The Terror (1963)

A young officer in Napoleon's Army pursues a mysterious woman to the castle of an elderly Baron.

Directors:

Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola (uncredited)

Writers:

Leo Gordon (screenplay), Jack Hill (screenplay)

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Boris Karloff	...	Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe / Eric
Jack Nicholson	...	Lt. Andre Duvalier
Sandra Knight	...	Helene / Ghost of Ilsa The Baroness Von Leppe
Dick Miller	...	Stefan (as Richard Miller)
Dorothy Neumann	...	Katrina, Witch / Eric's Mother
Jonathan Haze	...	Gustaf

Storyline

France, 18th century. Lieutenant Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) has been accidentally separated from his regiment. He is wandering near the coast when he sees a young woman (Sandra Knight) and asks her for directions to Coldon, where he hopes to rejoin his regiment. But the woman doesn't answer, doesn't even greet him and walks away. Eventually she takes him towards the sea, where she disappears in rough water. Andre loses consciousness while trying to follow her, and is attacked by a bird and awakes in a house where an old woman (Dorothy Neumann) claims never to have seen the woman. After he leaves, he sees the woman again, and while trying to follow her, is saved by a man from certain death. Andre learns that in order to help the girl, he must go to castle of Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff), and when he arrives, Andre sees the woman looking out of a window. However, Baron Von Leppe is old and seems reluctant to let Andre in. He claims there's no woman in the castle, but shows Andre...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | castle | body possession | transformation | dungeon | 

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Taglines:

A diabolical plan of torture ... inconceivable ... unbelievable!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1964 (UK)

Also Known As:

Roger Corman's The Terror

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roger Corman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 91 min (1990) (extended)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Nicholson's and Roger Corman's third film together.

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Goofs

Near the end the Baron opens the dungeon entrance using a chain pulley. He enters and the entrance closes behind him. Yet when Duvalier does the same thing a few moments later, the entrance remains open and then closes when he exits.

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Quotes

Andre: That bird! It attacked me!

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Alternate Versions

In 1990 Roger Corman prepared a new version with about 10 minutes additional footage to copyright the film for his Concorde-New Horizon Corp. Mark Griffiths was the director of this new footage (added at the beginning and the end of the film). It was filmed on video and featured Rick Dean, Wayne Grace and Dick Miller (the only actor from the original cast - now 27 years older).

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Connections

Featured in Dr. Cadaver's Monster Horror Theatre: The Terror (1998)

User Reviews

L'amour fou (Perhaps we're both mad!)

Legend has it that Roger Corman filmed The Terror over a frantic four-day period; the truth is rather more interesting, as it undoubtedly contributed to the film's remarkable, incomparable, mesmerizing texture. After production wrapped on The Raven, Corman had Karloff, Nicholson, and the Raven's sets for four remaining days, so he hurriedly shot what he could before the walls came down and his stars departed. He then dispatched various acolytes, including Francis Coppola, Dennis Jakoub, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill, and Nicholson himself to produce enough footage to make The Terror into a complete feature. The result is a unique, fascinating, intensely visual and cinematic experiment that makes Corman's previous Poe adaptations look overly literary, plot-laden, and dialog-bound. The Terror may not be very logical, and its story will not withstand much scrutiny, but the film succeeds as a feverish nightmare of obsession and mad love. The photography, especially of the Big Sur locations, and of the fog bound studio cemetery sets, has an intense eerie romantic beauty, and Ronald Stein's remarkable score underscores The Terror's uncanny equation of desire and death. Is it cheap? Yes. Are there mistakes and screw ups? Sure. Does the continuity falter? Absolutely. None of this matters. The Terror is extraordinary in its palpable dream-like intensity. Oh, and by the way: an elderly, sick, practically crippled Boris Karloff, who could have easily tossed this off as an imposition, is terrific as always and a wonder to behold.