Monster on the Campus (1958) - full transcript

Come on, Samson.
Come on, boy.

Come on, Samson.
Come on.

Come on, fellow.
Come on, boy.

Come on. Come on up here
and sit down, Samson.

There she is.

Female in the perfect state,
defenseless and silent.

It's set, Madeline.
I can take you out now.

No, on the other hand,
I think I'll...

I'll tickle you a little first.

All right.
Okay, no more torture.

All right, now, easy.



There. You're free.

- How'd it come out?
- Just perfect.

- Almost as beautiful as the original.
- As beautiful as I am right now?

Don't worry, you'll heal.

Well, there they are.
The faces of humanity.

From the very beginning
to the present day.

You'll go there at the end.

Well, don't make it so final.
Humanity still has a future, you know.

Well, sometimes I wonder.

Unless we learn to control the instincts
we've inherited from our ape-like ancestors...

the race is doomed.

Why don't you learn
to control your instincts...

- and stop being so pessimistic?
- You know, you're right.

When I look at you,
the future is very bright.



Jimmy, you're back.
Have you got it?

I've got it, professor Blake,
but it's starting to thaw.

- Where do you want it?
- I'll be right out.

- What is it?
- The coelacanth. It's here.

What is that?

The fish. The fish from Madagascar
that your father let me order.

Come on and see it.

No, I don't wanna go with this stuff
all over my face. You go ahead.

All right.

Come on, boy. Come on.
Get away from that muddy water.

Come on. No, boy. No.

No, I'll get you some fresh water in a minute.
Come on, stay.

The cable said
it's in perfect condition.

Let's take a look at it, huh?

Honest, professor Blake,
is this fish really a million years old?

Well, not this fish, Jimmy.
It's the species that's old.

No change
in millions of years.

You see, the coelacanth
is a living fossil...

immune to the forces of evolution.
That's what's so remarkable about it.

Primitive fish like this were living
before any creatures walked the Earth.

See these...
These fins are the beginning of legs.

This fish could walk
on the ocean floor.

Donald.

Hello, Samson.

What's wrong, Samson?

Don't you know me, Samson?

Samson! Samson! Down!

It's all right.
It's all right.

- Okay. Now, help me.
- Donald, be careful!

He's gone mad!

It's all right.

Let's get him in the lab!

I'm taking you to Dr. Cole.
Hold the door.

It was the craziest thing
I ever saw.

One minute he was wagging
his tail and licking my hand...

and the next minute
he was at my throat.

- Has he gone mad, Doctor?
- I doubt it.

The symptoms don't sound like rabies.
Now, the acid, Molly.

Of course, we got to take
every precaution.

It's gonna hurt a little.

- Well, what about Samson?
- We'll keep him under observation.

If he doesn't have rabies,
neither do you.

Will you be able to examine the dog
in your laboratory, Donald?

Yes, I will.

I'll want a sample of the saliva.
Molly can pick it up later.

Pick it up before 8:00,
will you?

I'm supposed to help Madeline
chaperon the dance tonight.

- About 7:30, Donald?
- I'll be expecting you.

Boy, you are mean.

Come in.

Oh, Molly.

Here's the saliva sample
Dr. Cole wants.

He won't want it
until morning.

Is it rabies?

No, I'm almost certain
it's not.

He's not sick,
he's vicious.

And he drinks water,
which a mad dog won't do.

Come here.

There. See what I mean?

Mouth doesn't foam,
no excess saliva.

But there is one thing
that's very strange.

His teeth.
I noticed it when we took the salivary sample.

You know anything
about paleontology?

I know that
very attractive men study it.

Now, you be careful.
Samson is in no position to protect you.

- Look. Come here. Look at those teeth.
- Don't! Don't do that!

You see it?
They're like the teeth of ancient wolves.

Animals that became extinct
millions of years ago.

That dog is a throwback.

Oh, I'm...
I'm sorry I frightened you, but then, you...

You rather frighten me.

Hello?

Oh, yes, Madeline.

Yes, I can make it.

No, no, no.
The dog's in his cage.

I'm... I'm perfectly safe.

I'll... I'll have to go home
and change clothes first.

I'll pick you up
a little before 9:00.

Fine, darling.

Bye.

- Donald, what's this?
- Oh, it's a coelacanth.

And I'd better get it in the refrigerator
before it starts to spoil.

- Would you get the door?
- Sure.

Thank you.

What an ugly looking creature.

Yeah, it's a close relative
of our ancestors.

- I'll never believe that.
- Very remote ancestors.

