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

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

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

Release Date:

15 August 1963 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Attempted Drowning | Iron Maiden | Torture Chamber | Nudity

Cast

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
Carole Windsor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mirko Valentin	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Antonio Margheriti		(as Anthony Dawson)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frank Bogart		novel
Ernesto Gastaldi		screenplay and adaptation (as Gastad Green)
Edmond T. Gréville		screenplay and adaptation (as Edmund Greville)
Antonio Margheriti		screenplay and adaptation (as Anthony Dawson)

Produced by
Marco Vicario	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Riccardo Pallottini		(as Richard Palton)

Film Editing by
Otello Colangeli		(as Angel Coly)

Art Direction by
Henry Daring
Riccardo Domenici		(as Dick Dominici)

Set Decoration by
Albert Griffiths

Costume Design by
James Lyon

Production Management
Sante Chimirri	....	production manager (as Jim Murray)
Fred Holliday	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bertrand Blier	....	assistant director
Ruggero Deodato	....	assistant director

Special Effects by
Antonio Margheriti	....	special effects (as Anthony Matthews)

Production Companies

• Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films

Distributors

• Stellor Films (1963) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Zodiac Films (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• AIP Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Panther Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Sinister Cinema (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Shriek Show (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twin Tower Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (video as "Virgin of Nuremburg")
• Winner Video (1985) (France) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"La vergine di Norimberga" - Italy (original title)
"The Virgin of Nuremberg" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

83 min | USA:84 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | West Germany:18 (nf) | USA:Unrated (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Errors in geography: 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.

18th century Gothic novel goes to screen

It's astonishing: this Italian B-movie is very close to 18th century Gothic novels like the classic "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole (1765). Like in Walpoles novel the plot centers around a young woman, freshly married to a count and castle-owner. Now, the count may or may not be the brute who bestially murders women at nightfall - in the film the solution of this riddle is saved for the final showdown, while in the book it becomes obvious pretty soon, that the count is a despot and sinner. The main part of the movie features the camera tiptoeing behind the fragile woman, who, genre-typically seems even more vulnerable (and visible for an enemy) in her thin, white, silky nightgown. Like Isabella, the lead in Walpoles book, she wanders around in an subterranean labyrinth of vaults and crypts, well aware of the fact that some dark creature is down there with her in the dark. Well: for today's taste this film with it's crude special effects of miniature castle-views and rubber-scars in Christopher Lee's face is more up for laughter than for a real scare. Still it has a special atmosphere ... Interesting trivia: The Italian Original version (called "La Vergine di Norimberga" - "The Nuremberg Vergin") implies some subplot about a former Nazi-officer who was caught plotting against Adolf Hitler. As a punishment his face was mutilated, making him look like the Phantom of the Opera. In the DVD-version that is distributed in Austria and Germany (and which follows the German dubbed movie-version from the 60s) this plot is completely altered, leaving out any Nazi-references, even changing the names of the "bad guys" from "Fritz", etc. in the original to British sounding names like "Fred", maybe trying to catch up with the German "Edgar Wallace" Brit-scare-boom of that time. Seems the Germans are afraid of what in other countries is referred to as German Angst ...