Having lost his first wife, "Felicia" (Peggy Castle) in a tragic drowning accident 6 years earlier "Dick Anthony" (Don Haggerty) has recently remarried. However, his new wife, "Mandy Hazelton" (also played by Peggy Castle) suddenly takes ill and after a strange seizure she becomes possessed by the soul of Felicia. We soon find out that prior to her death Felicia began practicing "the dark arts" and the deeper she got the more evil she became. And because she is so evil both Dick and Mandy's sister "Kate Hazelton" (Marsha Hunt) begin looking for a way to bring Mandy back. But other people feel differently and they will stop at nothing to keep Felicia here. At any rate, rather than disclose any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a decent horror movie which managed to maintain the suspense right up until the end. Likewise, having an actress as stunning as Peggy Castle certainly didn't hurt the film either. In short, don't let the fact that this little-known picture is 57 years old or that it was filmed in black-and-white discourage you from watching it. It's a "diamond in the rough" and I recommend this movie to all of those who might appreciate a film of this nature. Slightly above average.
10 Reviews
My first wife's back and you're gonna be in trouble (Hey-la-day-la my first wife's back)!
planktonrules2 January 2019
Dick (Arthur Franz) is puzzled. While his first wife, Felicia, died long ago, suddenly after listening to a weird record, his second wife becomes possessed with the soul of the first wife! Oh, and the first wife just happens to be evil and will do ANYTHING to keep this new body. Can Dick or his nice sister-in-law (Marsha Hunt) manage to put things right and bring back the second wife once and for all? Or, is this simply a case where it's too late...and she's been repossesed?
In some ways, the plot to "Back from the Dead" is like taking Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and injecting it with EVIL and the supernatural...or perhaps a bit of LSD! Either way, it makes for a strange yet watchable horror/supernatural film...one worth seeing IF you like the genre and have a high tolerance for the silly.
In some ways, the plot to "Back from the Dead" is like taking Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and injecting it with EVIL and the supernatural...or perhaps a bit of LSD! Either way, it makes for a strange yet watchable horror/supernatural film...one worth seeing IF you like the genre and have a high tolerance for the silly.
Bridey Murphy it ain't
kevinolzak2 April 2019
1957's "Back from the Dead" paired Arthur Franz and Peggie Castle as husband and wife Dick and Mandy Anthony, accompanied by her sister Kate (Marsha Hunt) to his California seaside home because of Mandy's pregnancy. The raging sea offers little comfort to the apprehensive Mandy, something calling out to her before an epileptic seizure that causes an unfortunate miscarriage. She awakens to call her husband 'Dicken' and does not recognize her own sister, but when she refers to herself as 'Felicia' Dick recognizes her as his first wife, who was believed to have drowned six years earlier. Since he never once mentioned Felicia to his new wife it's a mystery as to what has occurred, and when she goes to see the dead woman's parents there can be no doubt that Felicia is indeed 'back from the dead.' The real star of the film is Marsha Hunt, easily out acting Franz and Castle, doggedly determined to free Mandy from the evil spell cast by local cult leader Maitre Renault (Otto Reichow), whose powers appear to be woefully inadequate if he's unable to dispatch the only person who's on to him. Virtually nothing is made of the Satanic cult, so it's less a case of "The Exorcist" than another run of the mill Bridey Murphy clone, reincarnation being such a hot topic at the time that author Catherine Turney only now was allowed to adapt her own 1952 novel into a sadly muddled script. Hunt herself correctly felt that it wasn't a good film but a solid premise that makes one stay tuned to see what happens; the main problem is that we never get to know the real Mandy before she's possessed by 'Felicia,' growing more predictable until the underwhelming climax. Double billed theatrically with "The Unknown Terror," another less than sturdy effort from Western specialist Charles Marquis Warren, both films quickly forgotten once TV residuals subsided.
Eerie supernatural tale
lor_14 January 2024
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Charles Marquis Warren; Produced by Robert Stabler for Regal Films; Released by 20th Century-Fox. Screenplay by Catherine Turney from her novel; Photography by Ernest Haller; Edited by Leslie Vidor; Music by Raoul Kraushaar. Starring Peggy Castle, Arthur Franz, Marsha Hunt, Evelyn Scott, Marianne Stewart and Don Haggerty.
Supernatural terror outing concerning a second wife who is haunted by the lingering presence of her predecessor. The film benefits from the extensive use of the "lady in a white nightgown" and the "waves pounding against the rocks" bits of Gothic schtick.
Supernatural terror outing concerning a second wife who is haunted by the lingering presence of her predecessor. The film benefits from the extensive use of the "lady in a white nightgown" and the "waves pounding against the rocks" bits of Gothic schtick.
