The Atomic Man (AKA “Time Slip”)
Directed by Ken Hughes
Written by Charles Eric Main from his novel
1955/USA
Merton Park Studios
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Detective Inspector Cleary: Well, Mr. Delany, been playing policemen, I hear.
Mike Delaney: Yeah, what have you been playing, Scrabble?[/box]
Despite the title, this is more a thriller/mystery than science fiction. An intriguing premise is under-exploited.
The story takes place in London. In the movie’s most effective scene, a man is shot and dumped in the river. He is fished out and taken to the hospital where he is immediately taken to the operating room. During surgery, his heart stops and he is pronounced dead. Seven-and-a-half second later, his eyes open and he is breathing again. He has complete amnesia.
Intrepid science reporter Mike Delaney (Gene Nelson) spots the patient in the hospital and recognizes him as genius atomic scientist Steven Rayner. He asks his girlfriend/photographer sidekick Jill Rabowski (Faith Domergue) to take his picture. This turns out with a strange halo around the patient. Delaney goes to the lab where Rayner works but the scientist is apparently at work and due to conduct an experiment in which an important element will be synthetically created.
As the patient begins to recover, it happens that he answers questions seven-and-a-half seconds before they are asked. Intrigue and mild suspense ensue.
I really liked the idea of a man who could look a few seconds into the future but this was never really utilized by the plot. The picture itself is nothing special but not terrible either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSxuxgpv6Y0
Trailer
