Chamber of Horrors (1966)

A one-handed madman (he lost the hand while escaping a hanging) uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.

Director:

Hy Averback

Writers:

Stephen Kandel (screenplay), Stephen Kandel (story)

Stars:

Patrick O'Neal, Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick O'Neal	...	Jason Cravatte aka Jason Caroll
Cesare Danova	...	Anthony Draco
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Harold Blount
Laura Devon	...	Marie Champlain
Patrice Wymore	...	Vivian (Delano's hostess)
Suzy Parker	...	Barbara Dixon
José René Ruiz	...	Senor Pepe De Reyes (as Tun Tun)
Philip Bourneuf	...	Insp. Matthew Strudwick
Jeanette Nolan	...	Mrs. Ewing Perryman
Marie Windsor	...	Madame Corona
Wayne Rogers	...	Police Sgt. Jim Albertson
Vinton Hayworth	...	Judge Walter Randolph
Richard O'Brien	...	Dr. Romulus Cobb
Inger Stratton	...	Gloria (one of Corona's girls)
Berry Kroeger	...	Chun Sing

Storyline

A one-handed madman (he lost the hand while escaping a hanging) uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.

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Plot Keywords:

interrupted hanging | bound and gagged | amateur detective | madman | insanity | 

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Taglines:

The unspeakable vengeance of the crazed Baltimore strangler!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to being obviously inspired by House of Wax (1953), this film uses several sets designed for the 1953 film, including the House of Wax itself.

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Goofs

During the "wedding" at the beginning of the film, a cat is sitting in front of a player piano. When the music finishes, the paper roll rewinds and stops. In the last two shots of the cat, the paper roll on the piano behind it changes positions.

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Quotes

Harold Blount: His study?
Anthony Draco: Yes, the judge studies women
Anthony Draco: It's a Randolph family tradition
Anthony Draco: High standards in low wenches

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Crazy Credits

Although he played a major character in the film, Patrick O'Neal's name does not appear in the ending credits.

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Alternate Versions

Produced as a TV series pilot, this film was determined to be too violent for the small screen and given theatrical distribution instead. Added for this release was an exploitation device called the "Fear Flasher/Horror Horn", ostensibly to warn the audience of the "Four Supreme Fright Points" (although it was not applied to the picture's most explicitly violent moment, the climactic fate of the villain). This device was explained in an introductory sequence narrated by William Conrad. Upon first showing on US network television, both the device and its explanation were deleted, but in subsequent syndication to local stations in the 1970s and '80s, some such prints were seen.

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Connections

Featured in Cinemacabre TV Trailers (1993)

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Soundtracks

An der schönen, blauen Donau, Op. 314 (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Played at the party

User Reviews

A thrilling film with occasional lapses in the writing...but it's still well worth seeing.

"Chamber of Horrors" sure reminds me of some of William Castle's films, as it begins with a prologue narrated by William Conrad. It explains how scary the film is but as a special service to the squeamish in the audience, a red light will flash and weird music will go off when one of four horrifying moments are about to begin! This is cheesy but also fills the movie with kitschy fun.

The film begins with a truly horrifying and wonderful scene in which a total psycho (Patrick O'Neal) forces a minister to marry him....to a dead woman!! The guy is 100% nuts but clever--and manages to elude the police for some times after this. Eventually, when he is captured, he manages to escape both times--and I won't go in to detail about it, but the second time is a doozy and everyone assumes he's dead! And, from here on, the film bears a lot of similarity to the wonderful film "House of Wax" (the Vincent Price version, not the new crappy one) as well as the Dr. Phibes films--some amazingly gory murders, all in the name of revenge. This portion of the film is pretty good, albeit a bit slow at times.

What intrigued me about this film was seeing Patrick O'Neal in a role totally unlike his other film and TV appearances. He was good, mind you--but NOT the typical sort of O'Neal! Also I appreciated that although the subject matter was grisly, it was not at all explicit--and the red flashing lights really weren't necessary. I am thrilled, as I think many horror films just go too far.

Overall, I liked this film very much--O'Neal's character was great and the story quite exciting. The only serious problems were the occasional bad writing, as intended victims just acted too dumb at times--such as the cop (Wayne Rogers) who chose to look for a serial killer out to kill him TOTALLY ALONE! When this character found O'Neal, instead of shooting him on sight, he allowed him to get close to him...too close. Another case of bad writing involved the assistant, Pepe, who hears a noise and TELLS NO ONE--going to investigate it himself!! Too dumb--and sad because otherwise it was a thrilling little movie.

By the way, the way the film ended it seemed apparent this was meant as either a TV pilot or the first in a series. Sadly, this was not to be.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chamber of Horrors

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 99 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1