Samson doesn't like it.

You're hurt!

- First time I was ever bitten by a fossil.
- It's bleeding.

It's all right.
Better get this thing out of here.

Let me help you.

- Now, take it easy, it's heavy.
- Yeah.

Easy, now.

There we go.

Oh, stop it. You know better than that.
Where's your first aid kit?

- Don't have one.
- I've got one in my car, come on.

I'll be right with you.

In here somewhere.

What you need is a good nurse
to take care of you.

Donald, what is it?
What's the matter?

Molly, honey, I think
you'd better take me home.

Of course. Come on.

Donald, you're home.

Donald?

Oh, dear.

Is Dr. Cole there?
This is Miss Riordan.

Will you call him, please?
It's very important.

I'll wait.

Donald?

- Oh, hello, Father.
- Hello, dear.

Still here? I thought
you were chaperoning the dance.

Well, I should be there right now.
I'm waiting on your future son-in-law.

It's not every clay that
a Science Department gets a coelacanth.

- I was right, you know.
- About what?

The fish.

The board members said it was
a waste of money, particularly Dr. Cole...

but every paper in the country
is carrying the story of how Dunsfield...

brought that fish
from Madagascar.

It'll pay off 1,000%
in alumni donations.

Will it pay off scientifically?

Well, it'll pay off in school growth,
and that's the same thing.

An institution
is like a living organism.

The moment it stops growing,
it starts degenerating.

So, anything that promotes growth
is all for the good.

Hello?

Oh, Sylvia?

Really?

Well, I'll be right over.
Bye-bye.

Well, the couples have started arriving already
and the house mother isn't there yet.

I think I'll go on over, Father.
Would you tell Donald to meet me over there?

Why don't you drive
by the Science Building?

He's probably poring over some problem
and has forgotten you.

Oh, that's a flattering thought.

- Oh, the dog.
- Dog?

Samson.
He turned vicious this morning.

I think I'll go see
about him, Father.

I'm sorry.

- Oh, Mr. Townsend.
- It's Miss Howard, isn't it?

- Yes.
- I was just wondering about this truck.

- Well, I'm looking for Dr. Blake.
- Oh, Dr. Blake.

Well, I expect he's still working.
Let's go see.

All righty.

Donald?

I'll open this other door.

Well, well, well.

Well, look who we've got here.

Don't put your hand in the cage!
He's vicious!

Vicious...
He's a nice dog.

- Just this morning...
- I know, but I've got a way with a dog.

They say a dog has got a way
of knowing an honest man...

from anybody
that's planning to do wrong.

They all like me.

Well, Mr. Townsend, Dr. Blake isn't here,
so thank you so much for letting me in.

I'm glad to be of help.
I think he wants out.

- Well, we have no right to release him.
- No.

Come on.

Well, isn't he a pretty dog?
Come on now, can you speak?

Speak. Speak.

That's a boy.

Donald!

Donald!

Operator,
I'd like the police at once.

The residence of Donald Blake,
4072 College Way.

Donald Blake,
4072 College Way.

Please hurry, Operator.

Donald?

Donald?

Donald?

Donald?

Donald, are you all right?

Donald, what happened?

- What happened, Donald?
- Madeline...

Back of the house!
Come on!

How I got here.
I don't know how she got here. I don't know.

You call the police?

Give me a hand.

What?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure.

Powell, Meadowbrook,
the whole crew are here.

What? No, I haven't taken
his complete statement yet.

I'm doing it now.

Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, sure. Okay.

Now, you say Miss Riordan
went to your laboratory.

Yes, yes, yes.
You can check with Dr. Cole.

Miss Riordan came to the laboratory
to pick up a salivary sample.

I gave it to her,
and then Miss Howard called.

Then I put the coelacanth
back in the refrigerator.

Coelacanth?

The fish.

I... I cut my hand
on its teeth. See?

And Molly...

She... She had
a first aid kit in the car.

We left the laboratory and...

That's all I can remember.
I blanked out. Or I was knocked out.

Head hurt?

No. No, it's...

It's more as though
I've been poisoned.

I suppose anyone would feel sick
after what's happened, though.

Especially the man
who was with Molly when she died.

I told you,
I was unconscious.

I don't know who killed her.

We ought to know about that
in a few seconds now.

Mike.
Found this in the girl's hand.

She must have grabbed it
while she was struggling with the killer.

Tie clasp.

Recognize this?

Yes. Yes, I recognize it.
It's mine.

No, darling.
I've never seen you wear this.

Thanks, honey, but the truth is,
you gave it to me yourself last Christmas.

