Back from the Dead (1957)

A newly married young woman is possessed by the evil spirt of her husband's deceased first wife. The possession turns her into a scheming killer who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Director:

Charles Marquis Warren

Writers:

Catherine Turney (novel), Catherine Turney (screenplay)

Stars:

Peggie Castle, Arthur Franz, Marsha Hunt

Cast

Cast overview:
Peggie Castle	...	Mandy Hazelton Anthony
Arthur Franz	...	Dick Anthony
Marsha Hunt	...	Kate Hazelton
Don Haggerty	...	John Mitchell
Marianne Stewart	...	Nancy Cordell
Otto Reichow	...	Maitre Renault
Helen Wallace	...	Ada Bradley
James Bell	...	Mr. Bradley
Evelyn Scott	...	Molly Prentiss
Jeanne Bates	...	Agnes, the Bradley housekeeper
Ned Glass	...	The Doctor
Jeane Wood	...	The Nurse

Storyline

When Katy Hazleton visits her sister, Miranda/Mandy, and her husband, Dick Anthony, Dick tells her of his concern over Miranda's recent moody and strange behavior. Walking along the beach that night, Miranda hears strange voices, and when she returns home, becomes hysterical and falls into a coma. When she recovers, she is hostile and claims she is Felicia and not Miranda. Dick tells Katy that Felicia was his first wife, who died in a plunge from a cliff. Miranda asks to see Mr. and Mrs. Bradley, parents of Felicia, and when she calls Ada Bradley "mother", Dick and Katy realize she is possessed by "the other one." Ada Bradley has been practicing black magic for six years and believes it is responsible for returning her dead daughter to her. Mr. Bradley, as one would expect, is horrified at both revelations, although the first one indicates he wasn't paying much attention to what his wife was doing when she was puttering around the kitchen the past few years. That night "Felicia" tries...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | occult | satanic ritual | cult leader | falling from cliff | 

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Taglines:

Did she come back to LOVE or KILL? His First Wife In His Second Wife's Body!

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Genres:

Horror

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Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 9 (2002)

User Reviews

Bridey Murphy it ain't

1957's "Back from the Dead" paired Arthur Franz and Peggie Castle as husband and wife Dick and Mandy Anthony, accompanied by her sister Kate (Marsha Hunt) to his California seaside home because of Mandy's pregnancy. The raging sea offers little comfort to the apprehensive Mandy, something calling out to her before an epileptic seizure that causes an unfortunate miscarriage. She awakens to call her husband 'Dicken' and does not recognize her own sister, but when she refers to herself as 'Felicia' Dick recognizes her as his first wife, who was believed to have drowned six years earlier. Since he never once mentioned Felicia to his new wife it's a mystery as to what has occurred, and when she goes to see the dead woman's parents there can be no doubt that Felicia is indeed 'back from the dead.' The real star of the film is Marsha Hunt, easily out acting Franz and Castle, doggedly determined to free Mandy from the evil spell cast by local cult leader Maitre Renault (Otto Reichow), whose powers appear to be woefully inadequate if he's unable to dispatch the only person who's on to him. Virtually nothing is made of the Satanic cult, so it's less a case of "The Exorcist" than another run of the mill Bridey Murphy clone, reincarnation being such a hot topic at the time that author Catherine Turney only now was allowed to adapt her own 1952 novel into a sadly muddled script. Hunt herself correctly felt that it wasn't a good film but a solid premise that makes one stay tuned to see what happens; the main problem is that we never get to know the real Mandy before she's possessed by 'Felicia,' growing more predictable until the underwhelming climax. Double billed theatrically with "The Unknown Terror," another less than sturdy effort from Western specialist Charles Marquis Warren, both films quickly forgotten once TV residuals subsided.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bury Me Dead

Filming Locations:

Moss Cove Beach, Laguna Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emirau Productions, Regal Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1