The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

Alan Alda's character is a music journalist whose career as a piano player came to an end when his debut concert received undeservedly scathing reviews.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Ben Maddow, Fred Mustard Stewart (novel)

Stars:

Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Alda	...	Myles Clarkson
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Paula Clarkson
Barbara Parkins	...	Roxanne Delancey
Bradford Dillman	...	Bill Delancey (as Brad Dillman)
William Windom	...	Dr. Roger West
Kathleen Widdoes	...	Maggie West
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Abby Clarkson
Curd Jürgens	...	Duncan Mowbray Ely (as Curt Jurgens)
Curt Lowens	...	Agency Chief
Gregory Morton	...	Conductor
Janee Michelle	...	Agency Chief's Girlfriend
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Woman Writer
Khigh Dhiegh	...	Zanc Theun
Alberto Morin	...	Bennett
Berry Kroeger	...	Raymont

Storyline

Alan Alda plays a classical piano player on the rise who befriends a famous player himself who's at death's door. Unknown to Alda, the guy is a satanist, who arranges to have their souls switch places at his death, so that he can be young again and continue to play piano (thus needing a skilled piano player like Alda to switch bodies with).

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Plot Keywords:

piano | death | satanist | concert | blood transfusion | 

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Taglines:

Brace yourself for the ultimate transplant. The human soul.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1971 (France)

Also Known As:

Satan, mon amour

Filming Locations:

Stage 5, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 109 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mask worn by the black dog is that of William Shatner, the same style mask worn by Michael Myers in the original Halloween.

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Quotes

Myles Clarkson: We could use a new brand of Scotch. This tastes like a poor man's kilt.

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Connections

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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Soundtracks

"The Mephisto Waltz"
Written by Franz Liszt

User Reviews

A memorable horror film

Quinn Martin Productions venture into theatrical films as opposed to its television work is a tidy little entry in the Satanic genre which the late 1960s and early 1970s were chock full of and it is sad that we do not see such films today.

The stunning beauty Barbara Parkins and the irrepressible Curt Jürgens steal the show and turn in performances that dwarf the rest of the cast. This is a low budget film and yet without all of today's special effects it is readily more thrilling and frightening than the typical horror film of contemporary American film.

Thank heavens it is on DVD I saw it originally and now eagerly seek to have it for my collection.