And I suppose you were unconscious
all during the struggle.

Eddie, take him down
to headquarters.

Come on.

Don't tell them anything, Donald.
Wait until you have a lawyer.

It's all right, Madeline.
I did nothing.

I know that, Donald.

He was unconscious when I found him.
Would he wreck his own house?

He'll have every opportunity
to explain things, Miss Howard.

Lieutenant Stevens.
Lieutenant, can you come in here a minute?

Please wait, Miss Howard.

- What is it?
- Look at this.

Whoever tore that photograph in half
had to leave some fingerprints.

I dusted it,
and there they are.

That's a print
of somebody's right thumb.

Now, compare that with this thumbprint
of Blake's I got a few minutes ago.

See? No resemblance.

Then there was
a third person here.

By the looks of things,
somebody who hated Blake.

More than that. Come here.

Whoever he was, he never even tried
to cover up these traces.

Either awfully dumb or just plain crazy.
Look at that handprint.

- Well, it looks deformed.
- It is.

All I know is,
Blake hasn't got a hand like that.

In fact, I've never known
anyone who did.

That narrows it down.
Ought to make it easier for us.

Miss Howard, did Blake have any enemies?
Someone who might want to kill him?

No, not that I know of.
Why?

Because there was
a third person here tonight.

Someone who tore up your photograph
and wrecked this room.

- And killed Molly Riordan?
- Well, that's the logical assumption.

Then Donald's free?

I'll want him for questioning,
but as things are, he's free.

Well, thank you.

Now, I hope I've made these two aspects
of living organisms clear to you.

In the case
of the coelacanth...

we have a species which
became stabilized over 200 million years ago...

in the form you see here.

But in the case of man,
we have a recent species...

which is not stabilized at all.

Man is not only
capable of change...

but man alone,
among all living creatures...

can choose the direction
in which that change will take place.

In other words,
man can use his knowledge...

to destroy all spiritual values
and reduce the race to bestiality.

Or he can use his knowledge
to increase his understanding...

to a point far beyond anything
now imaginable.

Think it over.

That's all for today.

Sometimes professor Blake
frightens me.

Yeah, well, he sure is wound up today.
Come on, Sylvia, I want to talk to him.

- Professor Blake.
- Oh, yes, Jimmy?

How's Samson?

Let's get this in the refrigerator
and we'll find out.

Got him in here,
in the office.

Well, it's not rabies,
that's for certain.

Dogs don't recover
from rabies.

Miss Howard told me that Samson
returned to normal...

- but I wanted to see for myself.
- Well, he certainly looks normal.

You don't have to worry
about hydrophobia.

Well, does that mean I can bring him back
to the fraternity house with me?

No, I want to check
these cultures first, Jimmy.

Didn't have rabies,
but he certainly had something.

Did you know your dog
was a throwback?

Throwback? He's a German shepherd.
What do you mean, throwback?

A primitive reversion
to wolfish ancestors.

This should interest you, Oliver.
Take a look at these teeth.

Come here.

Here, take a look at this.

They look
like dog's teeth to me.

Well, now, wait a minute.

Last night,
they were much longer.

Well, now, honestly, Donald,
are you seriously suggesting that overnight...

- there's been a physical change?
- But there has been.

- In the length of his teeth?
- Yes.

- That's impossible.
- Well, I tell you...

Well, Molly Riordan was here
and I called it to her attention.

Molly's hardly in a position
to bear you out.

Yes, that's so.
I'm sorry.

- Well, I guess I must have imagined it.
- Forget it.

You've had
a pretty bad experience.

Besides, you have primitive species
on your brain.

- Let me know if those tests show anything.
- Yes, I will.

- Well, when can I have Samson, professor?
- Check with me tonight.

Okay, tonight.
Goodbye, professor.

Take it easy, Jimmy.

- But I didn't imagine it.
- Darling, does it really matter about the dog?

Yes, it matters very much to me,
whether I can trust my own senses.

Now, you have eyes.
Is that the same dog that attacked you?

Darling, I don't know.
I was so frightened that...

Donald, of course this is the same dog.
He's been locked up in here all night.

And Jimmy would know
his own dog.

Yes, Jimmy would know
his own dog.

So, I'm the one that's crazy.
Well, maybe so.

I was out of my head
for at least an hour last night.

Don't worry about it, huh?

Is my mask ready yet?

Yeah, I've got it in the lab.
Come on, I'll show it to you.

I hope you like it.

There it is.
perfect reproduction.

Now my series is complete.

