English Wolf

 

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NIGHT WOLF-2010-Bloody awful English horror film with a family being terrorized in their house by a bloodthirsty creature. Simon MacCorkindale (in his last movie role) is their doomed father. After this director Jonathan Glendening followed with STRIPPERS VS. WEREWOLVES (2012). Also known as 13 HOURS. 

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Early Alfred

 

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BLACKMAIL-1929-It takes a little while to get started but a woman Alice (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her policeman boyfriend Frank (John Longden) then goes with an artist (Cyril Ritchard) to his studio. Unbeknownst to her Frank sees them. After some flirtation he tries to rape her but she stabs him to death. The police investigate and Frank finds Alice's glove and sees that the dead man is the one she was with. When a man shows up at Alice's father's tobacco shop attempting to blackmail Alice, Frank devises a plan to pin the murder on the blackmailer. A chase through a museum highlights the story. Guilt ridden Alice wants to confess. 

This was Alfred Hitchcock's tenth movie and though originally done as a silent film it was decided midway way through the production that a sound film would also be made. This silent version is very well done with Hitchcock showing many of the traits he would use in subsequent film classics. It also features the longest of his many cameo appearances. The new score is a bit overwhelming.

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Damned Kids!

 

CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED-1964-Two doctors, Neville (Alan Badel) & Llewelyn (Ian Hendry) try to figure out what do to about a young boy named Paul, who has phenomenally high intelligence. His mother says Paul (Clive Powell; also in the original film)) has no father and isn't human. A UNESCO doctor tells the two that there are 5 more just like Paul scattered around the world. They are from Russia, India, China, Nigeria, Moscow, USA and all seem to be fatherless and have mysterious powers. When Webster (Alfred Burke), a sneaky government worker tries to take Paul from his aunt Susan (Babara Ferris), Paul causes a small car crash. The kids get together and hold up in an abandoned building with Paul's aunt and use her as a conduit to talk. When the police kill their dog, the kids’ eyes glow and they make the shooter kill his partner and himself. When it's discovered they are not human, it's decided they must be destroyed but Lewelyn doesn't agree. Another scientist learns that the kids’ DNA is what mankind's will be like in a thousand years. Things go awry in the tragic finale. 

There doesn't seem any reason for this pointless sequel that offers no explanation for the children unless you accept it's the same as in the first (and much better) film. It's also interesting to note that the two doctors appear to be a gay couple (Homosexuality was still illegal in England at the time). This is only one of two feature films directed by American Anton Leader.

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Stairway

 

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BLACK OPS-2019-A British military Black Ops group become trapped in a seemingly endless stairwell where something is coming up from below. A woman the asshole leader ordered killed was known as "The prophet of death" by locals. The acting and SFX are terrible in this UK production directed and written by Tom Paton.

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Lee & Cushing

 

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THE CREEPING FLESH-1973-Overzealous scientist Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) finds an unusual skeleton in Asia and brings it back to London. The doctor has been keeping a secret from his daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron) who believes her mother dead. However, Hildern receives a letter from his brother James (Christopher Lee), head of an insane asylum where his wife has been kept for many years and has just died. James is envious and resentful of his brother and tells him so. Later while examining the skeleton, a bony finger seems to grow flesh. Meanwhile James seems to be doing experiments of his own when one of his patients escapes. When Penelope finds out mom's secret, dad goes a little crazy and injects her with the blood from the skeleton finger. She starts to pick up mom's bad habits and winds up killing a sailor. While escaping from an angry mob she hooks up with the escaped lunatic who she later pushes to his death. She's captured and carted off to uncle's asylum. After snooping, James discovers what has happened to Penelope. Then he has the skeleton stolen. A rainstorm wrecks this endeavor and the reanimated skeleton comes looking for its finger. 

 (imdb)

A weird twist ending highlights this story. Michael Ripper has a small role. Often mislabeled a Hammer film, this independent English production shows promise but kind of never really gets going. Cinematographer Freddie Francis replaced Don Sharp as director right before filming started. Francis had directed several Hammer and non-Hammer films including THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964), DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), TORTURE GARDEN (1967) and DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968).

