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:

Trapped in a Haunted Castle... There is no Escape From The TERROR

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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

Francis Ford Coppola took eleven days to shoot his second unit footage, only ten minutes of which wound up in the finished film.

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Goofs

When Jack Nicholson is in the room searching, he comes upon a set of dueling pistols. When he opens the chamber of one, you see a metallic cartridge which was not invented for another 40 years.

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Quotes

Andre: That bird! It attacked me!

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove closeup shots of a bleeding face after the bird attack and a shot of a woman's rotting face during the climax. All later releases are uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Shadowlands: Pygmalion Revisited (2018)

User Reviews

Colorful terror movie with an exceptional trio : Nicholson,Karloff and Corman

This Roger Corman film deals with a young officer (Jack Nicholson) serving during the Napoleon empire . He's stranded in a coast near an eerie castle . There he meets a gorgeous young girl (Sandra Knight, Nicholson's first wife) and discovers that she's haunted . When she spontaneously disappears , he goes to the castle where inhabits a mysterious Baron (Boris Karloff) , his servant (Dick Miller) and the deceased Baroness is the beautiful girl he saw close the beach , then creepy events occur .

This is a well known Corman terror film that was only shot in three days . It's a quickie with lack luster and low Budget . The storyline has holes similarly to Swiss cheese , but thanks to the excellent cast it manages to be at least an agreeable terror movie . The film belongs to the Corman terror period during the 60s with classical horror adaptations on the writers : H.P. Lovecraft (The haunted palace) and Poe . It was realized after the classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (Tales of terror , The premature burial , Pit and pendulum , House of Usher) and on the sets and leftover from ¨The raven¨ and in spite of having similar style , isn't a Poe rendition , but an original screenplay by Leo Gordon (a habitual secondary actor : Tobruk) and Jack Hill (a grade Z film director). In the movie there are the Corman's common actors , such as : Jonathan Haze, Dick Miller and a newcomer Nicholson who had previously played ¨Little shop of horrors¨ in a comical interpretation as a sadomasochist who receives an especial dental intervention . Besides , here repeat the main technicians and assistants as the musician Ronald Stein composing a gloomy score , Daniel Haller as production designer , Monte Hellman (The shooting) as auxiliary direction and even Francis Ford Coppola as associate producer . The flick will appeal to Jack Nicholson fans and followers to Corman's long career.