Manos: The Hands of Fate

"Manos" The Hands of Fate
File:Manos-dvd cover.jpg
Directed by	Hal Warren
Written by	Hal Warren
Produced by	Hal Warren
Starring	Hal Warren, Tom Neyman, John Reynolds, Diane Mahree
Distributed by	Emerson Film Enterprises
Release date	November 151966
Running time	74 min.
Language	English
Budget	$19,000 (estimated)

"Manos" The Hands of Fate is a film written, directed, and produced by American fertilizer salesman Hal Warren in 1966, as a result of a bet. He intended to make a successful horror film on a shoestring budget. The result was a movie considered among the worst films ever made. The movie remained in almost complete obscurity until 1992 when it was featured in an episode of the television comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

While many today have seen the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, the film as it was originally presented is also available on DVD, released by budget label Alpha Video.

In 2006 a Portland, Oregon theatre company, Last Rites Productions, did a play based on the story.

Production

File:TorgoManos.jpg

John Reynolds as Torgo.

The film was originally created as a result of a bet by Warren with screenplay writer Stirling Silliphant that he could create a sucessful horror film on a very limited budget. Warren accumulated a small sum of cash, reportedly $19,000, and hired a group of actors from a local theatre and modeling agency, promising a share in the film's profits due to his lack of funds to pay actual wages.

Under the working title, "The Lodge of Sins", the movie was filmed in the summer of 1966 with a 16mm Bell & Howell camera which had to be wound by hand and only filmed for 32 seconds, which is a possible explanation for many cases of the alleged "Choppy editing work" present in the final cut. In addition, there are also some shots that show inconsistent editing or are to some degree out of focus which appear to defy technical explanations and can only be acredited to human error. This camera also was unable to record sound, and thus all sound effects and dialogue were dubbed later in post-production, reportedly by only three or four people including Warren.

Due to a lack of both budget and basic competence, the "goat" legs of the character Torgo were conveyed by dressing actor John Reynolds in overlarge pants and stuffing them full of padding and having Reynolds walk with a strange and slow gait. Fake cloven hooves were also made by Reynolds for his costume, but they are difficult to see on screen, especially in the Mystery Science Theater version.

Night time proved hard for Warren to work with (for whatever reason, Warren chose not to use the normal technique of shooting day-for-night). In many of the night scenes, the camera and lights attracted swarms of moths, which can be seen in the film's final production. Also, in the scene in which the cops "investigate" Mike's gunfire, they could only walk a few feet forward, as there wasn't enough light to illuminate the scenery for a panning shot.

In addition, there were rumoured to have been opening credits intended to be included in the film, but they were left out during post-production resulting in the opening scenes of the film consisting of the main characters driving around looking for their hotel with minimal effect on the plot.

Reportedly, Warren's small crew became so bemused by his amateurishness and irascibility that they derisively called the movie Mangos, the Cans of Fruit behind his back.

Plot

The story is about a vacationing couple, Michael (Warren) and Margaret (Diane Mahree), their little daughter Debbie (Jackey Neyman), and their dog, Peppy, who find themselves stranded at a lodge that turns out to be the headquarters of a nefarious pagan cult.

After driving for a long time, they first encounter a bizarre, satyr-like person named Torgo (John Reynolds) who apparently runs the lodge. Torgo speaks haltingly and frequently repeats himself, introducing himself in one of the film's most memorable quotes, "I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away." Michael and Margaret ask Torgo for directions, and Torgo tells them that there is no way out of here. Michael then tries to convince Torgo to let them stay the night. Torgo is insistent that "the Master would not approve", but finally relents. Margaret is very concerned about staying, but Michael assures her she is just imagining things. The walls of the lodge are decorated with a disturbing painting of a dark, malevolent-looking man and a black dog with glowing eyes. Torgo identifies the man as "the Master". Torgo tells the couple that the Master was away, but that he was "not dead the way you know it."

