The Living Coffin (1959) El grito de la muerte (original title)

Director:

Fernando Méndez

Writer:

Ramón Obón (story)

Release Date:

3 December 1959 (Mexico)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller | Western

Plot:

A cowboy and his sidekick meet a ranching family that is haunted by spirits and vampires. |

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Murder | Ghost | Apparition | Haunting

Cast

Gastón Santos	...	Gastón / Cowboy
María Duval	...	María Elena García
Pedro de Aguillón	...	Coyote Loco
Carlos Ancira	...	Felipe
Carolina Barret	...	Clotilde
Antonio Raxel	...	Doctor (as Antonio S. Raxel)
Hortensia Santoveña	...	Doña María
Quintín Bulnes	...	Indio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Chávez	...	Lencho (uncredited)
José Dupeyrón	...	Asesino de Lencho (uncredited)
Eugenia Galindo	...	Clemencia (uncredited)
Ana María Hernández	...	Ama de llaves (uncredited)
Cecilia Leger	...	Pueblerina (uncredited)
Hernán Vera	...	Cantinero (uncredited)
Guillermo Álvarez Bianchi	...	Don Emiliano (uncredited)

Directed by
Fernando Méndez

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ramón Obón		story and adaptation

Produced by
K. Gordon Murray	....	producer (english version)
Alfredo Ripstein hijo	....	producer (as Alfredo Ripstein Jr.)
César Santos	....	producer (as Cesar Santos Galindo)

Original Music by
Gustavo César Carrión		(as Gustavo C. Carrion)

Cinematography by
Víctor Herrera

Film Editing by
Charles L. Kimball

Production Design by
Gunther Gerszo

Costume Design by
Consuelo Múgica
Francisco Preciado

Makeup Department
Evangelina Garibay	....	makeup artist (as Angelina Garibay)
Agripina Lozada	....	hair stylist (as Pina Lozada)

Production Management
Jorge Cardeña	....	production chief
Armando Solís	....	assistant production chief
Carlos Ventimilla	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Américo Fernández	....	assistant director

Sound Department
James L. Fields	....	sound supervisor
Javier Mateos	....	dialogue recordist
Raúl Portillo	....	sound editor (as Raul Portillo G.)

Special Effects by
Jorge Benavides	....	special effects (as 'Benavides')

Camera and Electrical Department
Regino Cárdenas	....	lighting technician
Lupe García	....	camera operator (as Guadalupe Garcia)

Music Department
Galdino R. Samperio	....	music recordist (as Galdino Samperio 'Crucy')

Other crew
Javier Carreño	....	script supervisor
Nicolás Rueda hijo	....	titles (as Nicolás Rueda Jr.)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Alameda Films
• Young America Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Alameda Films (1959) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Trans-International Films (1965) (USA) (all media) (dubbed)
• Saturn Productions (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• CasaNegra Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (19??) (USA) (TV) (dubbed)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"El grito de la muerte" - Mexico (original title)
"Scream of Death" - USA (promotional title)

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Alameda Films

Not up to the high standard set by Casa Negra so far.

Well, this is the fifth release I've seen from Casa Negra, and the other four were all excellent; those being The Curse of the Crying Woman, The Witch's Mirror, The Black Pit of Dr M and Brainiac...and while this film isn't terrible, it pales in comparison to those four as there isn't a great deal of imagination and the plot seems stretched out, despite the fact that the film only runs for seventy minutes! I was surprised to find that this film was directed by Fernando Méndez: the same director behind quite possibly the best of the Casa Negra releases so far, The Black Pit of Dr M. Perhaps he was running short on ideas by the time it came to making this film? Anyway, it won't surprise many people to find that the plot focuses on the Mexican legend of 'The Crying Woman'. We follow a Cowboy and his sidekick Crazy Wolf who comes across the mystery of the Crying Woman while investigating an attempted murder in an almost deserted Mexican town. The duo soon learns about the mystery behind The Crying Woman and attempts to get to the bottom of it.

The film mixes elements from horror and westerns in more ways than just the fact that the central character is a cowboy. The bar room brawl is one of the action centrepieces, and is of course a staple of the western genre. The film features a decent atmosphere emanating from the nearby swamp, and this helps to implement the horror tones. Surprisingly, the film is shot in colour, although unsurprisingly, it looks very grainy and cheap. The plot can feel a bit dry at times as there isn't a lot of it, and the film never really capitalises on the 'Crying Woman' theme that made The Curse of the Crying Woman such a delight to watch. The acting ranges from over the top to completely unenthusiastic, and this gives the film more of a trashy feel. When the plot starts to unravel it does feel kind of disappointing, and while fans of Scooby Doo may be happy with how it all turns out, I reckon many people will feel a bit cheated. Overall, this film may be of interest to people who were impressed by other Casa Negra releases, but I certainly wouldn't recommend stating with this one!