The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964)

Relatives gather in an old house for the reading of a will, but the "dead" man comes back to life and starts killing.

Director:

Del Tenney

Writer:

Del Tenney

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Helen Waren, Robert Milli

Cast

Cast overview:
Roy Scheider	...	Philip Sinclair (as Roy R. Scheider)
Helen Waren	...	Abigail Sinclair
Robert Milli	...	Bruce Sinclair
Margot Hartman	...	Vivian Sinclair
Hugh Franklin	...	James Benson
Linda Donovan	...	Letty Crews
Dino Narizzano	...	Robert Harrington
Candace Hilligoss	...	Deborah Benson
J. Frank Lucas	...	Seth Lucas
George Cotton	...	Constable Winters
Jane Bruce	...	The Cook
Paul Haney	...	Chief Constable Barnes
William Blood	...	Minister (as Williiam B. Blood)

Storyline

Rufus Sinclair was a cranky old millionaire with a terrible fear of being buried alive. After his apparent death, clauses in his will meant to prevent his being buried alive are violated by his uncaring family, and soon a masked figure begins prowling the family's Connecticut estate, slaughtering the family members one by one in a variety of separate, horrible ways.

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Plot Keywords:

bathtub | murder of a nude woman | woman in a bath | woman in a bathtub | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

From Out of the Grave Stalks the Creature That Undrapes the Passions of the Living!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film premiered at a drive-in movie theater in Texas.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie, the caretaker named Seth was stabbed in the throat and put into a coffin. However, when the coffin is opened, there is the face of a different actor with the throat wound. Apparently, the actor portraying Seth refused to lie in a coffin.

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Quotes

Bruce Sinclair: [to Vivian, after she uncovers a severed head on a breakfast platter] Would you prefer a different menu?

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Connections

Referenced in Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019)

User Reviews

Corpse apparently raises a ruckus...actors look embarrassed

Roy Scheider (billed with the middle initial R.) and Candace Hilligoss (post-"Carnival of Souls") are the only drawing cards of this cheap, somewhat atmospheric, but slow and sloggy thriller. A wealthy patriarch in 1892 New England promises in his will that horrifying deaths will befall his weak and selfish relatives if they fail to abide by his postmortem wishes. Camera-work and photography adequate, but this is strictly a fill-in-the-blanks screamer. Scheider, young and green, cannot belie his lack of faith in this material, reading his lines in a stilted monotone; he has one of those funny, "mad scientist"-styled speeches at the finish line which nearly renders the movie an unintentional comedy. So, does the corpse rise from the coffin? Initially, it appears to--complete with hat, cape, and cane in hand!--but what follows is pretty tired, even for the bargain-basement horror genre. NO STARS from ****

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1968 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Curse of the Living Corpse

Filming Locations:

Stamford, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deal Productions, Iselin-Tenney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1