- That's me?
- That's you.

You see,
the past is fairly plain...

but it's almost impossible
to make a mask of the face of the future...

because man's only one generation
from savagery, anyway.

What do you mean?

Well, civilization isn't inherited,
it's learned.

Wipe it out for one generation
and man is right back where he started.

You see, you and this beast
are closer together than you think.

Let's don't talk about it anymore, Donald.
It makes me think of Molly Riordan...

and the horrible thing
that happened to her.

All right, no more talking
about the past.

- Donald?
- Yes.

I've been wanting to ask you something,
but I just didn't know how.

Well, ask anything you want.

Well, it was about you
and Molly.

Was there anything
between you?

Molly was very attractive,
but there was nothing between us.

Thank you.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Hello, Miss Howard.
Is this where I find Blake?

- Right in there.
- Thanks.

It's a nice collection.

Oh, Lieutenant Stevens.

- Any news?
- Nothing.

Well, won't you come
into my office?

Sit down.

Blake, try again.
Are you certain no one hates you?

- Told you everything I knew yesterday.
- People hate for awfully trivial reasons.

In that case,
I wouldn't know anything about it.

Why look for my enemy?
It was Molly who was murdered.

Because the killer
was at your house.

He had no possible way of knowing
that Molly Riordan would be there.

He was after you.

Well, couldn't it have been a stranger?
A burglar who was surprised?

Would a burglar wreck your house?
Tear up Miss Howard's picture?

Besides, there was nothing missing.
It was personal malice.

- Somebody's after you, Blake.
- What about fingerprints?

- There's no record in the local files.
- We sent copies to the FBI...

and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
But this waiting makes me nervous.

In the meantime,
I'm giving you a bodyguard.

Now, look, I don't need a bodyguard.
I can take care of myself.

You didn't take very good care
of Molly Riordan.

Well, the coroner's report
came in this afternoon.

- Yes?
- Strange thing.

Molly wasn't badly injured at all.
A few minor cuts and bruises.

What killed her
was heart failure.

In other words,
she died of fright.

Yeah.

I'll keep Eddie Daniels close to you,
till this thing is cleared up.

You know, I always figured
science was pretty exciting...

but I guess it can get
kind of boring, huh?

Yes. When you have to do the same test
about 500 times, it can be boring.

Yeah, like that fish
over there.

Hey, what's that?
On the fish.

Just a dragonfly.
Must have come in the window.

No harm done,
I have to dissect that fish anyway.

As soon as I finish with this.

- Good Lord.
- See something?

Dr. Cole?
Well, it's good that I caught you.

Can you wait till I get there?
I have something to show you.

Yes, right away.

I'm going to see Dr. Cole.
If you have to stay with me, come along.

- Professor?
- Oh, yes, Jimmy.

I was coming to find out
about Samson.

Meet me at the Science Building,
I'll be back.

You see that?
The police are guarding him.

Wonder how it feels.

You mean the police think
the murderer is still around here?

Why else guard the professor?

What was that?

I don't know.
It sounds like...

Wait a minute.

What did you say
it sounds like?

Something like a model airplane.
But that's silly, on a campus at night.

- There.
- I don't see anything.

Like a shadow
going past the street lamp.

Let's watch a minute.

It's gone.

Yeah.

We better go.

But why?

I feel so safe
when I'm with you.

- What's going on here?
- Oh, you scared me.

- I scared you?
- Crazy, man.

Strangest thing I ever saw.

I've seen
crystallized viruses...

but I've never even heard
of crystallized bacteria.

- There, take a look.
- You've made a mistake.

Bacteria couldn't possibly
crystallize.

Honestly, Donald, there are no crystals there.
Just the bacteria.

What?

Well, there were crystals.

I saw them myself
not 15 minutes ago.

But this slide hasn't been
out of my possession.

Back in the laboratory...

- Oliver, you're not listening.
- I'll listen when you say something sensible.

All right, I'm sorry I bothered you.
I won't again.

Now, wait a minute. Before you go,
just so your visit isn't completely wasted...

let me see that cut
on your hand.

It's infected.
Something bite you?

Yes, the coelacanth.

I suppose it came alive and crept up on you
when you weren't looking.

There's no sense
in talking to a man who won't listen.

Coming, Eddie?

- Excuse me.
- Can I get Samson now, professor?

Of course.
Of course you can have the dog.

There's nothing wrong
with him.

We only imagined that
he went berserk yesterday.

Yeah, I've been thinking
the same thing.

You, too? Coming, Eddie?