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Blood Drinkers

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VAMPYRES-1975-Two lesbian lovers, Fran (Marianne Morris) and Miriam (Anulka), are shot and killed by an unknown assailant. They come back as bloodthirsty vampires who pose as hitchhikers to lure unsuspecting (and horny) men into their manor. Meanwhile, a husband-and-wife artist team, John (Brian Deacon) and Harriet (Sally Faulkner) camp out near the house. Harriet is curious about the pair. Ted (Murray Brown), a guy who picks up the hitchhiking Fran and stays with her a couple of nights, finds a deep cut on his arm. He knows something isn't right but stays there anyway. Although the kill another guy they pick up, Fran lets Ted live and sucks blood from his arm a little at a time until he's too weak to leave. Harriet snoops around and discovers the pair sleeping in a dank basement during the day. There's several bloody deaths and lesbian scenes but in between there's a lot of not much happening. Sometimes it seems like the duo might not even be traditional vampires but violent killers who just like to drink blood. Or ghosts?

VAMPYRES was notorious upon its release and had trouble with censors but garnered a cult following and a reexamination years later. 

Co-lead vampire Anulka was "Playmate of the Month" in May of 1973. She also appeared in LISTZOMANIA and on British TV and is the former daughter in law of Soupy Sales! Co-lead Morris made uncredited roles in a few other movies including CORRUPTION (1968) and IT'S NOT THE SIZE THAT COUNTS (1974)).  Jose' Ramon Larraz, from Spain, directed this in England.  

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Konga

 

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KONGA-1961-Missing botanist Dr. Charles Decker (Michael Gough) returns to England after spending a year in the jungle with a local tribe. He brings back a little chimp, Konga. This doesn't sit well with his assistant Margaret (Margo Johns) who thinks Decker should pay more attention to her. He's a real analytic clown who also brings back strange plants that he says are partly human. He raises a bunch of carnivorous plants and extracts a fluid from them that he injects into little Konga, who starts to grow quickly. At school, after Decker teaches a class, the Dean (Austin Trevor) calls him mad and wants him to take a rest. Decker is highly insulted. 

Soon Konga grows man size and Decker hypnotizes him to do his bidding. His first victim is the Dean. Later he has Konga kill a rival scientist. Decker is also sweet on student Sandra (Claire Gordon), although he's already promised to marry Margaret, which makes her boyfriend Bob (Jess Conrad) upset. They have a brief fight. Bob becomes Konga's third victim. After Decker puts the moves on Sharon and is rejected, Margret hypnotizes Konga, injects him with more serum and he grows giant size killing her and destroying the lab. The ever-persistent Decker is still molesting Sandra (who gets bitten by a carnivorous plant) when Konga (now Kong size) breaks in, grabs his former master and goes on a rampage. The army steps in and in front of Big Ben Konga is killed in a barrage of bullets and bazookas, after throwing Decker to his death. Konga reverts back to a chimp in death. Sharon's fate isn't told (eaten by the plant?). 

This crazy low budget horror is ok but mostly for its wackiness. It was produced and written by Aben Kandel and Herman Cohen. Both had worked with AIP (TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN & DRACULA, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER) but Cohen relocated to England to make this and several other films, (a couple with his friend Joan Crawford). Director John Lemont worked mostly in TV.

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Greenstreet and Lorre

 

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THE VERDICT-1946-English police superintendent Grodman (Sydney Greenstreet) sends an innocent man to the gallows and is replaced by the inferior John Buckley (George Coulouris). After his friend Kendall is murdered in his room locked from the inside, Grodman assists his replacement in finding the murderer. Victor (Peter Lorre) is Grosman's friend who Buckley suspects of the murder. There's also Kendall's dance hall girlfriend Lottie (Joan Loring). Suspicion then falls on Clive Russell (Paul Cavanagh) who's convicted of murder and sentenced to death. But Grodman knows who the real murderer is…

Milton Parsons in one scene as an undertaker. Arthur Shields in one scene as a minister. Ian Wolfe in one scene as a jury foreman. 

Interesting murder mystery with a twist ending directed by Don Siegel in his feature length debut. This is the last of 9 movies Greenstreet and Lorre made together between 1941 and 1946. The screenplay by Peter Milne is based on a novel of which an earlier version was made as THE CRIME DOCTOR in 1934. That version has a far different ending.

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UK

 

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DEAD OF NIGHT-1945-An architect Craig (Mervyn Johns) visits a countryside cottage where he gets a big rush of Deja Vu. He says he's met the group of people there in his dreams. Thus begins this anthology.

1. “The Hearse Driver”-Race car driver Hugh Grainer (Anthony Baird) suffers a near fatal accident. Later, a dream saves his life. Just like a future “Twilight Zone” episode, directed by Basil Dearden.

