Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Barbara Lass | ... | Priscilla | |
Carl Schell | ... | Dr. Julian Olcott | |
Curt Lowens | ... | Director Swift | |
Maurice Marsac | ... | Sir Alfred Whiteman | |
Michela Roc | ... | Sandy (as Maureen O'Connor) | |
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Mary McNeeran | ... | Mary Smith |
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Grace Neame | ... | Leonor MacDonald |
Luciano Pigozzi | ... | Walter Jeoffrey (as Alan Collins) | |
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Annie Steinert | ... | Mrs. Sheena Whiteman |
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Joseph Mercier | ... | Tommy - the Porter |
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Herbert Diamonds | ... | Police Inspector |
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Mary Dolbek | ||
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Lauren Scott | ||
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Elizabeth Patrick | ... | Miss Schultz |
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Patricia Meeker | ... | School Girl |
The new science teacher Dr. Julian Olcott, with a mysterious past, arrives in an institutional boarding school for female troublemakers. That night intern Mary Smith, who is blackmailing another teacher - Sir Alfred Whiteman - with some love letters, is slaughtered. The detective in charge of the investigation attributes the crime to a animal, while her mate Priscilla believes she was killed by Sir Alfred. Over the next few days, other deaths happen at the school, reducing the list of suspects. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Just last week, I finished reading Guy Endore's classic 1933 novel "The Werewolf of Paris," a highly intelligent, insightful look at this legendary creature of modern-day folklore. Last night I watched the 1961 Italian/Austrian coproduction "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory," a film that is hardly classic, overly intelligent or insightful, but that did come as a nice treat for me anyway. To my great surprise, this is not the teenage lycanthrope panty raid that I had been expecting, or the camp fest that the title would lead one to anticipate. The film deals with a series of brutal murders in a young women's reformatory school in what is supposed to be the U.S. but feels distinctly European. To its credit, the movie boasts some pretty creepy atmosphere, effective music, very passable B&W photography, and very decent acting (although it's hard to tell for sure about that last with the terrible dubbing). It feels like a cross between a monster flick and an early Italian "giallo," with a dash of mystery thrown in. Who IS the werewolf? Is it the new, hunky blond professor with a secret in his past? The lecherous old teacher who's being blackmailed by one of the students? Or howzabout the Igor-like, handicapped handyman? Most viewers will never guess; I know I didn't! The Maltin book inexplicably gives this film its lowest "BOMB" rating, but I think the editors there are being way too harsh. Although "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" is nothing great, it still deserves some respect for the effective and well-put-together thriller that it is.