Shanks (1974) on Netflix
Malcolm Shanks is a deaf, mute puppeteer who lives with his sister and her husband. Mr. Walker hires him as a laboratory assistant for experiments that reanimate the dead.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb5.5/10907 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Malcolm Shanks cannot hear or speak, and he reads lips. He shares a home with his sister, Mrs. Barton, and her husband, Mr. Barton, who drinks. The couple rely on the money he earns and treat him badly. Shanks builds puppets and performs with them; his skill comes to the notice of Mr. Walker, who brings him to his mansion as a laboratory helper. Walker experiments with reanimating dead bodies and moving them by electrodes, as if they were on strings. He begins with a frog and a chicken.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Shanks (1974)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Marcel Marceau, who had performed for decades in white face makeup and without speaking, both spoke and appeared without makeup in Shanks, playing two roles: the mute Malcolm Shanks and the speaking Old Walker.
- William Castle approached Marcel Marceau with the Shanks script after seeing his pantomime "Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death", telling him it dealt with similar themes; Marceau said the script was exactly what he had been looking for.