2. “The Christmas Party”-At a party for young people, Sally (Sally Ann Howes) finds a secret room where a young boy Francis is crying and says his stepsister is trying to kill him. Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. This is adapted from a story by Angus MacPhail, which in turn is based on a true story.

3. “The Haunted Mirror”-A wife (Googie Withers) buys her husband (Ralph Michael) a mirror. When he looks in it, he sees the background of a completely different room. He seems to be taken over by the spirit of the former wife killing owner. Directed by Robert Hamer.

4. “The Golfer's Story”-Two friends George Parratt (Basil Radford) and Larry Potter (Nauton Wayne), both golfers, play a round for the love of a woman named Mary (Peggy Bryan). Parratt wins and Potter commits suicide. After he marries Mary and goes to play some golf, he hears Potter's voice mocking him and calling him a cheat. This is actually a lighthearted ghost comedy directed by Charles Crichton and based on a story by HG Welles.

5. “The Ventriloquist's Dummy”-Frere (Michael Redgrave), a ventriloquist, is accused of trying to kill another ventriloquist named Sylvester (Hartley Power) but he blames his dummy Hugo, who seems to have a life of his own. Standout segment directed by Alberto Cavalcanti.

In the nightmarish wraparound finale, Craig isn't what he seems to be….

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Blacklisted Crew

 

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FINGER OF GUILT-1956-Expatriate American film editor Reggie Wilson (Richard Basehart; in MOBY DICK the same year), now a producer in England after a scandal in the US, receives threatening blackmail letters from a woman he says he doesn't know. Since the US scandal involved an affair with his boss's wife he's looked on a little doubtfully when he says it's not true. Eventually he meets his accuser Evelyn Stewart (Mary Murphy; THE WILD ONE)) who seems to know all about Reggie and is genuine in her convictions. He tells the star of his new production (and former lover) Kay (Constance Cummings) that he thinks he is losing his mind. Things spiral out of control after he makes a few blunders. 

Interesting little English drama from Joseph Losey (who has a cameo as a director), also an expatriate American blacklisted out of Hollywood. He's credited as Alec C. Snowden and screenwriter Howard Koch is credited as Peter Howard (he was blacklisted too).

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Abbott,Costello and Karloff

 

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ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE-1953-Slim & Tubby (Abbott & Costello) are two Americans working as bobbies on the English police force. After they are beat up by a group of suffragettes, they are thrown off the force. Vicky (Helen Westcott), the leader of the group who is also a music hall dancer, is romantically pursued by crime reporter Bruce (Craig Stevens) who is investigating the mysterious murders credited to a monster. It turns out this is true as her guardian happens to be Dr. Henry Jekyll (Boris Karloff) who transforms into Mr. Hyde when he wants to eliminate an enemy. Tubby figures out Jekyll's secret but no one believes him, especially their ex-boss the inspector (Reginald Denny). Jekyll tricks the duo into staying overnight at his house. While Tubby is snooping around, he's menaced by scary henchman Batley (John Diekes) and discovers Jekyll's lab. Later after they escape Tubby turns into a mouse. Jekyll wants to get rid of Bruce because he's in love with Vicky. Later when the doctor is outed as the monster, a big daylight chase takes place and Tubby becomes his own Mr. Hyde. 

Good comedy ensues when A & C are on screen and the presence of Karloff brings it up a notch. Eddie Parker appears mostly as Mr. Hyde. This was one of 9 Universal comedies director Charles Lamont made with the team. Although Karloff made several TV appearances, this would be his only feature film in 1953. 

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Lee and Cushing..Together Againagain..

 

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NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT-1973-Someone is killing the trustees of the Van Traylon orphanage. A police inspector (Chris-topher Lee; also one of the producers)) enlists the help of Dr. Ashley (Peter Cushing). Meanwhile Dr. Hayes (Keith Barron) studies a traumatized little girl Mary (Gwyneth Strong) who lives at the orphanage. A reporter, Joan Foster (singer Georgia Brown) hooks up with Mary's mother Joanna (Diana Dors) who seems psychotic. Everything seems connected to the orphanage in Scotland. There's long stretches of talk leading up to a very bizarre finale. Michael Gambon (in only his second feature film) has a small role. 

This was the only film produced by Lee's short lived production company Charlemagne Films. Peter Sasdy (COUNTESS DRACULA, HANDS OF THE RIPPER) directed. Lee & Cushing were also teamed in THE CREEPING FLESH and SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA the same year.

