I tre volti della paura (1963)

Directors:

Mario Bava
Salvatore Billitteri

Writers:

Mario Bava (writer)
Alberto Bevilacqua (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

6 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

This is the night of the nightmare...The day of the Undead.

Plot:

A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Vampire | Corpse | Medium | Escaped Prisoner

Cast

Michèle Mercier	...	Rosy (segment "The Telephone")
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Mary (segment "The Telephone") (as Lydia Alfonsi)
Boris Karloff	...	Himself / Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak")
Mark Damon	...	Vladimire d'Urfe (segment "The Wurdalak")
Susy Andersen	...	Sdenka (segment "The Wurdalak")
Massimo Righi	...	Pietro (segment "The Wurdalak")
Rika Dialina	...	Maria (segment "The Wurdalak") (as Rica Dialina)
Glauco Onorato	...	Giorgio (segment "The Wurdalak")
Jacqueline Pierreux	...	Helen Chester (segment "The Drop of Water")
Milly	...	The Maid (segment "The Drop of Water") (as Milly Monti)
Harriet Medin	...	Neighbor (segment "The Drop of Water")
Gustavo De Nardo	...	Police Inspector (segment "The Drop of Water")
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Milo Quesada	...	Frank Rainer (segment "The Telephone") (uncredited)
Alessandro Tedeschi	...	Coroner (segment "The Drop of Water") (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Bava
Salvatore Billitteri

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mario Bava		writer
Alberto Bevilacqua		writer
Ivan Chekhov		story "The Drop of Water"
Marcello Fondato		screenplay
F.G. Snyder		story "The Telephone"
Aleksei Tolstoy		novelette Sem'ya vurdalaka

Produced by
Salvatore Billitteri	....	producer
Paolo Mercuri	....	producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter		(US version)
Roberto Nicolosi

Cinematography by
Ubaldo Terzano
Mario Bava		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Mario Serandrei

Production Design by
Riccardo Domenici		(as Riccardo Dominici)

Art Direction by
Giorgio Giovannini

Costume Design by
Tina Grani

Makeup Department
Otello Fava	....	makeup artist
Renata Magnanti	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Armando Govoni	....	production supervisor
Paolo Mercuri	....	production manager

Art Department
Francesco Bronzi	....	assistant production designer
Riccardo Domenici	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound mixer
Alfred R. Bird	....	sound editor: US version
Mario Messina	....	sound
Ernest Reichert	....	sound editor: US version
Nino Renda	....	sound mixer
Kay Rose	....	sound editor: US version

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrico Fontana	....	camera operator
Mario Mancini	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Lina Caterini	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Eve Newman	....	music editor (US version)
Al Simms	....	music coordinator (US version)

Other crew
Priscilla Contardi	....	continuity
Franco Grifeo	....	administrator

Production Companies

• Alta Vista Film Production (in association with)
• Emmepi Cinematografica
• Galatea Film
• Societé Cinématographique Lyre

Distributors

• Rank Organisation Div. Belgium and Luxemburg, The (1963) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Rank Organisation Div. Belgium and Luxemburg, The (1963) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (English dubbed)
• Astral Films (1964) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Rank (1965) (France) (theatrical) (as The Rank Organisation)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Anolis Entertainment (199?) (Germany) (video)
• Astro Distribution (1998) (Germany) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Network Enterprises (video)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (video)
• Thorn EMI/HBO Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Black Sabbath (USA)
Les trois visages de la peur (France)
The Three Faces of Fear
The Three Faces of Terror

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy | France | USA

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2001) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | UK:X

Filming Locations:

Titanus Farnesina Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Alta Vista Film Production

Trivia:

There were additional scenes filmed with Boris Karloff introducing the segments, however AIP decided they were unnecessary and cut them from the film. Karloff would later say these introductions were some of the most fun he'd ever had on a film set.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In "The Wurdulak", Gorca shouldn't have been able to turn Giorgio into a vampire, because Giorgio had already been stabbed to death by Maria.

Quotes:

Mary: [to Rosy] You have no reason to be afraid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le locataire (1976)

Mario Bava should not be forgotten.

"Tre volti della paura " is a movie made up of three sketches,linked by Boris Karloff's comments -he plays the lead in the second segment - and all dealing with death following a logical progression:fear of death in the first sketch,some kind of "night of the living dead"cum vampires in the second one and terror around a dead woman in the third.Mario Bava did not need any special effects that mar so many horror films today:his baroque settings (Michele Mercier's flat in the first sketch,the countess's Gothic mansion in the third,and the lunar landscapes in the middle one),his knowing lighting effects,his color research,his incredibly effective use of the depth of field (visually stunning in the final segment)are as impressive today as they were forty years ago and were a strong influence on other Italian directors such as Dario Argento.Worth the price of admission.