The Undead (1957)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay) and
Mark Hanna (screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

A thousand years of naked terror!

Plot:

Two psychical researchers procure the services of a lady of the night and send her back in time under hypnosis...

Plot Keywords:

Witch | Medieval | Axe | Imp | Witchcraft

Cast

Pamela Duncan	...	Diana Love / Helene
Richard Garland	...	Pendragon
Allison Hayes	...	Livia, witch
Val Dufour	...	Quintus Ratcliff
Mel Welles	...	Smolkin, the gravedigger
Dorothy Neumann	...	Meg Maud, witch
Billy Barty	...	The Imp
Bruno VeSota	...	Scroop, the innkeeper (as Bruno Ve Sota)
Richard Devon	...	Satan
Maurice Manson	...	Prof. Ulbrecht Olinger
Aaron Saxon	...	Gobbo, the Jailer
Don Garrett	...	The Knight (as Don Garret)
Dick Miller	...	The Leper (as Richard Miller)

Also Known As:

The Trance of Diana Love (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

American International Pictures released this film on a double feature with Voodoo Woman (1957).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: "Stone" wall shakes noticeably during Gobbo and Pendragon's scuffle in the Tower of Death.

Quotes:

Smolkin, the Gravedigger: [singing] Three Witches have heads / But they'll sever them all / The head of Helen is the third that must fall / All the Kings horses and all the Kings men cannot put the witches together again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

Coffins, hexes, and pitchforks, oh MY!!!

I fondly remember Corman's excuse to put a bevy of blonde babes on screen and pretend they were female vikings in Viking Women and the Sea Serpent. Heck, I even enjoyed "I'm a PRINCE!!!", but at times, the stagnation has you thinking, "Oh, yeah, I was watching a movie!" as your trail of thought wanders off. I even recall the yawning plague from the horror he penned in the Gunslinger which was only saved by fiery red maned Beverly Garland.

The Undead (although not pertaining to zombies or ghouls, but the unholy one) has a certain je ne sais quoi...a campy, strange feel. Sure, it was shot on some studio set and it looks like the entire village consists of less than 10 people. However, the effort put into this actually makes it a trip to watch. I don't know what the whole prostitute angle is or the question of whether or not a streetwalker is valued higher than a damsel accused of heresy, but it is a first! The eccentric, yet most recalled character, Smolkin, steals any scene he's in so much so that the "Hey diddle, diddle, the cat in the fiddle..." tune was stuck in my mind that even the homeless guys asking for change gave me odd glances when I was singing that walking near Fulton St. Witch Livia, played by bombshell Allison Hayes (she can hex me anytime!), plays the sultry, seducing spellcaster to a point! No wonder Pendragon couldn't resist (poor dope). Cast a plus for Meg, the gnarled crone who really makes you wonder if she collects toadstools and brimstone in her spare time. Nice chin too! Add in creature transformations, the impishly diabolical Billy Barty laughing from the underworld and this is one strange mamma jamma. Also, they actually took time to write scenes in ye olde English which just throws you for seven loops. This also may require several viewings to figure out what exactly is going on. Oh, last but not least, don't forget cameo by Bruno VeSota who "heads" our cast to his quaint inn.

What's really over the top? Our fey prince of darkness laughs with such levity that cannot be Shatnerized. You have your typical scrupulous doctor who can't even pronounce correctly. It's NEPAL, not nip-pal! I really liked the bureaucractic feel of the Witch's Sabbath too. So be sure to "STAY" and see one of Corman's more entertaining yarns. Also, watch this one MSTified and you'll appreciate it even more. Although I may be mad, but I cannot say....