Die Nackte und der Satan (1959)

Director:

Victor Trivas

Writer:

Victor Trivas (writer)

Release Date:

24 July 1959 (West Germany)

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 | Dog | Hunchback | Sculptor | Heart Attack

Cast

Horst Frank	...	Dr. Brandt, alias Dr. Ood
Karin Kernke	...	Schwester Irene Sander
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
Des Satans nackte Sklavin (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:

Released in the U.S. on a double bill with "Horror Hotel" in June 1963.

Quotes:

Stella, alias Lilly: It's an ill wind that blows nobody no good.
Paul Lerner: Very good, Lilly, you're such a philosopher.

I'm above all their laws!

I really don't know if this was supposed to be horror or sci-fi.

In fact, I really don't know why I got it. There had to be some reason, but I forgot. Maybe I thought it was the nunsploitation angle as Karin Kernke is referred to as "Sister" Sanders. I have really forgotten.

It came out three years before the cult favorite The Brain That Wouldn't Die, and it certainly featured much better acting, but it just didn't have anything to recommend it beyond that.

Much of the action takes place in a strip club, but you don't get to see anything. You really can't compare the two bodies of the girls involved, even though Kernke in her first film was obviously larger in the chest than German sex symbol Christiane Maybach.

Horst Frank, who has done some 150 films, including Argento's The Cat o' Nine Tails, really did a good and very creepy job as the mad doctor.

There was a certain sensuality in the film, but it basically got lost in the constant fades that made it seem as if it was made for TV with spaces for commercials.

Those who have seen The Brain That Wouldn't Die may want to check it out for comparison.