Gritos en la noche (1962)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writer:

Jesus Franco (novel)

Release Date:

2 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll get an insight into the face of terror!

Plot:

Dr. Orlof, a former prison doctor, abducts beautiful women from nightclubs and tries to use their skin to repair his daughter's fire-scarred face...

Plot Keywords:

Fall From Height | Female Nudity | Skin Graft | Scalpel | Disfigured Face

Cast

Howard Vernon	...	Dr. Orloff
Conrado San Martín	...	Inspector Tanner
Diana Lorys	...	Wanda Bronsky
Perla Cristal	...	Arne
María Silva	...	Dany (as Mary Silvers)
Ricardo Valle	...	Morpho
Mara Laso	...	Irma Gold
Venancio Muro	...	Jean Rousseau
Félix Dafauce	...	Inspector
Faustino Cornejo
Manuel Vázquez	...	Klemp
Juan Antonio Riquelme
Fernando Montes	...	Maurice (as Fernando C. Montes)
Elena María Tejeiro
Javier de Rivera

Also Known As:

Cries in the Night
L'horrible Docteur Orlof (France)
Screams in the Night (literal English title)
The Awful Dr. Orlof (USA)
The Awful Dr. Orloff (USA)
The Demon Doctor (UK)
The Diabolical Dr. Satan

Runtime:

90 min | Sweden:86 min (banned version)

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | UK:15 (cut) | Netherlands:16 | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | Sweden:(Banned)

Company:

Hispamer Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Creature Features: The Awful Dr. Orloff (#1.36)" (1971)

Early overrated Franco chiller.

'The Awful Dr. Orloff' is obviously ripped off the extraordinary 'Eyes Without A Face'. I didn't really have a problem with that in itself, only that what Franco does with such potentially rich material. Which is, nothing much. Sadly this early Jess Franco effort, though entertaining enough, never reaches the surrealistic heights of his late 60s/early 70s peak ('Vampyros Lesbos', 'Succubus',etc.).

My enjoyment of this movie was lessened by it being the badly dubbed American version with inane dialogue. The way English versions of European horror invariably dumb down the scripts/characters is one of my pet peeves. Why do they do this? Lack of respect for genre movies? Or some kind of reverse Hollywood snobbery? Not having seen the original Spanish cut though I'll give this movie the benefit of the doubt. It just might be better than I think.

Veteran character actor (and Franco regular) Howard Vernon ('Alphaville') is excellent in the title role, and his side-kick Morpho (Ricardo Valle) is suitably menacing, but the Inspector Tanner character is a joke, and the scenes of police "procedure" really drag this movie down. Disappointing overall knowing what Franco would achieve in later, more original movies, but still a reasonable way to waste a rainy afternoon.