traveling around in the Los Angeles storm drains as the police zeroed in on his exact location. They were advised that a flamethrower might be an effective weapon. Benton locates the money and starts stuffing it into his coat. One police officer shoots him with a bazooka, but it only slows him down a little. Launer recovers the money from the strongbox. When next he is spotted they employ the flamethrower. Other than melting his face a little, it has no effect on stopping him. Benton makes his way to the power station and commandeers a gantry crane. The crane brushes against a large transformer and a surge of electricity passes through the crane killing Benton.Back in Chasen's office, he finishes up his report and closes the case. He asks the Captain for a little time off. Chasen and Eva are back at the burger joint in his car on a date. He informs her he had arranged her dismissal from her job. He tells her being his wife will take up all her time. They kiss.
violence, murder