FROZEN ALIVE

Two scientists from the World Health Organisation's Low Temperature Unit in Berlin - the American Dr. Frank Overton (Stevens) and Dr. Helen Wieland (Koch), a West German, have successfully frozen chimpanzees, stored them at -80°C for three months, and thawed them with no ill effects. Their goal is to move on to humans and save those suffering from currently incurable diseases. Frank and Helen are affectionate, but Frank is married to Joan (Delphi Lawrence), an alcoholic fashion journalist. Her lover, Tony Stein (Joachim Hansen), is a newspaper crime reporter. The director of the Low Temperature Unit, Sir Keith (Walter Rilla), has forbidden Frank and Helen from human experimentation. They've won a prestigious award for their work with chimps, and are each to receive $25,000. Frank tells Joan that they should buy a cottage in the country, after which she would quit her job and have babies. Joan is not enthusiastic. She is jealous of Helen as she thinks Frank spends too much time with her. Frank and Joan argue, and Frank storms off to work on an all-night experiment with Helen. Joan, in turns, goes out with Tony. At Tony's apartment, Joan and he also argue after he cut their date short to write an article, which will take all night. When Tony moves to another room to write in peace, a drunken Joan takes his semi-automatic pistol and leaves. She goes to the lab to confront Helen, but Frank physically removes her from the premises. At home, Joan and Frank row, and Joan says she wishes she was dead. Frank thinks she's being silly, but then sees she has a gun. As they struggle over it, the pistol discharges but neither is struck by the bullet. Frank pulls out the empty clip and believes the gun is unloaded. After Joan has sobered up a bit, she asks Frank if he can arrange a short, romantic holiday for them. Frank says yes, but only if he can help Helen finish a project that night. At the lab, he tells Helen that despite Sir Keith's order, they must take the next step and deep-freeze a human - him. Lab technician Martin (Albert Bessler) asks Helen how he should enter the experiment in the lab's logbook. Helen says that since the previous experiment was numbered X700, freezing Frank is X701. Tony goes to Joan to retrieve his pistol. To his surprise, Joan refuses a drink, saying she's on the wagon. Then she declares it's time to say "auf wiedersehen" to the old, drunken Joan, melodramatically puts the gun to her abdomen, and shoots herself, not realizing the supposedly empty gun had a live round in the chamber. Tony puts her to bed, where she dies. He leaves her body lying there and leaves, taking the pistol with him. A cleaning woman finds Joan the next morning. Police Inspector Prentow (Lukscky) and Sgt. Grun (Wolfgang Gunther) arrive at the lab to interrogate Frank, the chief subject in what they assume is Joan's murder. Upon learning that he's been frozen, Prentow demands that Frank be thawed immediately. Meanwhile, Tony sees a headline in a newspaper that reads "Bekannte Mode-Journalisten tot aufgefunden! Ehemann verschwindet!" ("Famous fashion journalist found dead! Husband disappears!") and call his uncle, the Vice President of Police, to explain what actually happened. The message about Joan's accidental death is passed on to Prentow. Frank thaws, alive and well. A year later, Frank and his friendly boss Prof. Hubbard (John Logden) relax outdoors as Hubbard reads aloud an interview with Sir Keith, who takes full credit for successfully freezing and thawing Frank. Helen walks around the corner of the country cottage, and she and Frank, arm in arm, stroll off together.