The Terror (1963)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Leo Gordon (screenplay) and
Jack Hill (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 May 1964 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There's No Rest For The Wicked...

Plot:

A young officer in Napoleon's army pursues a mysterious woman to the castle of an elderly Baron.

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Sea | Bird | Horse | Extramarital Affair

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe
Jack Nicholson	...	Lt. Andre Duvalier
Sandra Knight	...	Helene / Ghost of Ilsa The Baroness Von Leppe
Dick Miller	...	Stefan (as Richard Miller)
Dorothy Neumann	...	Katrina, Witch / Eric's Mother
Jonathan Haze	...	Gustaf
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rick Dean

Also Known As:

Lady of the Shadows (USA) (working title)
Roger Corman's The Terror (USA) (uncensored intended title)
Roger Corman's The Terror: Original Uncut Version (USA) (alternative title)
The Castle of Terror
The Haunting (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1964) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2009) | Australia:PG | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2002) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Filmgroup, The

Trivia:

Roger Corman decided on a major change for this film. Instead of a fire, the usual finale for a Corman film of the period, he had the castle flooded instead. Corman's crew had come to look forward to "fire day".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Samuel Colt (1814-1862), the inventor of the revolver, took his first European patent for his invention in 1835, and as Lt. Duvalier searches the castle, he carries a revolver around. The movie is set 20 years after Ilse's death, making the year 1802, as her gravestone clearly states 1761-1782, therefore Lt. Duvalier is carrying around a weapon made by a man who won't be born until 12 years later. Another matter of curiosity regarding this is the fact that it is a snub-nosed revolver, though nobody exactly knows when it was conceived, most believe it was invented in the American west in the late 19th century, presumably by a person who thought it would be easier to fast-draw from a holster.

Quotes:

Helene: The crypt! It must be destroyed, and with it the dead.
Andre: Don't speak of the dead anymore. You're with me now.
Helene: I am possessed of the dead.
Andre: You're a warm living woman. Who has told you these things?
Helene: The dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'Targets': An Introduction by Peter Bogdanovich (2003) (V)

Don't judge this by the available videos...

... which are mostly crap, copied from old nth generation prints full of dirt and splices and bad sound. I never saw THE TERROR when it was originally released but I did see TARGETS, which incorporated footage from the earlier film a few years later. The footage from TERROR was crisp, sharp, and beautifully photographed. Seeing it when it was new must have been an entirely different experience. On the other hand, audiences then didn't have the advantage of hindsight. They didn't know that the young lead would go on to become possibly the most successful actor of his time. And they certainly wouldn't have suspected it from THE TERROR. Jack Nicholson is handily out-acted by virtually everyone else on the screen, including his then buddy Dick Miller. Karloff shines, bringing the same sly relish to his wittier lines that he brought to THE BODY SNATCHER many years before. The guy was the king of horror movies, no question about it. Everyone knows the backstory: shot on leftover sets from THE RAVEN (and possibly, if I'm not mistaken, THE HAUNTED CASTLE) with plenty of stock footage from PIT AND THE PENDULUM and HOUSE OF USHER. Most amusing (to me) was the way no one could agree on how to pronounce the name Gustav, whom Nicholson at one point addresses as "Gust-off" (although he comes closer in a later scene). If you're a fan of classic horror (or B-movie lore) you should give THE TERROR a look. Its creaky atmosphere is oddly charming.