I'm due to check in
on the call box, professor.

- I won't be long.
- All right. I'll be here for quite a while.

Can I let Samson out now?

Dr. Cole gives him a clean bill of health, Jimmy.
He's all yours.

It's what we heard earlier
from the sky.

Something's at the window!

What is that?

Get back!

- Don't open that door! It'll escape!
- Who cares?

- I care. I want it.
- Well, what is it?

I don't know.
We'll find out when we catch it.

Jimmy, close the window.

There's some netting over there
behind that cage. Get it.

Keep the door closed,
until we catch it.

It moves like lightning.

Use this for bait.
Ready with the net?

Net.

Let's go.

Easy.

Now!

Got it!
Hold it down, Jimmy!

It's starting to rip.

Well, that's too bad.
I wanted it alive.

But you're both my witnesses.

This insect is of the genus
Meganeura...

ancestor of the present-day dragonfly,
supposedly extinct for millions of years.

Like the coelacanth
was supposed to be extinct.

Exactly. Except that
this is even more remarkable.

In fact,
it's a little too remarkable.

It can't be a coincidence, but there is
some connection between the two.

What do you mean?

I don't know.

I do know that earlier today
an ordinary dragonfly...

tried to make a meal
on the coelacanth and...

Jimmy, did Samson
ever get near this fish?

Well, the day I brought the fish
from the station...

bloody water
was dripping from the truck.

- Samson drank some of it.
- Drank it?

- Off of the pavement.
- You suppose that's what made him sick?

It might be.
It just might be.

You're not saying that
this is the same dragonfly that...

No man in his right mind
could make such a statement.

Then where
could it come from?

You'd better take Sylvia home.
Take Samson with you.

But do me one favor,
the both of you.

- Sure, anything.
- Don't mention this to anyone.

I'd like to make the announcement
of the discovery myself.

I'll be glad to forget it.
Come on, Jimmy.

Okay, fellow. We're going home, boy.
Go on home.

- Good night, professor.
- Good night.

Blake! Professor Blake!

Stop!

Stop!

Sergeant Daniels reporting.
Give me Stevens.

Look, Mike, get every patrol car
you've got out to the campus, right away.

I lost Blake.

I don't know.
He just disappeared from the Science Building.

Look, Mike, there's somebody else around here.
Some kind of maniac.

B26.
I followed somebody out here, but...

Well, I'm going back to the Science Building.
I'll meet you there.

No, Mike, I can't give you
a descrip...

Eddie, what's happening?

Eddie, you all right?

Eddie?

Mike, look here.

Eddie sure put up a fight, all right.
Tracks all over the place.

But what kind of a man
made this?

Oh, it's impossible!
Nobody's got a footprint like that.

Unless maybe it was someone
with strange hands, too.

Yeah, but why wouldn't
such a man be known?

- Where would he hide?
- That's our job, to find him...

before another killing.

Those tracks weren't made by a man.
They're the tracks of a creature...

who should've become extinct
about a half a million years ago.

A beast far more intelligent than an ape,
and yet not quite human.

Utterly ridiculous.

It's your opinion then,
Dr. Howard...

that a subhuman
such as Blake describes is impossible?

Absolutely.

In my opinion, those footprints
are fakes planted to deceive the police.

And you've fallen for them.

We've fallen for nothing.
I know those footprints could be fake.

What's more, I know
who could have faked them.

Who?

You're an expert at modeling
parts of the human anatomy, aren't you?

- And you know how a primitive foot looks.
- But you can't think he's the murderer.

- Could Blake strangle Eddie Daniels?
- No.

Daniels could tear
Blake in half.

And would he wreck
his own laboratory?

Not likely.

And even if those footprints
were fakes...

fingerprints aren't.

They're real
and they're not Blake's.

But the killer
wants us to accuse Blake.

That's why the tie clasp
was planted on Molly Riordan...

and why these primitive footprints
were found near Eddie Daniels' body.

- To implicate you.
- Well, what about the fingerprints?

- Why can't the police identify those?
- Because there's no record of them.

Neither the FBI nor the Department
of Motor Vehicles could help us.

No, the man we're looking for
has never been booked for a crime before.

He's never even had
a driver's license.

Well, if you don't need me,
I'll be back at the lab.

Yes. Yes, that's what I said,
Madagascar.

No, no, no,
it's not in Texas.

It's an island off
the east coast of Africa.

And I wish to speak
to Dr. Jean Moreau...

of the Scientific
Research Institute at Tananarive.

Charge it to the Science Department.
Thank you.

