Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Director:

Vernon Sewell

Writers:

Mervyn Haisman (screenplay) and
Henry Lincoln (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Come face to face with naked fear on the altar of evil!

Plot:

When his brother disappears, Robert Manning pays a visit to the remote country house he was last heard from...

Plot Keywords:

Niece | Witch | Police | Missing Brother | Man In Wheelchair

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Professor John Marsh
Christopher Lee	...	J. D. Morley
Mark Eden	...	Robert Manning
Barbara Steele	...	Lavinia Morley
Michael Gough	...	Elder
Virginia Wetherell	...	Eve Morley
Rupert Davies	...	The Vicar
Rosemarie Reede	...	Esther
Derek Tansley	...	Judge
Michael Warren	...	Chauffeur - Basil
Ron Pember	...	Petrol Attendant
Denys Peek	...	Peter Manning
Nicholas Head	...	Blacksmith
Nita Lorraine	...	Woman with Whip
Carol Anne	...	1st Virgin
Jenny Shaw	...	2nd Virgin
Vivienne Carlton	...	Sacrifice Victim
Roger Avon	...	Sergeant Tyson
Paul McNeil	...	Party Guest
Christine Pryor	...	Party Girl
Kerry Dean	...	Party Girl
Stephanie Marrian	...	Party Girl (as Stephanie Marrion)
Rosalind Royale	...	Party Girl
Millicent Scott	...	Stripper at Party
Vikki Richards	...	Belly Dancer at Party (as Vicky Richards)
Tasma Bereton	...	Party Girl who is Painted
Kevin Smith	...	Drunk at Party
Lita Scott	...	Girl with Cockerel
Terry Raven	...	1st Driver in Car Chase
Douglas Mitchell	...	2nd Driver in Car Chase
Nova St. Claire	...	Girl in Car Chase

Directed by
Vernon Sewell

Writing credits
Mervyn Haisman		(screenplay) and
Henry Lincoln		(screenplay)
Jerry Sohl		(story)
Gerry Levy		uncredited
H.P. Lovecraft		(story "The Dreams in the Witch House") uncredited
Louis M. Heyward		uncredited

Produced by
Louis M. Heyward	....	producer (as Louis M. 'Deke' Heyward)
Gerry Levy	....	associate producer
Tony Tenser	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Peter Knight

Cinematography by
John Coquillon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Howard Lanning

Art Direction by
Derek Barrington

Costume Design by
Michael Southgate

Makeup Department
Betty Blattner	....	makeup artist (as Elizabeth Blattner)
Ann Fordyce	....	hairdresser
Pauline Worden	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Alex Carver-Hill	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Denny Lewis	....	assistant director

Art Department
John Poyner	....	property master
Maurice Smith	....	construction manager
Terry Wells	....	stand-by property master (uncredited)
Barry Wilkinson	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dennis Lanning	....	dubbing editor
Hugh Strain	....	dubbing mixer
Kevin Sutton	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Beauchamp	....	grip
Tony Breeze	....	focus puller
Peter Hendry	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Marion Curren	....	editing assistant
Jonathan Morris	....	editing assistant

Music Department
Peter Knight	....	conductor

Other crew
Cynthia Palmer	....	production secretary
Mary Spain	....	continuity
Tony Tenser	....	presenter
Peter Jaques	....	director of publicity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Tigon British Film Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Globo Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS) (19??)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"The Crimson Altar" - USA (poster title)
"The Crimson Cult" - USA

Runtime:

89 min | USA:87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | UK:15 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Grim's Dyke House, Old Redding, Harrow Weald, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Tigon British Film Productions

Trivia:

German Import DVD has two Super-8mm Versions (English language), as a special feature on the disc.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the firemen turn on the water valves on the fire engine they take the ladder on wheels to the house. However when they cross over the hose pipes you can see that they lie flat on the ground so clearly no water is running through them.

Quotes:

Eve Morley:It's like a house from one of those old horror films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010) (V)

Why do I like this movie?

Well it's not the great story; it's certainly not the curious nearly S and M moments, although I probably found them interesting as a kid, and it's not the technical brilliance although I must say that cinematographer Johnny Coquillon does an excellent job of lighting and utilising the interiors of the delightful Grims Dyke manor where the majority of the movie was filmed, and it's definitely not the annoying Mark Eden. So just what is it? Well, first and foremost there's the wonderful pairing of Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, both of whom give performances way above the level of the product they were working with, and there's the lovely Barbara Steele portraying the green skinned witch Lavinia. On top of that there's the very 'Britishness' of it all… it's like a mad little time capsule; the sophisticates chasing a cat suit wearing girl through the forest, explaining to the hero that 'it's a rather sophisticated kind of hide and seek' (what?) and the anything goes swinging sixties party blend wonderfully with the slightly psychedelic hallucinations experienced by Robert Manning. Then there are little moments like the gas station attendant (Ron Pember) actually filling the car ('Craxted Lodge', he says, 'oh, yeah, I know Craxted Lodge' in a slightly sinister and loaded way); when was the last time that happened? And the cost, the total for petrol is 1 pound, 7 shillings and six pence (about 90 pence in new money)! On top of that there is a nice feeling of the 'village where something is not quite right' and the useful device of having the world's foremost expert on witchcraft, Professor John Marshe (Boris Karloff) as a resident and his friendship with a descendant, Squire Morley (Christopher Lee), of the notorious witch Lavinia (Barbara Steele) whose burning at the stake is commemorated in an annual festival which just so happens to be occurring just as the hero, Robert Manning (Mark Eden), arrives on the scene in search of his missing brother Peter (Denys Peek). In a knowing nod to the genre Manning, commenting about the house, says at one point that you expect Boris Karloff to pop up any minute and, of course, he does. Add to this the slightly sinister man servant Elder (Michael Gough), the romantic interest Eve Morley (Virginia Wetherell), and a wonderful old house and what you get is a really nice little movie, but one whose parts are, unusually, better than the whole. Incidentally I stayed at the house back in the 80s and it really is a lovely place, loaded with atmosphere and I was genuinely thrilled knowing the movie was made there. Of course, there are downfalls. Tigon have been accused of taking a rather crude and exploitative approach to horror, although at least two of their films, 'Witchfinder General' (1968) and 'Blood on Satan's Claw' (1970) are, in their own ways, outstanding, but the script here is rather weak and fails to flow from time to time which is not helped by the somewhat pedestrian direction. It would be pointless, however, to attempt a dissection of this movie's technical merits, if you want to do that, take a look at the same year's 'Rosemary's Baby'. If, on the other hand, you just want a great, if somewhat silly, old British witchcraft movie, then look no further than this.