Horror Castle (1963)
"La vergine di Norimberga" (original title)

Women are being tortured to death with various torture devices in the dungeon of an old castle by a deformed, hooded, holocaust survivor.

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Frank Bogart (novel), Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay),

Stars:

Rossana Podestà, Georges Rivière, Christopher Lee

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rossana Podestà	...	Mary Hunter
Georges Rivière	...	Max Hunter (as George Riviere)
Christopher Lee	...	Erich (as Cristopher Lee)
Jim Dolen	...	John Selby, FBI Agent
Anny Degli Uberti	...	Frau Marta
Luigi Severini	...	Doctor
Luciana Milone	...	Trude
Lucile Saint-Simon	...	Victim (as Lucile St. Simon)
Patrick Walton
Consalvo Dell'Arti
Peter Hardy
Rex Vidor
James Borden
Bredon Brett
Robert Mayor

Storyline

Women are being tortured to death with various torture devices in the dungeon of an old castle by a deformed, hooded, holocaust survivor.

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Plot Keywords:

castle | murder | female nudity | operation | nazi | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

15 August 1963 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Horror Castle

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Lee's voice was dubbed by another actor for the English-language version.

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Goofs

Although the movie is set in Germany, palm trees can be seen during the exterior shots and the geography and exterior architecture denotes the landscape that of southern Europe.

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Connections

Referenced in Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

User Reviews

THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG (Antonio Margheriti, 1963) **1/2

This is a popular title in the Gothic tradition of Italian Horror cinema – from one of its most prolific exponents but, in hindsight, not really among the best examples – that I had been rather longing to see. In fact, I acquired it first in an English-dubbed version (also available on R1 DVD) and, subsequently, with its original Italian soundtrack (which is how I watched it now – although I do not recall it ever having played on Italian TV)! Curiously enough, while the film was released in the U.S. as HORROR CASTLE, the DVD sports the literal English translation of the Italian title (which refers to a particularly nasty medieval torture device).

Incidentally, despite the modern-day setting, events unfold completely in a vast ancient German castle! Similarly, the presence of genre icon Christopher Lee (billed Cristopher in the original Italian credits!) as a mysterious and sinister-looking manservant – bearing WWII-induced facial scars – proves misleading, since he is not actually the villain of the piece (although his character still perishes in the obligatory fiery climax)! The killer on the loose (who can also be considered a monster, given his hideous pre-DR. PHIBES look – ludicrously, as a result of the real-life failed "Valkyrie" attempt on Hitler's life, and possibly inspired by the seminal EYES WITHOUT A FACE [1959]!) is a Crimson Executioner-type torturer, albeit anticipating that very film by two years.

The heroine is played by Rossana Podesta' (soon to be divorced from the film's producer Marco Vicario), who spends much of the time prowling the castle grounds and conveniently discovering victims' bodies. Her husband (Georges Riviere) not only shuns her assertions to the ghastly goings-on but absents himself for periods on end which clearly points the finger of suspicion towards him; this notion, however, is dissipated when he finds himself trapped in a flooded underground cave straight out of Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933)! As it turns out, the real identity of the bloodthirsty maniac is not all that hard to guess – despite the film boasting the writing talents of Ernesto (1962's THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK) Gastaldi and Edmond T. (the 1960 version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC) Greville! Interestingly, the film is accompanied by an incongruously jazzy score by Riz Ortolani which works rather well; its main asset, however, is the enveloping brooding atmosphere vividly rendered through stylish color photography.

While Margheriti started out in low-brow sci-fi, he seemed to really find his métier within the Gothic Horror stakes, following this first effort with such effective examples as two Barbara Steele vehicles shot in monochrome – CASTLE OF BLOOD (though its color remake WEB OF THE SPIDER, dating from 1970, was a disappointment) and THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (both 1964), THE UNNATURALS (1969) and SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE (1973).