We're all here,
Professor Blake.

Well, what's this?
What you all doing here?

Today's Thursday.

We always have lab class
at 2:00 on Thursday.

Thursday, 2:00?
Oh, yes. Yes, of course.

Well, we won't meet today.

I've got something very important here.
Something I can't leave.

Well, don't you understand?
No class.

No class. Wow.

I found this, Professor.
It's yours, isn't it?

Oh, yes,
where'd you find it?

On the lawn
where Sergeant Daniels was killed.

Oh, yes, I must've dropped it
when I was knocked out.

Thank you, Jimmy.

Hi, Jimmy.

- Hi, Sylvia.
- Hi.

- Class out already?
- There isn't any.

We've been dismissed.
Same as yesterday.

- Donald?
- I said there was no class today.

Well, I'm not here
to go to class today.

Oh, Madeline.
I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in.

You haven't seen much
of anything lately.

No classes, no students,
not even your fiancée.

I'm sorry,
I've been very, very busy.

I'm on the track of something that
may change our entire concept of life.

Can't you leave it for a few minutes, honey?
I want to talk to you.

You see this?
It's a distillate of coelacanth blood.

Peculiar odor.
Familiar, though I haven't been able...

- to place where I smelled it before.
- Donald, I'm trying to talk to you.

Well, you go right ahead.
I can hear you.

Well, Father's very upset about that story
you gave to the newspapers...

about there being some subhuman
hiding here at Dunsfield.

- Disturbing, isn't it?
- And he's going to be even more upset...

when he finds out that
you're dismissing all your classes.

You were hired to teach.

Teach what?
Theories I'm about to disprove?

I intend to find out the truth,
the real truth.

- Then I'll teach.
- What are you talking about?

I'm gonna prove
that that subhuman really does exist.

I'm sorry, darling.
I know you're worried, but so am I.

There's a limit to what
your nerves can stand.

Well, what are you suggesting?
That I'm behaving irrationally?

- That I'm unbalanced?
- Of course not. It's just that...

Well, when Molly Riordan was killed
and when Sergeant Daniels was murdered...

you lost your memory.
I think you need a rest.

I'll rest when I find the killer.

That's not your responsibility.
That belongs to the police.

Madeline, I know what I'm doing.
And it's not irrational.

Excuse me.

Hello?

Yes, Operator.
Oh, Madeline, would you close the door?

I've been trying to reach
Madagascar all day.

Hello? Yes, Dr. Moreau.

This is Dr. Donald Blake,
Science Department, Dunsfield University.

Yes, I want to talk to you
about the coelacanth.

No, no, no. Coelacanth.

Le poisson. The fish.

That's right.

I must know exactly how
this particular fish was preserved.

Oh, no. No, by all means,
call the Comoros Islands.

Dunsfield University
will pay the charges.

And I didn't mean
to be eavesdropping,

I just couldn't help hearing him talking
to Madagascar about a fish.

Operator,
is Dr. Blake still on the line?

Well, let me know the moment
he finishes his call.

Now, get me Dr. Cole.

Seventy-six minutes at $5 a minute.
Why, that's a month's salary!

Hello, Oliver?

Meet me at my office right away.
I need medical advice.

No, not for myself.

We're going to see Blake.
And hurry.

You're absolutely right.
Donald needs a leave of absence.

Father, please don't tell him
that I was the one that told you.

You needn't worry.
I'd have to advise leave in any case.

Phone calls to Madagascar!

Doctor, in looking over my notes,
I want to check the degree of radiation.

Merci mille fois, Doctor.
Thank you a million.

Yes, sir, that's exactly
the information I needed.

Now, if my experiment is successful,
I'll send you a full report.

Goodbye, sir.

Gentlemen. Dr. Howard, Oliver.
Why, this must be telepathy.

- I was just going to call you.
- No. Now it's telepathy.

Well, call it coincidence,
but I'm glad you're here.

- Come into the lab.
- One moment, Donald.

Oliver and I
want to talk to you.

Approximately 88 minutes
on the telephone to Madagascar.

$5 a minute.

Over $400 charged
to the Science Department!

All right, sir, I'll pay it myself.

- But come into the lab.
- Donald, forget the phone bill.

It's you we're worried about.

I want you to take a leave of absence,
just until the police clear this thing up.

Well,
what are the police doing?

Fingerprinting the football squad.

Well, at that rate,
I should be gone all year.

No, Dr. Howard, if the police would accept
my theory of a human throwback...

then I'll have to find
the killer myself.

Are you prepared
to name this man?

