Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Milton Subotsky (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Acclaimed as "THE FEAR OF THE YEAR"

Plot:

Five strangers board a train and are joined by a mysterious fortune teller who offers to read their Tarot cards...

Plot Keywords:

Art Critic | Vampire | Tarot Card | Werewolf | Disembodied Hand

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Franklyn Marsh (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Roy Castle	...	Biff Bailey (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Peter Cushing	...	'Dr. Terror' / Dr. W. R. Schreck
Max Adrian	...	Dr. Blake (segment 5 "Vampire")
Ann Bell	...	Ann Rogers (segment 2 "Creeping Vine")
Michael Gough	...	Eric Landor (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Jennifer Jayne	...	Nicolle Carroll (segment 5 "Vampire")
Neil McCallum	...	Jim Dawson (segment 1 "Werewolf")
Bernard Lee	...	Hopkins (segment 2 "Creeping Vine")
Alan Freeman	...	Bill Rogers (segment 2 "Creeping Vine")
Peter Madden	...	Caleb (segment 1 "Werewolf")
Kenny Lynch	...	Sammy Coin (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Jeremy Kemp	...	Jerry Drake (segment 2 "Creeping Vine")
Donald Sutherland	...	Dr. Bob Carroll (segment 5 "Vampire")
Harold Lang	...	Roy Shine (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Ursula Howells	...	Mrs. Deirdre Biddulph (segment 1 "Werewolf")
Christopher Carlos	...	Vrim (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Katy Wild	...	Valda (segment 1 "Werewolf")
Edward Underdown	...	Tod (segment 1 "Werewolf")
Phoebe Nicholls	...	Carol Rogers (segment 2 "Creeping Vine") (as Sarah Nicholls)
Isla Blair	...	Pretty Girl (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Al Mulock	...	Detective (segment 5 "Vampire")
Judy Cornwell	...	Nurse (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Hedger Wallace	...	Surgeon (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Laurie Leigh	...	Nurse (segment 5 "Vampire")
Brian Hawkins	...	George (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
John Martin	...	Second Male Friend (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Faith Kent	...	Lady in Art Gallery (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Kenneth Kove	...	Third Male Friend (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Frank Forsyth	...	Toastmaster (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Walter Sparrow	...	Second Ambulance Man (segment 4 "Disembodied Hand")
Frank Barry	...	Johnny Ellis (segment 5 "Vampire")
Irene Richmond	...	Mrs. Ellis (segment 5 "Vampire")
Thomas Baptiste	...	Dambala (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Valerie St. Clair	...	Cigarette Girl (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Russ Henderson Steel Band	...	Themselves (segment 3 "Voodoo")
Tubby Hayes	...	Biff Bailey's Band (segment 3 "Voodoo") (as The Tubby Hayes Quintet)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Russ Henderson	...	Steel Band Leader (uncredited)
George Mossman	...	Pony And Trap Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Freddie Francis

Writing credits
Milton Subotsky		(screenplay)

Produced by
Max Rosenberg	....	producer (as Max J. Rosenberg)
Milton Subotsky	....	producer
Joe Vegoda	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Elisabeth Lutyens		(as Elizabeth Lutyens)

Cinematography by
Alan Hume		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Thelma Connell

Art Direction by
Bill Constable

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hairdresser

Production Management
Ted Wallis	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Buster Ambler	....	sound recordist
John Cox	....	director of sound
Roy Hyde	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Ted Samuels	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Godfrey A. Godar	....	camera operator (as Godfrey Godar)
Maurice Gillett	....	supervising electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bridget Sellers	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Tubby Hayes	....	composer: jazz music
Kenny Lynch	....	composer: songs
Philip Martell	....	conductor
Philip Martell	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Pauline Harlow	....	continuity
Boscoe Holder	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Amicus Productions (presents)

Distributors

• Regal Films International (1965) (UK) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Video Movies Leerdam (VML) (1981) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Pack-In-Video (1984) (Japan) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Olive Films (2012) (Canada) (DVD) (also Blu-ray)
• Olive Films (2012) (USA) (DVD) (also Blu-ray)
• Dansk-Svensk Film (196?) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1965) | UK:PG (tv rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Italy:VM18 | Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

First feature film of Roy Castle.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Franklyn Marsh does not touch the deck three times as is necessary according to Dr Terror around the beginning of the movie.

Quotes:

Hopkins:Plant like that... could take over the world.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (1967)

Soundtrack:

Give Me Love

First and best of the Amicus compendiums

DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Techniscope)

Sound format: Mono

Five travellers on an overnight train are told their fortunes by a mysterious old man (Peter Cushing) who turns out to be... well, you'll see.

Formed in the early 1960's by American producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg as a response to various tax concessions which encouraged an upsurge in British movie-making, independent studio Amicus hit the ground running with this breezy horror anthology, directed by famed cinematographer Freddie Francis, in which several heavyweight thesps (including Christopher Lee and a very young Donald Sutherland, the latter a sop to US audiences) and a couple of notable UK media celebrities (entertainer Roy Castle, DJ Alan Freeman) meet grisly fates at the hands of various supernatural entities (werewolf, creeping vine, voodoo, disembodied hand and vampire, respectively).

Lavishly photographed by Alan Hume in widescreen Techniscope - Francis had, of course, learned a thing or two about widescreen composition during his work on SONS AND LOVERS (1960) and THE INNOCENTS (1961), amongst others! - this low budget thriller utilizes the same audience-friendly Gothic elements which launched Hammer to worldwide fame and fortune, but locates them within the recognizable boundaries of contemporary British society, an aspect which immediately distinguishes it from the Victorian milieu favored by rival studios. Francis clearly relishes the creative opportunities afforded by the material, and while the stories themselves - all originals, penned by Subotsky - are fairly bland and obvious, they're all energized by Francis' stylish visuals and helter-skelter pacing. Each story has its merits, but director and scriptwriter keep the best two for last: Lee's pompous art critic is haunted by the living severed hand of an artist (Michael Gough) he drove to suicide, and Sutherland discovers his new bride's (Jennifer Jayne) bloodthirsty secret, leading to a twist in the tale...

Lee gives the showiest performance, as a haughty member of the critical Establishment whose ego leads him on the path to self-destruction, but his fellow cast members all rise to the occasion, and Francis even manages to indulge Castle's famed jazz trumpeting abilities without holding up the plot! Cushing takes center stage, playing a character much older than his years, though he's rather let down by a fake German accent which sounds more comical than ominous; his timing, however, is impeccable, as always. Brisk, stylish and more than a little camp in places (watch out for that crawling hand!), the movie is a triumph for Francis and his technical team. Subotsky and Rosenberg were also responsible for John Llewellyn Moxey's moody witchcraft thriller THE CITY OF THE DEAD, produced in 1960 under the 'Vulcan' banner, but it was the creation of Amicus which firmly established their fortunes within the UK film industry (cf. TORTURE GARDEN, THE VAULT OF HORROR, etc.). Sadly, Francis became increasingly disillusioned by his status as a 'horror' director, and many of his later efforts suffered as a consequence of his apathy (THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, TROG, CRAZE, etc.).