Curse of the Demon (1957)

American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshiper Julian Karswell.

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Charles Bennett (screenplay), Hal E. Chester (screenplay)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dana Andrews	...	John Holden
Peggy Cummins	...	Joanna Harrington
Niall MacGinnis	...	Doctor Julian Karswell
Maurice Denham	...	Professor Henry Harrington
Athene Seyler	...	Mrs. Karswell
Liam Redmond	...	Mark O'Brien
Reginald Beckwith	...	Mr. Meek
Ewan Roberts	...	Lloyd Williamson
Peter Elliott	...	Kumar
Rosamund Greenwood	...	Mrs. Meek
Brian Wilde	...	Rand Hobart
Richard Leech	...	Inspector Mottram
Lloyd Lamble	...	Detective Simmons
Peter Hobbes	...	Superintendent
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Chemist (as Charles Lloyd-Pack)

Storyline

Dr. John Holden ventures to London to attend a paranormal psychology symposium with the intention to expose devil cult leader Julian Karswell. Holden is a skeptic and does not believe in Karswell's power. Nonetheless, he accepts an invitation to stay at Karswell's estate, along with Joanna Harrington, niece of Holden's confidant who was electrocuted in a bizarre automobile accident. Karswell secretly slips a parchment into Holden's papers that might possibly be a death curse. Recurring strange events finally strike fear into Holden, who believes that his only hope is to pass the parchment back to Karswell to break the demonic curse.

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Plot Keywords:

runes | psychotronic film | library | demon | witchcraft | 

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Taglines:

Chosen... singled out to die... victim of his imagination or victim of a demon?

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peggy Cummins' convertible sports car is a Sunbeam Alpine Mark I, manufactured by the Rootes Group in Ryton and Park Royal, London, England from 1953 to 1955, license plate NLJ 666.

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Goofs

When Dr. Holden meets Joanna Harrington at the funeral, she says she needs to talk to him. He suggests that they meet at his hotel that night. She agrees and leaves. At no point did Holden tell her which hotel or room he was staying in. The next scene, she arrives at his hotel room. There is no evidence that the newspapers reported where he was staying, so how did she find which hotel without his help? London does have more than one hotel.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: It has been written since the beginning of time, even unto these ancient stones, that evil supernatural creatures exist in a world of darkness. And it is also said man using the magic power of the ancient runic symbols can call forth these powers of darkness, the demons of Hell.

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Alternate Versions

Despite bearing the title "Curse of the Demon", the print currently available on videotape and television in the USA is actually the original longer (UK) cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Last Action Hero (1993)

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Soundtracks

Cherry Ripe
(uncredited)
Music by Charles Edward Horne
Lyrics by Robert Herrick

User Reviews

To demon or not to demon

I thought I had heard awhile back that Jacques Tourneur didn't want to show the demon. Does anybody know if this is so? Having worked with Val Lewton, this would seem possible. If so, it's a shame Tourneur isn't around to put a director's cut on the DVD instead of Curse Of The Demon which is a little redundant being on the same DVD as Night Of The Demon. I found the demon scary when I was 12 years old and would not have enjoyed the film as much without it. Now, of course, the film would seem better without it. The atmosphere of Tourneur's work that I've seen; this,I Walked With A Zombie, Out Of The Past, and that Twighlight Zone episode (one of the best) of the elderly lady getting calls from her deceased husband consistently has that great nocturnal, shadowy and mysterious quality to it. This body of work alone is enough to make him one of my favorite directors. Even if this isn't one of Dana Andrews best performances, his stubborn skepticism is convincing enough to contrast nicely with Carswell's over politeness. As old horror movies go; this ranks up there with The (original) Haunting, Eyes Without A Face, Black Sunday and early Universals as the best among the old black and whites for me. Strangely enough, I happened to have watched it earlier this (yesterday now) evening October 28th which IS the night of the demon. Coincidence? **** out of *****

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Curse of the Demon

Filming Locations:

A.B.P.C. Studios, Elstree, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sabre Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 82 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1