No, but I can show you
the secret of his metamorphosis.

Oh, Donald, I refuse
to encourage such nonsense.

Look, Oliver, even a madman
gets a hearing before he's committed.

Do I get mine, sir?

- Yes.
- Then come into the lab.

Oh, perhaps you'd better call
Lieutenant Stevens.

Ask him to come over.

Yes, I think the police
should be here.

Oliver,
this should interest you.

- Plasma protein of coelacanth blood.
- And why should it interest me?

Because of its peculiar qualities.
Oh, are the police coming?

- On their way.
- Good. Then I'll explain this thing quickly.

A puzzle biologists have been trying
to solve for years is this.

How do certain species
resist the force of evolution?

I have the answer here.
Coelacanth plasma.

Not only does this plasma
resist evolution...

but when administered to another organism,
evolution is reversed.

Thus, when the dog Samson
drank coelacanth blood...

he reverted temporarily to the behavior
and appearance of a primitive wolf.

Now, over here,
we have a dragonfly...

which for a brief period, after ingesting
coelacanth blood, became two feet long...

like its ancestors
of 50 million years ago.

I'd like to show you how bacteria,
when treated with this plasma...

change to crystals,
regressing to the very threshold of life.

It's your contention this plasma would have
the same effect on human beings?

Yes. I say that if you were
injected with this plasma...

you'd revert to a primitive anthropoid,
physically as well as mentally.

Donald, your theory is absurd
for very apparent reasons.

The natives of the Comoros Islands
have been eating coelacanth for centuries...

- with no effects whatsoever.
- Yes, that's so.

But their coelacanth
isn't treated with gamma rays.

- This one was.
- Gamma rays? Why?

To preserve it for shipment.
It's the latest thing.

Atomic radiation kills the bacteria
which causes decay.

- Are you sure this was done?
- Why do you think I called Madagascar?

To find out.

Curious paradox,
isn't it, gentlemen?

After a million-year climb
up the evolutionary ladder...

man's greatest discovery
is the way to undo his accomplishments...

and turn himself
into a beast again.

The great temptation
of our time...

to let the beast triumph
over the seeker for truth.

That's what's happening
here at Dunsfield.

The beast has killed twice.

With this powerful drug, he's certain
to kill again unless we unmask him.

But, Donald, granting even
that this could change a man...

- how would anyone discover that fact?
- Oh, probably by accident the first time.

Someone may have come in here
during my absence...

cut himself on the sharp scales
of that fish and became inoculated.

Or with the teeth.

All right. All right.
Suppose there was an accident. Then what?

What?

Oh, yes, the second time
would have to be deliberate.

No man, once he discovered
the effect of this...

Oh, no, there couldn't possibly
be two accidents.

Isn't actually this whole thing
very improbable?

Only as improbable
as life itself.

Dr. Howard.

You'll be happy to know that we
don't have to arrest any of your students.

Now, what were you saying
on the phone?

That Dr. Blake could produce
a subhuman man?

Did I say that?

You said that plasma
could turn a man into a missing link.

- Oliver, that's a gross exaggeration.
- Of course it's an exaggeration.

Hold it, Oliver.

All right, Donald,
you've had your hearing.

Is there anything
you want to show us?

No.

You'll admit that the story
you gave the newspapers...

these expensive phone calls,
the neglect of your duties...

was all an attempt
to gain personal publicity?

I'll admit nothing of the kind.

I will admit possibly I'm ill,
that I need a rest.

May I still have
that leave of absence?

Is it all right with the police?

The police would love to work on this case
without Dr. Blake's help.

Where are you going?

This time of year,
my mountain cabin is a quiet place.

What do you say, Donald?

Thank you.

All evidence
points to the probability that...

I, Donald Blake,
am the murderer.

As a man,
this possibility terrifies me.

But as a scientist,
I must learn the truth.

Therefore, I shall perform
the experiment I'm about to describe...

praying that it fails.

If it succeeds...

then I pray
only for the courage...

to destroy the monster
that dwells within me.

Oh, Sylvia, Jimmy.
What a pleasure. Come in.

- Thank you.
- Hello, Miss Howard.

Let's go into the den.

What's troubling you?

Well, go ahead, Jimmy. Tell her.
That's what we're here for.

Well, we thought it best...

Only we promised the professor
we wouldn't say anything.

Promise? About what?

About the giant dragonfly.

He asked us not to say anything
until he had a chance to study it.

- Only we thought that...
- Jimmy, I know that Dr. Blake...

has an illusion about a giant dragonfly,
but I'd rather not discuss it.

