Is Manos: The Hands of Fate really that bad?

This 1966 film is often described as being one of the worst films ever made.  It’s a movie that was the subject of one of the most popular episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and, when three alumni of MST 3K alumni subsequently started Rifftrax, they participated in a live “riffing” of the film.  Much like The Room and Birdemic, Manos: The Hands of Fate is one of those films that has developed a cult following, one that seems to be largely made up of people who grew up making fun of the film.  And I have to admit that, in the past, I myself have cited Manos: The Hands of Fate as being one of the worst films ever made.

(And like everyone, I’ve pointed out that the title of the film is actually Hands: The Hands of Fate.)

But let us be honest.  Manos: The Hands of Fate premiered in El Paso in 1966.  The film’s director/writer/producer/star hired a searchlight for the theater and arranged for the cast to show up in limousines.  That was undoubtedly a big deal in 1966 El Paso.  After the film’s El Paso premiere, Manos apparently played in a few West Texas drive-ins and it may have shown up in New Mexico.  It is known that it showed up on television at one point and then, for several years, it disappeared.  In 1992, the film was released on video that was taken from the 16mm television print.  The film was submitted to and subsequently included on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and, since then, it’s become quite a success.  It has a cult of devoted fans.  There have been stage adaptations.  Both a prequel and a sequel have been filmed.  57 years after it premiered, Manos: The Hands of Fate is far more popular now than when it was first released.

And really, that’s not bad for a film that was made as the result of a bet.  Harold P. Warren was a fertilizer salesman and an amateur actor who made a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant that he could make a horror film.  (Silliphant is best-known for his work on the screenplays for The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure.)  Warren wrote the plot outline for a Manos on a napkin in a coffee shop.  Back in El Paso, Warren wrote the script.  Warren put up the $19,000 budget and produced the film.   Warren directed the film.  Warren starred in the film and selected the rest of the cast from people who were involved in El Paso’s community theater.  Manos is totally the product of Harold P. Warren’s imagination.

The film, as I am sure everyone knows, opens with a 9-minute shot of Warren driving his family around.  Warren plays Michael.  Diane Mahree plays Michael’s wife, Margaret.  Jackey Neyman plays Debbie, who is Michael and Margaret’s daughter.  They’re on vacation in the desert and looking for a hotel.  Of course, Michael, being a man of that era, refuses to ask for directions.  When they finally stop at a house that Michael apparently believes is a motel, Torgo (John Reynolds) informs them that “the master is away.”  Depending on how good a print you’re watching, you may be able to see that Torgo has cloven hooves for feet.  For some reason, this doesn’t disturb Michael or his family.  He’s more irritated by how slowly Torgo moves.

The Master (Tom Neyman) is a sorcerer who spends most of his time sleeping in front of a fire with his wives.  The Master wears a goofy robe that is decorated with two red handprints.  The wives all wear translucent nightgowns and get into a dramatic catfight shortly after they wake up, making the film feel like a peak straight into Harold Warren’s fantasies.  For his part, The Master wants to sacrifice Michael to a demon named Manos (in other word, a deomn of hands) and he also wants to make Margaret and Debbie into his new brides.

It’s an odd film, one that feels as if it was largely made up while it was being filmed.  (A scene in which a cop pulls over  two teenagers is memorable only for the fact that the scene was obviously dubbed by only one actor reading from the script.)  The entire film is dubbed, leading to Debbie having a 40 year-old voice and Torgo speaking in a voice that’s as shaky as his movements.  It’s a film that’s full of padding and the driving scenes are both dull and yet full of a definite sense of ennui.  Manos has atmosphere but it ultimately feels like accidental atmosphere.

The performances are difficult to judge, largely because of the dubbing.  Harold Warren comes across like the ultimate no-nonsense, Silent Generation father.  You can just look at him and know that he thinks anti-war protestors should be charged with treason.  Diane Mahree, as Margaret, probably comes the closest to playing a believable human being but, in the end, most people just remember the performances of Tom Neyman and poor John Reynolds.

Tom Neyman goes through the film with a sour expression on his face, as if he can’t understand why he ever thought it would be a good idea to have 6 wives and to try to live with them all at the same time.  There’s nothing intimidating about Neyman but I imagine most real-life sorcerers would be in just as bad a mood as The Master appears to be.

Meanwhile, John Reynolds’s performance as Torgo can only be described as being bizarre but then again, Torgo is a pretty bizarre character.  Moving slowly and speaking with a permanently shaky voice, Reynolds gives a performance that is still remembered and beloved today.  Sadly, Reynolds committed suicide shortly after filming Manos, reportedly due to his addiction to drugs.  (In other words, he didn’t commit suicide because of Manos, regardless of what certain sites might insist.)  All these years later, John Reynolds has devoted fans.

So yeah, I guess Manos could be called a bad film but it’s also one of the most watchable bad films ever made.  Don’t forget to experience it this Halloween!