Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974) Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti (original title)

Director:

Jorge Grau

Writers:

Sandro Continenza
Marcello Coscia
(more)

Release Date:

1 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

One of the best zombie films ever made.

Plot:

A cop chases two hippies suspected of a series of Manson family-like murders; unbeknownst to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a thirst for human flesh by chemical pesticides being used by area farmers.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Radiation | Human Flesh | Farmer | Living Dead

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Cristina Galbó	...	Edna (as Christine Galbo)
Ray Lovelock	...	George
Arthur Kennedy	...	The Inspector
Aldo Massasso	...	Kinsey
Giorgio Trestini	...	Craig
Roberto Posse	...	Benson
José Lifante	...	Martin (as Jose Ruiz Lifante)
Jeannine Mestre	...	Katie
Gengher Gatti	...	Keith
Fernando Hilbeck	...	Guthrie
Vera Drudi	...	Mary
Vicente Vega	...	Dr. Duffield
Francisco Sanz	...	Perkins
Paul Benson	...	Wood
Anita Colby	...	Nurse
Joaquín Hinojosa	...	Autopsy Doctor
Vito Salier	...	Naked Man
Isabel Mestres	...	Telephonist

Directed by
Jorge Grau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Juan Cobos		uncredited
Sandro Continenza
Marcello Coscia
Miguel Rubio		uncredited

Produced by
Edmondo Amati	....	producer
Manuel Pérez	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Giuliano Sorgini

Cinematography by
Francisco Sempere

Film Editing by
Domingo García
Vincenzo Tomassi

Production Design by
Carlo Leva

Art Direction by
Rafael Ferri

Makeup Department
Carboni	....	wig maker
Giannetto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Rocchetti	....	wig maker

Production Management
Felice D'Alisera	....	production manager
Julio Parra	....	unit manager
Giuliano Principato	....	unit manager
Manuel Pérez	....	production manager (as Manolo Pérez)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gianni Arduini	....	assistant director (as Giovanni Arduini)

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	dubbing editor
Antonio Cárdenas	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Juan Antonio Balandín	....	special effects
Luciano Byrd	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Giannetto De Rossi	....	special optical effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Enzo Frattari	....	camera operator
Ramón Sempere	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carmen de la Casa	....	seamstress

Music Department
Giuliano Sorgini	....	conductor

Other crew
Eva Del Castillo	....	continuity
Julio Parra	....	production supervisor

Production Companies

• Star Films S.A.
• Flaminia Produzioni Cinematografiche (co-production)

Distributors

• Fida Cinematografica (1974) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Hallmark Releasing (1975) (USA) (theatrical) (a Newport release) (dubbed)
• Mercurio Films S.A. (1975) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Ambassador Film Distributors (1976) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed) (cut version)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Blue Underground (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Century Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS) (as "A Revanche dos Mortos-Vivos II")
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• Poderosa Filmes (Brazil) (VHS) (as "Zumbi 3")
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (video) (VOD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD) (as "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie")

Other Companies

• Rocchetti e Carboni  wigs

Also Known As:

"Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti" - Spain (original title)
"The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue" - UK, USA
"Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead" - International (English title) (literal title)
"Don't Open the Window" - USA

Runtime:

Italy:95 min | Spain:93 min | USA:85 min (R-rated version) | USA:93 min (unrated version)

Country:

Spain | Italy

Language:

Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R | France:-16 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:18 | UK:X (cut) | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Finland:K-18 | Germany:(Banned) (2000) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM18 | Australia:MA (2009)

Filming Locations:

Barnes Hospital, Cheadle, Cheshire, England, UK

Company:

Star Films S.A.

Trivia:

The film's strange music score is partially made of moaning and breathing noises. It was director Jorge Grau who made these eerie sounds, as well as those for the zombies.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the zombie attack scene on the hospital stairway, a zombie has part of his chest sliced off by an ax. In the next shot, that part of his chest is undamaged.

Quotes:

The Inspector:I wish the dead could come back to life, you bastard, so then I could kill you again.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss (2012) (TV)

Christine Plays Defense

The 1971 giallo "What Have You Done to Solange?" was the film that first turned me on to the abundant charms of Spanish actress Christine Galbo, and I just had to have more. In "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie," an Italian/Spanish coproduction from 1974 directed by Jorge Grau, Galbo plays a redhead but is still oh-so gorgeous. In this one, she accidentally wrecks the motorcycle of vacationing antiques dealer Ray Lovelock in the English countryside, and before long, both of them are playing defense against the horde of reanimated corpses that has been brought to inadvertent life by an experimental, ultrasonic farming device. In one of the DVD's many extras, Grau freely admits, during an interview, the picture's debt to George A. Romero's seminal "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), and this debt is not only obvious with reference to the gut-munching zombies on display here (a fairly ugly, creepy, intelligent and fast-moving bunch, I must say), but also to the film's doubly ironic ending. Galbo is as pretty and appealing as I remembered from "Solange," and American star on the downslide Arthur Kennedy manages to score as a bigoted police officer who's convinced that Galbo and Lovelock are responsible for all the gruesome carnage. The film also features gorgeous photography, some well-done gross-out scenes, a tightly plotted story and better-than-average acting. Some of the action sequences unfortunately take place during the dark of night and in gloomy underground crypts, severely limiting the viewer's visibility, but the film on the whole is a gas, especially during its frenetic final half hour. And yes, I think I will be needing another dose of Christine Galbo very shortly....