Paper Man

I saw this on TV when I was 8; it was incredibly scary then. Saw it years later and marveled at the prescient use of computers and identity theft mixed with s.f. horror that could have appeared in "Ring." And there would be no "Videodrome" without it.

It's kind of neat to watch what the computer world was in the seventies. Those massive machines, producing data from the input of cards. The flashing lights and spools of magnetic tape. This is the story of an early effort to use the computer for evil means. It doesn't start that way. A group of college kids enlist the computer nerd, Dean Stockwell, to help them create and artificial being (made of paper, as in identity only). The purpose is to help them with their financial troubles, to challenge money into and out of accounts. Anyway, Dean Stockwell, looking about as weird as can be with those sunken cheeks and unibrow, becomes the suspect in a series of murders that seem to come from the computer's control. This starts as almost supernatural. A young woman is asked to use her charms to keep him on task by the hunky ex-Vietnam vet. There is more to this than meets the eye. It's hard to pull for Stockwell because he is so strange. He has some deep dark secret that must be revealed at some point. Describing it makes it sound really stupid, but there is really quite a lot to this film and it works reasonably well.

I enjoyed this movie for a number of reasons, Dean Stockwell being one of the main ones. Also one of the supporting actresses looks amazingly like Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched. Some of the acting is very good, but the majority of it ranges from decent down to pretty bad. The story is very original. I highly recommend this to just about anyone. It's well worth watching at least once, just to say you've seen it and for the young Dean Stockwell performance.

This movie is currently available on a number of DVD's including a couple sets of older movie classics and a DVD Double Feature of Dean Stockwell with Paper Man (1971) and Born to Be Sold (1981). If you have trouble finding any of them just do a quick search on the internet and you should find one of them very quickly. Enjoy.

Four college students (including Stefanie Powers) decide to go on a spending spree when one of them mistakenly receives a credit card for one "Henry Norman" in the mail. When the bank starts to get suspicious and requests "Henry" fill out a background questionnaire (hey, it was the early 70s), the group recruits computer whiz Avery (Dean Stockwell) to create a "real" history for the man in the computer. However, it appears Henry Norman is quite real himself and is angry his credit rating is being ruined so he starts offing the kids via the computer. Engaging TV movie that seems to have been ahead of its time when it comes to computers. Unfortunately, there are two problems. One, the kids are totally unsympathetic and annoying; two, the mystery is pretty dang obvious when you have the five kids whittled down to two and there is only one other character in the story. Still, a fun little computer gone wild flick to enjoy with its big brother COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970).

When a group of college students mistakenly come into the possession of a credit card, the titular PAPER MAN is born. His name is "Henry Norman" and the group conspires to give him a fictitious "life" of his own. When the bank gets wise, another student named Avery (Dean Stockwell) reluctantly joins in. Avery is a computer genius, and uses his skills to complete the ruse.

Not too shockingly, things begin to get a bit more complicated than originally anticipated, even taking a turn for the sinister and deadly. Has "Mr. Norman" somehow become real?

PAPER MAN is a very good made-for-TV, science fiction / horror / mystery movie from the golden age of such projects. There are some genuinely creepy moments here! The story is solid, and the characters are well-realized, sort of prefiguring the students in FLATLINERS in both arrogance and naivete. The ending is astutely chilling, considering how computers have actually developed in the decades since!

Co-stars Stefanie Powers as Karen, and James Olson as Art Fletcher.

EXTRA POINTS FOR: Spotting the printout portrait of Alfred E. Neuman in the computer room!

This film deserves to be rediscovered...