Nackte und der Satan, Die (1959)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Victor Trivas

Writer:

Victor Trivas (writer)

Release Date:

1962 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Body is Gone...But The Head Lives On!

Plot:

A scientist invents a serum that keeps a dog's head alive after its body dies. When the scientist dies of a heart attack...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Experiment Gone Wrong | Heart Attack | Dog | Disembodied Head

Cast

Horst Frank	...	Dr. Brandt, alias Dr. Ood
Karin Kernke	...	Schwester Irene Sanders
Helmut Schmid	...	Bert Jaeger
Paul Dahlke	...	Police Commissioner Sturm
Dieter Eppler	...	Paul Lerner
Kurt Müller-Graf	...	Dr. Walter Burke
Christiane Maybach	...	Stella, alias Lilly
Michel Simon	...	Professor Dr. Abel

Also Known As:

A Head for the Devil
Satans nackte Sklavin, Des (West Germany) (new title)
The Head (USA)
The Screaming Head

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1960) | West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

ARRI-Atelier, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Rapid Film

Trivia:

Michel Simon, a major star in France at the time, had used some tainted makeup on a previous film that had resulted in his body and face becoming temporarily partially paralyzed. Since that time he had been unable to find work and took a role in this low-budget German horror film because he needed the money and only his head would be shown, and he didn't think a film of this caliber, which could adversely affect his career, would be seen on the rest of the continent. Unfortunately he was wrong, and the film was in fact a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Quotes:

[To Stella, alias Lilly, whom he will shortly murder:]
Dr. Brandt, alias Dr. Ood: Material things don't interest me. It's living things that fascinate me.

Too Detached; or "Young Frankenstein" Without the Humor

"The Head" is a genuinely odd German horror film. Although it dealt with contemporary themes and had a contemporary cast and production design, the sound, cinematography and direction are more like a silent. A "mad scientist" protege uses his teacher's discovery to perform a head transplant. He grafts the head of a beautiful young hunchback onto the body of a stripper. That's pretty much the plot. The scenes in the strip club work all right, but in every other film location, there's an absence of "room tone". That's local sound a film sound recordist adds to create a consistent "atmosphere" in a movie scene. Otherwise, a scene comes across as flat and otherworldly. The photography also lends to this silent or early 30ish atmosphere. The editing contains many fades for no good reason that to cover bad continuity. The acting varies from contemporary to exaggerated theatrical. It's too bad writer/director Victor Trivas fails to establish a consistent style. It's also too bad, but only a minor quibble, that actress Karin Kernke, who plays the hunchback is a lot bustier than actress Christiane Maybach, who plays the stripper. At 63, director Trivas might not have noticed, but most younger guys would. With consistent storyline, fairly good music and fine sets, I think "The Head" is worth at least a "5".