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Karloffnaut

 

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JUGGERNAUT-1936-Dr. Satorius (Boris Karloff) is in Morocco researching a cure for fractured paralysis, but his funding is terminated. Relocating to the French Riviera, he has a strange manservant named Jacques (Gibb McLaughlin). He hires a nurse and is visited by Lady Clifford (Mona Goya), the wife of a cotton millionaire (Morton Seltin)), who's having an affair with Halliday (Anthony Ireland), a guy who lost all his money gambling. Lady Clifford promises Satorius a fortune if he becomes her hubby's live-in doctor but with an ulterior motive of course. Son Roger (Arthur Margetson) arrives and Dad tells him he is to be sole heir to his money. Suddenly he falls ill. 

This convoluted little murder mystery seems like casting Karloff was an afterthought. Director Henry Edwards made SCROOGE (with Seymour Hicks in the title role) the year before.

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Burroughs

 

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THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT-1974-A sailor finds a bottle with a message in it. Thus is related in 1916 a German U-boat torpedoes an English ship. 2 survivors Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) and Lisa Clayton (Susan Penhaligon) are rescued by some of the crew who survived. The survivors take over the U-boat. Later the Germans retake the sub and going off course they wind up in the south pole, landing in the thought to be legend land of Capuria. They encounter a pterodactyl, sea monsters and a bunch of cavemen. Eventually the German crew revolt but are all killed when a volcano erupts. Only the two survive and Tyler writes his message in a bottle. 

This Amicus co-production was director Kevin Connor's second film and it's not bad with the exception of some cheap looking SFX. It's based on a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs with the screenplay by fantasy artist James Cawthorn and fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Connor made a sequel AT THE EARTH'S CORE two years later.

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Not a Horror Film

 

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CHAMBER OF HORRORS (aka THE DOOR WITH 7 LOCKS)-1940-Miss June Lansdowne (Lilli Palmer) receives a key with a mysterious note telling her to go to a nursing home to meet Mr. Silva. She goes and meets him. He appears to be in ill health and talks like he's being held prisoner. He wants to tell her about the door with seven locks and who besides herself possesses the keys to them. But before he can, he's shot dead. She tells a nurse who plays ignorant, and the body disappears. She runs away and gets help from a just resigned police officer (Romilly Lunge). They, along with her annoying friend Glenda (Gina Malo) try solving the mystery of the door of which she has one of the keys to. The trio and lawyer Havelock (David Horne) go the estate of Dr. Minette (Leslie Banks), a guy with a pet monkey and a collection of torture devices. The door with 7 locks is in a tomb on his place. He's actually in league with some others to get the seventh key. 

Old style mystery melodrama directed by Norman Lee, advertised as a horror movie which it isn't. Star Leslie Banks had starred in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) and was the lead in the first version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934).

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Arliss and Karloff

 

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THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD-1934-Historical drama about the rise of Mayer Rothschild (George Arliss) from his beginnings in a Jewish ghetto in Frankfort to his rise as Europe's most powerful banker. After his death, the story focuses mainly on son Nathan (also Arliss). He lends millions to the English government to help Wellington (C. Aubrey Smith) defeat Napoleon. Then one of Wellington's men wants to marry Rothschild's daughter (Loretta Young). This could be complicated since he's not Jewish. Later Rothchild runs into opposition in the form of antisemitism headed by Baron Ledrantz (Boris Karloff). When Napoleon escapes and mounts a new offensive, Rothschild backs England with everything he's got, nearing financial ruin but Wellington is victorious and England is back on top. Some prints feature the final scene in color. 

Solid historical drama with a few inaccuracies (but what Hollywood story doesn't have them?), ably directed by Alfred Werker, who later made THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1939) with Rathbone and Bruce, A HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942) with Laurel and Hardy, SHOCK (1946) with Vincent Price and HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948) with Richard Basehart.

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Urge To Fast Forward

 

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URGE TO KILL-1989-A record producer Bono (Peter Gordeno) invites a would-be singer back to his swinging pad for some hi jinks. His place has cameras everywhere and a computer nicknamed "Sexy" controls everything. After a night together, the producer leaves and the singer invites her friend over. After a massage, things go awry. The singer is scalded to death in the shower and her friend is burned to ashes by a tanning machine. Later Bono has his girlfriend Jane (Sarah Hope Walker) and two other women over. After frolicking in a bubble bath, the two women disappear. Other weird things happen and it seems Sexy has taken over. The computer later manifests herself as a green woman who kills Bono by throwing him into the computer monitor. 

Featuring nudity, cat fights and mud wrestling, this movie sucks! The director Derek Ford made many sexploitation movies in England, wrote several books and came to a bad end, dying in 1993 at the age of 62.