But that's just it.
It was not an illusion.

We were there. We saw it, too.
It was that long.

And making
the most frightful noise.

You mean there really was
a giant dragonfly?

We swear it, Miss Howard.

And we're breaking our promise
to the professor...

because of the talk
about him being crazy.

- That's what the students are saying?
- We know it's not true.

And if there was
a giant dragonfly...

then there could be
a primitive man, too.

That's why
we had to tell someone.

Well, thank you very much
for telling me.

Thank you.

Father?

I just wanted to tell you that
I'm driving up to the cabin to see Donald.

No. No, no,
I'm leaving right now.

Bye-bye.

The experiment previously described
is now ready for trial.

In a few seconds...

I will inject coelacanth plasma
into my bloodstream.

- Who is it?
- Tom Edwards, Forestry Service.

Yes? What do you want?

Oh, I saw the light was on.
I didn't know the Doctor was using the cabin.

Well, he's not.
He's letting me use it for a few clays.

I'm Dr. Donald Blake
of Dunsfield University.

Yes, well,
I was just checking.

If there's anything you need,
my station is just down the road a bit.

- Thank you. Good night.
- Good night.

The experiment previously described
is now ready for trial.

In a few seconds...

I will inject coelacanth plasma
into my bloodstream.

The sounds which may be
recorded hereafter...

are those made under the influence
of the coelacanth plasma.

Hey, is she badly hurt?

Operator.

Operator, get me the Dunsfield police.
Hurry.

- Lieutenant Stevens speaking.
- This is Tom Edwards, Forest Service.

- Yeah?
- I've just seen the monster.

What? You saw it?

With my own eyes.
Half man, half ape.

- Where?
- In a wreck, looked like the Howard girl's car.

- Did you shoot him?
- No, I didn't have my gun.

But I'm going right back.
Hurry.

Blake, open up in there!

Blake!

Blake!
Blake, where are you?

Blake!

Blake!

Donald!

Donald.

Donald!

Madeline.

Oh, Donald!

You shot him, didn't you?

You killed him,
didn't you, Donald?

Oh, were you hurt, Donald?

The picture.

I got the picture.

The ranger's not here.
Where's your cabin, Dr. Howard?

Half a mile further
and turn left.

Donald,
he's wearing your clothes.

- Madeline.
- Father.

- Oh, thank God.
- What are you doing here?

Got a call from the ranger.

He said you'd been carried off
by a half-human monster.

- I was, but Donald killed him.
- That true?

- Of course it's true.
- I asked him.

Madeline's wrong.
It's not dead.

I know where it hides
and I can lead you to it.

- You mean, you saw this man?
- It's not a man, it's a monster.

We can determine that later.
Come on, Blake. We're ready. Show us.

Yes, I'll do that.
I'll show it to you.

You go ahead,
I'll be right along.

No, not you.

What are you doing?

I'm doing what I must do.

Just remember one thing,
Madeline.

You're still alive.
Even that beast must've loved you a little.

Now, trust me.

Stay here.

All right, gentlemen.
Follow me.

- This makes three murders.
- Listen to me. I know this creature.

I can find him, but I must do it alone.
Now, if you'll follow me at a distance.

Why alone, Blake?
You trying to get away from us?

No, I just don't want it
to escape again.

When I drive it out, you shoot.
And shoot to kill.

- You're insane, Donald!
- Do you think so?

All right, then you come with me, Doctor.
The rest will follow. All right?

All right,
but you'd better have a gun.

- No, I won't need one.
- Let me have it.

Come on, Doctor.

Give us a few minutes.

His tracks, Doctor.

Now, could a man make those?

- A clever man might.
- A clever man might and a clever man did.

But in the true sense,
they were made by a primitive anthropoid.

- All right, where is it?
- Coming just a few minutes from now.

You see, Doctor, every man is the product
of the history of the entire human race.

The past is still with us.

I agree with you,
but I'm not here for a lecture.

It's the savage in modern man
that science must meet and defeat...

if humanity is to survive.

So, therefore, Doctor,
I'm injecting myself with coelacanth plasma.

- Blake, no!
- Watch, Doctor. Watch closely.

And you'll see evolution
in reverse.

You'll see that I'm...

I'm...

I'm...

- I'm...
- Blake.

We better get up there
after him, Lieutenant?

Let him have the time
he asked for.

Blake!

No! Get back!

Get back!

Get back!

Wait. Don't shoot!
Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

No!

Blake was right.
He was right all the time.

- Where is he?
- He's there.