Carnival of Souls (1962)

Director:

Herk Harvey

Writer:

John Clifford (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

2 November 1962 (Finland)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

She Was A Stranger Among The Living.

Plot:

After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.

Plot Keywords:

River | Church | Vision | Bridge | Organist

Cast

Candace Hilligoss	...	Mary Henry
Frances Feist	...	Mrs. Thomas, Landlady
Sidney Berger	...	John Linden
Art Ellison	...	Minister
Stan Levitt	...	Dr. Samuels
Tom McGinnis	...	Organ Factory Boss
Forbes Caldwell	...	Carpenter in Organ Factory
Dan Palmquist	...	Gas Station Attendant
Bill de Jarnette	...	Mechanic (as Bill De Jarnette)
Steve Boozer	...	Chip, Man at Juke Box
Pamela Ballard	...	Dress Sales Lady
Larry Sneegas	...	Drag Racer
Cari Conboy	...	Lake Zombie
Karen Pyles	...	Dress Store Customer
T.C. Adams	...	Dancing Zombie
Sharon Scoville	...	Mary's Girlfriend
Mary Ann Harris	...	Mary's Girlfriend
Peter Schnitzler	...	A Walking Corpse
Bill Sollner	...	Lake Zombie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reza Badiyi	...	Bus Ticket Customer (uncredited)
Ed Down	...	Man at Bridge (uncredited)
Herk Harvey	...	'The Man' (uncredited)
Wayne Shmille	...	Sheriff at Bridge (uncredited)

Directed by
Herk Harvey

Writing credits
John Clifford		(written by)
Herk Harvey		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Herk Harvey	....	producer

Original Music by
Gene Moore

Cinematography by
Maurice Prather		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bill de Jarnette		(as Bill De Jarnette)
Dan Palmquist
Herbert L. Strock		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
George Corn	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Lanny Fellers	....	assistant production manager
Larry Sneegas	....	production manager
Richard Walker	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Reza Badiyi	....	assistant director (as Raza Badiyi)

Sound Department
Ed Down	....	sound
Don Jessup	....	sound

Other crew
Dan Fitzgerald	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Harcourt Productions

Distributors

• Herts-Lion International Corp. (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Filmipojat (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Harcourt Productions (1987) (USA) (all media)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1990) (Canada) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS) (as Acme Video)
• VidAmerica (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Marengo Films (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Clint Hickman Productions (2001-2007) (worldwide) (all media) (3D version)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• BFS Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Hart Sharp Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Pan Vision Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Englewood Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Media Group (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Treeline Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• VidAmerica (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Video Home Library (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Clint Hickman Productions  3D process
• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration

Also Known As:

"Corridors of Evil" - USA (reissue title)

Runtime:

78 min | 91 min (original version) | USA:84 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (green tinted) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Norway:16 | UK:15 (video rating) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (1991) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (1990) | USA:Approved (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (1997) | USA:PG (re-release) (1990) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) (1962) | Finland:K-18 (re-rating) (1962) | Germany:12 | UK:12 (DVD re-rating) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2009)

Filming Locations:

Centron Studios - 1621 W 9th Street, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Company:

Harcourt Productions

Trivia:

In the late 1980s, Candace Hilligoss wrote a treatment for a sequel to 'Carnival of Souls'. She took it to associate Peter Soby Jr. who instead decided to produce a remake of the original film (also called Carnival of Souls (1998)). Hilligoss had no part of the production.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Mary Henry's footfalls don't match her on-screen steps as she dashes into and through bus depot.

Quotes:

John Linden:That's just what I need! Get mixed up with some girl who's off her rocker!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Horror of Party Beach (#9.17)" (1997)

Most Resourceful Modest Budget Horror

After viewing this legendary flick for the first time, I have to say that the quality they achieved on a shoestring is still impressive today. Every penny spent on this little film makes its way before the viewer, which is something that can't be said of most major budget films then or now. Corman used "getting the money up on the screen" as his yardstick for his own success as low budget producer and director. But while I like the Corman cheapies, like Bucket of Blood and Little Shop of Horrors, and acknowledge that they possess a relatively high level of workman-like resourcefulness, it's hard to deny that Carnival makes many of Corman's films look slapped-out and unimaginative in comparison. Corman usually steered clear of anything poetic, dabbling with it most pointedly in the dream sequences in his first Poe adaptations. In contrast, this films makers are quoted to the effect that they were inspired by Bergman and Cocteau. Now, with such heroic ambition, Carnival could have turned out a laughable mess. But the films dark waking dream atmosphere is well realized. They had some really great locations– the pavilion, the wooden bridge, the organ factory and the church with the "casting out demons" stained glass. The actress playing the heroine is lucky (or skillful) casting, too; she doesn't look or act quite like the average person, which is perfect for the story. If I picked one thing to complain about, it would be the interlude with the guy from across the hall in the rooming house, about the writing of that section and especially about the actor who played him. But I won't. There's just too much good to be said about this small masterpiece of independent film making.

Ten stars. See it.