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:

castle | body possession | transformation | dungeon | melting face | 

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Taglines:

"DRACULA"... "FRANKENSTEIN"... "HOUSE of WAX"... "PIT and the PENDULUM"... and now... The TERROR

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1964 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lady of the Shadows

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roger Corman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 91 min (DVD)

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

Samuel Colt (1814-1862), the inventor of the revolver, took his first European patent for his invention in 1835, and as Lt. Duvalier searches the castle, he carries a revolver around. The movie is set 20 years after Ilse's death, making the year 1802, as her gravestone clearly states 1761-1782, therefore Lt. Duvalier is carrying around a weapon made by a man who won't be born until 12 years later. Another matter of curiosity regarding this is the fact that it is a snub-nosed revolver, though nobody exactly knows when it was conceived, most believe it was invented in the American west in the late 19th century, presumably by a person who thought it would be easier to fast-draw from a holster.

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Quotes

Helene: The crypt! It must be destroyed, and with it the dead.
Andre: Don't speak of the dead anymore. You're with me now.
Helene: I am possessed of the dead.
Andre: You're a warm living woman. Who has told you these things?
Helene: The dead.

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Connections

Featured in Avenged (2013)

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.