Peppy then runs outside, barking continuously for a while, then falling silent. Michael shortly discovers the dog has been killed. He tells Margaret of Peppy's death, at which point she insists on leaving, even though it is dark outside. Michael orders Torgo to put the luggage back in the car, and he goes out to get the car started. Torgo soon finds himself alone with Margaret, and crudely gropes her hair, promising that, although she is doomed to become yet another bride of the Master, Torgo would instead keep her for himself. Margaret threatens to tell Michael, but Torgo convinces her not to say anything to her husband. However, the car will not start, and Torgo says that there are no phones because the Master did not approve of such devices. With the family stranded, Torgo brings the luggage back into the room.

File:HalWarrenDianeMahree.JPG

Diane Mahree as Margaret and Hal Warren as Michael.

Debbie soon decides to run off and search for her dog. She stumbles upon the Master, his dog, and his wives — all dressed in translucent night gowns — at a place later revealed to be the tomb. Debbie's parents realize that she is missing, and frantically begin searching for her. Debbie returns to the house with the Master's dog. When the parents see the dog, the dog runs off and Debbie runs back to her parents. After telling her to never run away from them again, Michael and Margaret ask Debbie where she found the dog. Debbie leads them back to the tomb. In horror, the family runs back to the house, and Michael goes off to demand an explanation from Torgo.

Meanwhile, Torgo is seen at some sort of ritual site (the tomb) nearby, where the Master (Tom Neyman) and his undead wives lie in slumber. Torgo begins fondling the wives and berating the sleeping Master, then returns to the house to sleep. The Master soon awakens and wakes his wives. The wives begin arguing about the family Torgo has allowed to stay. The Master angrily stops the argument and, enraged at Torgo's insolent behavior and for allowing the family to stay, decides to sacrifice Torgo to the film's mysterious deity and namesake, "Manos". The Master makes his way back to the house to find Torgo.

While the Master is gone, the women continue arguing over the new family. Some of the wives want to kill the child, but others do not want to. They also argue over who has the Master's favor. The argument soon degenerates into a fight, with the women wrestling in the sand for about ten minutes.

The Master takes Torgo back to the tomb. He makes a weak effort to escape, as the Master commands his wives to kill Torgo. They surround him and give him what one El Paso reviewer likened to "Torgo being massaged to death." That in itself does not prove lethal. The Master then evokes some mysterious power, severing and horribly burning one of Torgo's hands. Torgo runs off into the darkness, his fate unknown. In the original version of the movie, the Master first beats and then sacrifices his first wife.

Michael, Margaret, and Debbie try to escape, but are unable to do so. After an encounter by a rattlesnake, believed to be from stock footage and not shot by the crew, they decide to go back to the home and barricade themselves in one of the rooms. With their attempt to escape apparently foiled, Michael, Margaret and Debbie return to the lodge and confront the Master. Michael fires several point-blank shots from his pistol into the Master's face, but he is unharmed.

The film ends with a coda in which two girls (never before seen in the movie) are driving in a convertible, get lost, and stop at the lodge to ask directions. They are greeted by an entranced Michael, then a number of jump cuts show us the fate of Margaret and Debbie: like the other wives of the Master, they sleep in the tomb, dressed in flowing white robes. The film concludes with Michael saying "I take care of the place while the Master is away," and the words "The End?" on the screen before the end credits. The production credits are superimposed over outtakes from the film.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

The film was featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on January 30, 1993, in the final episode of season four, preceded by the second half of the "Hired!" short. The "bots" used the long uneventful drive at the beginning of the movie to repeat the title of the movie numerous times, as there was yet to be any action to mock. During the breaks, Joel Hodgson and the "bots" mocked the film's opening sequence, debated whether or not Torgo should be considered a monster, and impersonated "The Master" and his dog. After the film had finished, Torgo appeared at the "mads" lair, played by Mike Nelson, to deliver a pizza.

In addition, both TV's Frank and Dr. Forrester were depicted apologizing for showing the film, which even they had to admit was abysmal and went beyond their jobs of sending up bad movies, in the first and third break respectively. This was a rare, if not unique, occurrence.

Widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, episode of the series, "Manos" has been released on DVD, both on its own and packaged in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Essentials collection. Template:Spoilerend

Reaction

The film premired on November 15, 1966 at the Capri Theater in Warren's hometown of El Paso, Texas. Heavily promoted, it was attended by numerous local dignitaries and media. Warren rented a limousine to deliver himself and his cast to the theater; the limo would drop off one group, then drive around the block and pick up another. Shortly after the film began, however, the audience began laughing at its poor quality and redundant dialogue. Humiliated, Warren and the rest of his cast made a hasty exit before the end. The film ended to a mixture of laughter and applause. In light of this Warren later said, 28 years before Mystery Science Theater 3000, that re-dubbing the film would make a passable comedy.

The MST3K version of the episode was released on DVD along with other episodes. A DVD of the original version has also been made avaible through Alpha Video, who also released other "MST-ed" films including Teenagers From Outer Space. Reportedly, Quentin Tarantino owns a rare 35 mm copy of the film and has stated that this film is his favorite "comedy". In attempting to explain the film's appeal, the Los Angeles Times hypothesized, "After screening Manos for probably the 10th time, I've concluded it has to do with intimacy. Because it is such a pure slice of Warren's brain - he wrote, directed, produced and starred, and brooked no collaboration - Manos amounts to the man's cinematically transfigured subconscious."

Despite its newly gained cult popularity, the general opinion on the quality of the film remains much the same. Users of the Internet Movie Database have consistently voted the film a position on the site's list of the 100 worst films ever made. Manos is usually near the very top of the list, and is at #11 as of November 17th 2006. It also holds a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the one positive review posted for the MST3K episode rather than the film itself (which was described as "unwatchable"). The June 10, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly contained an in-depth article which also proclaimed it "The Worst Movie Ever Made". Template:Spoiler In addition, the scene in which Debbie is dressed up as one of the Master's wives, disturbing because of the implications of pedophilia, led the crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000 to include it in a list of the most disgusting things they had seen. Further cynicism is directed at the fact that "Manos" is the Spanish word for "hands"; thus, when entirely translated into English, the movie's title is 'Hands' The Hands of Fate. Template:Spoilerend

Cast

• Hal Warren as Michael. The patriarch of the protagonist family.

• Diane Mahree as Margret. The wife of Michael, sought by both the Master and Torgo.

• Jackey Neyman Jones as Debbie. The daughter of Michael and Margret, whose fate was disputed by the cult.

• John Reynolds as Torgo. A mysterious deformed man who runs the house in the film in the absence of "The Master."

• Tom Neyman as The Master. The undead leader of the film's cult.

Minor Characters

• The Master's Wives (played by Stephanie Nielson, Sherry Proctor, Robin Redd, Jay Hall and Bettie Burns). The wives of the Master, who are portrayed fighting amongst themselves on what to do with the family. A scene in which the First Wife was sacrificed was cut from the Mystery Science Theatre airing.

• "The Make-Out Couple" (played by Bernie Rosenblum and Joyce Molleur). Two teenagers who spend the entire film making out in a car or being instructed to move their vehicle by police while doing so. The purpose of their roles in this film are unclear.

After Manos

Hal Warren returned to selling fertilizer following Manos. He attempted to pitch another script he had written called Wild Desert Bikers, but with the failure of Manos no one he approached showed any interest in making these ideas into movies.

Reynolds committed suicide not long after the movie was made, reportedly either through a self-inflicted gunshot wound or a drug overdose. Some accounts claim he suffered from a drug addiction, and according to Jackey Neyman Jones, Reynolds was usually quite high during filming.

Rumors long claimed that other cast members had also killed themselves shortly after the release of the movie: Diane Mahree, the female lead; Sherry Proctor, one of The Master's wives; and Joyce Molleur, the female half of the "make-out couple". However, the makers of Hotel Torgo, a 2004 documentary about Manos, researched these rumors and found no obituaries or any other evidence to confirm them.

See also

• Films considered the worst ever

External links

• Manos: The Hands of Fate at IMDb
• the agony booth's review
• BadMovies.org's review
• I-mockery's review
• "The Hand that Time Forgot": an interview with the director of cinematography and stunt coordinator
• Hotel Torgo at IMDb