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Karloff's Ghoul

 

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THE GHOUL-1933-0n his deathbed Prof. Morlant (Boris Karloff) prays to the Egyptian God Anubis and gives instructions to his servant Laing (Ernest Thesiger). It seems Morlant had a sacred jewel "The Eternal Light" in his possession. His lawyer (Cedric Hardwick) seems to want it. He tries to dissuade Morlant's nephew and heir Ralph (Anthony Bushell) from visiting the estate. Ralph hooks up with his cousin, Morlant's niece Betty (Dorothy Hyson) and they investigate along with Betty's comic relief roommate Miss Kaney (Kathleen Harrison). At the place they meet the lawyer and the servant and a bike riding priest (Ralph Richardson). They are also visited by Aga Ben Dragore (Howard Huth), former owner of the jewel and the knife wielding Mamoud (D, A. Clarke-Smith) who becomes the professor's first victim when he comes back to life. Laing is next as he stole the diamond not believing his master would be back. After Morant dies again, there's a couple of twists in the finale and the cousins get trapped in the burning tomb. It also seems the whole premise was not really supernatural. 

This Gaumont British UK production is dark, quirky and dated. It was the first film Karloff made in his homeland in 20 years and did well in England but failed at the US box office. It's also the only film Karloff made after his brief departure from Universal Pictures (he later signed a new contract with them). 

The film was thought lost for many years. In the late '60's William K. Everson discovered a battered and cut version of the film in a vault in Czechoslovakia (with Czech subtitles). Much later a negative of the film was found and restored. Director T. Hayes Hunter retired soon after making it. A year after THE GHOUL, Karloff had two highly acclaimed non-horror roles in THE LOST PATROL and THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD and would get back into the horror swing of things in Edgar Ulmer's classic THE BLACK CAT (with Lugosi).

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It!

 

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IT! -1967-An assistant museum curator Pimm (Roddy McDowall) who lives with his "Mrs. Bates" like mom, is disappointed when he's passed over for head curator after the mysterious death of his boss who was left alone with an ancient statue. When the statue is brought to the museum it falls on an electrician and kills him. Pym is sweet on his dead boss's daughter, Ellen (Jill Haworth; THE MUTATIONS). An American museum guy Perkins (Paul Maxwell) deduces that the statue might be the original "Golem of Prague". Pimm gains control of the statue and uses it to kill and destroy. Later he has second thoughts and decides to do away with the monster but all his attempts fail. When the army gets involved their attempts fail too. They even nuke it. The ending is dumb. 

This is a fairly cheap and boring British horror movie written and directed by Herbert J. Leder, who'd made THE FROZEN DEAD the year before. Roddy McDowall would star in THE PLANET OF THE APES in 1968.

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Hugo Your Way

 

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DEVIL DOLL-1964-Strange seemingly evil hypnotist/ventriloquist The Great Vorelli (Bryant Haliday) makes subjects react to imagined bad situations. He also has an act with Hugo, a scary dummy that talks and walks. Investigative reporter Mark English (William Sylvester) has his friend Marianne (Yvonne Romain) volunteer for one of the hypnotism acts. He makes her twist on stage. Marianne is very rich and when her aunt gives a charity benefit Mark convinces Marianne to invite Vorelli so he might examine Hugo. Meanwhile Vorelli puts Mary under his thrall and makes her his lover. Later Hugo goes to Mark's room and drops some hints about his origin. Before Mark can act, Mary's doctor says he should see her as she's acting strange. Vorelli's long suffering assistant Magda (Sandra Dorne) stirs up trouble. Enter Dr. Heller (Karel Stepanak) who says Vorelli is not to blame. Later after Vorelli and Magda have sex, Vorelli orders Hugo to kill Magda. Mark hires idiot Bob Garrett (Alan Gifford) to find out about Vorelli's past which he does. It seems Hugo was once a real person but through hypnotism he learned in Tibet, Vorelli made Hugo into his puppet-slave. It seems Vorelli wants to marry Mary, kill her to inherit her fortune and make her a companion for Hugo. In the finale the tables are turned. 

This is a kooky but creepy little horror film and was the directorial debut of Canadian Lindsey Shonteff, who went on to director another horror movie CURSE OF THE VOODOO (1965), also starring Haliday. American co-star Sylvester had been in GORGO (1961) and would play Heywood Floyd in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). Romain had been the mute servant girl in Hammer's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF in 1961.

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