'Frozen Alive' is a sci-fi crime drama

Frozen Alive (1964)
Starring: Mark Stevens and Marianne Koch
Director: Bernard Knowles
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

In "Frozen Alive" a pair of brilliant scientists (Stevens and Koch) are on the threshold of perfecting cryogenic suspended animation for human beings. On the very night the pair decides to cross a scientific line and freeze Stevens, his shrewish wife is found shot to death in their apartment. The police believe that the scientist had himself frozen in the hopes of escaping justice. As evidence mounts that he did indeed murder him, Koch is faced with the choice of letting her beloved co-worker be successfully revived to face the police, or commit murder herself by sabotaging the revival process and let him escape the humilitation.


Primarily a German production, this light-weight sci-fi drama features a truly interational cast--British, American, and German. The acting is all quite good, despite the fact that the dialogue the actors are working with leaves a lot to be desired, and the script does have a number of holes and weakpoints in it. The best part of the film is the climax, which is a slight twist on the "ticking clock" model, and a great use of letting the audience know more than the characters on-screen do.

"Frozen Alive" is a good addition to a "B-movie Night." line-up... not something to lead with, but worth having in the mix.