Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Director:

Gordon Hessler

Writers:

Christopher Wicking (screenplay)
Peter Saxon (novel)

Release Date:

13 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

TRIPLE DISTILLED HORROR... as powerful as a vat of boiling ACID!

Plot:

A serial killer, who drains his victims for blood is on the loose in London, the Police follow him to a house owned by an eccentric scientist.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Handcuffs | Torture | Acid | Cutting Off Own Hand

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Dr. Browning
Christopher Lee	...	Fremont
Peter Cushing	...	Major Heinrich Benedek
Judy Huxtable	...	Sylvia
Alfred Marks	...	Detective Supt. Bellaver
Michael Gothard	...	Keith
Anthony Newlands	...	Ludwig
Peter Sallis	...	Schweitz
David Lodge	...	Detective Inspector Phil Strickland (credit only)
Uta Levka	...	Jane
Christopher Matthews	...	Dr. David Sorel
Judy Bloom	...	Helen Bradford (as Judi Bloom)
Clifford Earl	...	Detective Sgt. Jimmy Joyce
Kenneth Benda	...	Prof. Kingsmill
Marshall Jones	...	Konratz
Amen Corner	...	Themselves (as The Amen Corner)
Yutte Stensgaard	...	Erika
Julian Holloway	...	Detective Constable Griffin
Nigel Lambert	...	Ken Sparten
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andy Fairweather-Low	...	Singer (as The Amen Corner)
Blue Weaver	...	Organist (as The Amen Corner)
Kay Adrian	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Edgar D. Davies	...	Rogers (uncredited)
Rosalind Elliot	...	Valerie (uncredited)
Leslie Ewin	...	Tramp (uncredited)
Lee Hudson	...	Matron (uncredited)
Gertan Klauber	...	Border Guard (uncredited)
Olga Linden	...	Alaia Stevens, First Victim (uncredited)
Stephen Preston	...	Fryer (uncredited)
Joe Wadham	...	Wadham, Police Driver (uncredited)
Lincoln Webb	...	Wrestler (uncredited)

Directed by
Gordon Hessler

Writing credits
Christopher Wicking		(screenplay)
Peter Saxon		(novel "The Disorientated Man")

Produced by
Louis M. Heyward	....	executive producer
Max Rosenberg	....	producer (as Max J. Rosenberg)
Milton Subotsky	....	producer

Original Music by
David Whitaker		(as David Whittaker)

Cinematography by
John Coquillon

Film Editing by
Peter Elliott

Production Design by
Bill Constable

Art Direction by
Don Mingaye

Makeup Department
Jimmy Evans	....	makeup artist (as Jimmie Evans)
Betty Sherriff	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Teresa Bolland	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ariel Levy	....	assistant director

Art Department
Scott Slimon	....	set dresser
Bill Waldron	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Michael P. Redbourn	....	dubbing editor (as Michael Redbourn)
Bert Ross	....	sound
Hugh Strain	....	dubbing mixer

Stunts
Joe Wadham	....	stunt driver

Camera and Electrical Department
Les Young	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Evelyn Gibbs	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Shel Talmy	....	musical director
David Whitaker	....	conductor (as David Whittaker)

Other crew
Eileen Head	....	continuity

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)
• Tigon

Distributors

• Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Nobis-Filmverleih (1971) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1974) (USA) (TV)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan for Orion)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• KSM Film (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
• Kabel 1 (????) (Germany) (TV)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• TM 3 (????) (Germany) (TV)

Other Companies

• Matburn Surgical, Farlington  special operating theatre equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and brief nudity (re-rating) (2012)

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (certificate #22245) (re-rating) (1969) | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:R (re-rating) (2012)

Filming Locations:

Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

The original novel featured aliens as the villains, but they were replaced with Communists in the movie version.

Goofs:

Continuity: The car chase is full of errors in continuity. The action switches back and forth from a single lane road to a double lane highway and at one point Keith overtakes a blue car ahead of him in the road to the right and the police car follows. A few shots later, Keith overtakes a brown car and the scene cuts to Supt. Bellaver saying, "All right, let's take him." We then cut to one of the two cars overtaking the blue car and not the brown one.

Quotes:

Professor Kingsmill:Fastest transition in the world: from human to corpse. It doesn't do to get the two confused, or you'll never be successful.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Mad Doctors (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Scream and Scream Again

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (Gordon Hessler, 1969) ***

I had missed a viewing of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (the title itself is fairly ludicrous, I must say) when I was a kid, shown on Italian TV as part of a one-night Vincent Price marathon. Having now watched the four AIP films made by director Gordon Hessler, I think that this is probably his best work.

It has a rather audacious non-linear narrative for a 'mainstream' horror film, though it all comes together neatly in the end. It is also the only one of the four films to take place in 'our' times – despite the old-fashioned trappings of the plot (taking in espionage in the form of dictatorial regimes with their Nazi-like villains, as well as the obligatory mad scientist and his vampiric 'creations'), the modern-day setting is indeed very appropriate and John Coquillon's typically elegant cinematography captures its essence quite well.

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN is virtually a black comedy which, mercifully, does not descend into camp: it is quite convoluted, relatively protracted (maybe this was because I watched it back to back with THE OBLONG BOX {1969}!), but wholly likable for all that. David Whitaker's 'unusual' pop score is another major asset.

Like the earlier film, SCREAM does not take advantage of having three great horror stars together for the first time. Peter Cushing, graceful as always, does not share any scenes with Vincent Price or Christopher Lee, and indeed appears all too briefly. Price is effective as the mad scientist, even if the material itself didn't seem to inspire him all that much (he later admitted to not 'getting' it!). Lee, perhaps the most progressive-thinking horror star (let's not forget he appeared in Jess Franco's EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION that same year!), is perfectly authoritative as the true villain of the piece.

We also get an exciting if over-extended chase sequence in which Michael Gothard finds new (and highly impractical!) means of eluding the Police - in the shape of sarcastic Superintendent Bellaver who, as played with a rather heavy British accent by Alfred Marks, manages any number of amusing scenes (designed, perhaps, to relieve the audience's frustration at the many - and apparently disjointed - strands of plot going on all at once)!

The end result is patchy overall – certainly not everything in this pot-pourri of ideas works to our general satisfaction (particularly Marshall Jones' overbearing characterization of Konratz) - but the film is often ingenious and weird enough to keep one's interest at all times. In retrospect, the great Fritz Lang's (reported) appreciation of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN is actually not very hard to understand, as the material is indeed well up his street!

Reading about the film on the Net, I came across a rather disconcerting post over at Mobius where it was stated that the print utilized for the DVD was cut. Here is the relevant quote in full:

'On SCREAM I am convinced there was extra footage in the UK theatrical release (which I saw) that has now vanished and was not restored in the MGM DVD. This consists of (a) Alfred Marks bringing down Michael Gothard in the quarry by throwing a stone that hits him on the head, which is the reason he falls down (b) at the climax, there was originally more footage and some more dialogue between Lee and Price - there is a fairly obvious music track change on the DVD where this should be.'

Is anybody here able to confirm this, or at least shed some more light on the matter?