A cult or a camp film? As long as membership does not come with a price...
mark.waltz28 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Divinely silly, I use that adverb with great relish, since this film has the sensations of a silent film without the creative know-how. It seems to be striving for every emotion mankind has ever known, jotting each line in the screenplay with such self-enthused joy like a dog with a brand new bone. It's one of the rare horror/supernatural films to deal with devil worship, showing what a presumed ritual murder would look like and how one disposes of the body. But when the evil dead returns to life, it's in the body of the widower's second wife, and oh what a gloriously over the top performance leading lady Peggie Castle gives, glaring malevolently as the dead woman enters the soul of the ailing living.
You have to give the writer credit. They strived for melodramatics and what they ended up with might give you laughs like those cheap old British horror movies with Tod Slaughter. Marsha Hunt is sincere and strong as the possessed woman's sister, with Arthur Franz the confused widower and Helen Wallace totally over the top as the dead woman's Satan worshiping mother. Melodramatic music, creepy photography and a lack of actual horror makes this all the more spooky. But it appears to be so smug with itself that I ended up finding it more of a parody than a forwarding of actual evil that might be surrounding me. Some hints of cruelty are really difficult to watch, particularly Castle heading to a leashed up dog with a machete.
You have to give the writer credit. They strived for melodramatics and what they ended up with might give you laughs like those cheap old British horror movies with Tod Slaughter. Marsha Hunt is sincere and strong as the possessed woman's sister, with Arthur Franz the confused widower and Helen Wallace totally over the top as the dead woman's Satan worshiping mother. Melodramatic music, creepy photography and a lack of actual horror makes this all the more spooky. But it appears to be so smug with itself that I ended up finding it more of a parody than a forwarding of actual evil that might be surrounding me. Some hints of cruelty are really difficult to watch, particularly Castle heading to a leashed up dog with a machete.
Really good movie!
atinder1 October 2013
I am clad, that i found out about this movie, surprised it not got many comment on it
A newly married young woman, is possessed by the evil spirit of her husband's deceased first wife.
I really enjoy this movie, it not scary or creepy but some how this movie dose have eerie moments in places.
I really enjoyed the plot of the movie, the dose not take to long to get going , the movie flows really well.
There was not one dull second in this movie, it kept intrude from start to the very end!
The acting was really good from the whole cast but there were some very wooden acting from some of the cast members
7 out of 10
A newly married young woman, is possessed by the evil spirit of her husband's deceased first wife.
I really enjoy this movie, it not scary or creepy but some how this movie dose have eerie moments in places.
I really enjoyed the plot of the movie, the dose not take to long to get going , the movie flows really well.
There was not one dull second in this movie, it kept intrude from start to the very end!
The acting was really good from the whole cast but there were some very wooden acting from some of the cast members
7 out of 10
A largely forgotten horror B-movie.
BA_Harrison27 May 2023
After his new wife Mandy (Peggy Castle) has a seizure, Dick Anthony (Arthur Franz) finds that she has become possessed by the spirit of his first wife Felicia, who drowned six years earlier. Dick's sister-in-law Kate (Marsha Hunt) suspects that Felicia's mother is somehow responsible and goes to occultist Maitre Renall (Otto Reichow) for help.
Back From the Dead is one of the earliest horror movies to deal with the subject of Satanic cults and of possession, sub-genres that would become much more popular in the late-'60s and early-'70s thanks to films such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist.
The reason this one isn't better known is that, despite its intriguing premise, the script is strictly second-rate and the pacing dreary. Director Charles Marquis Warren is clearly out of his comfort zone, his stock-in-trade being the Western, and he fails to conjure up any real atmosphere or suspense, the overly talky material not helping matters.
Castle is captivating as Mandy/Felicia, her beauty one reason to seek out the film, but this is an unremarkable movie on the whole, one that ends in a muddled and rushed manner as though even Warren had grown tired of it.
Back From the Dead is one of the earliest horror movies to deal with the subject of Satanic cults and of possession, sub-genres that would become much more popular in the late-'60s and early-'70s thanks to films such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist.
The reason this one isn't better known is that, despite its intriguing premise, the script is strictly second-rate and the pacing dreary. Director Charles Marquis Warren is clearly out of his comfort zone, his stock-in-trade being the Western, and he fails to conjure up any real atmosphere or suspense, the overly talky material not helping matters.
Castle is captivating as Mandy/Felicia, her beauty one reason to seek out the film, but this is an unremarkable movie on the whole, one that ends in a muddled and rushed manner as though even Warren had grown tired of it.
Back from the Dead (1957) (79 minutes)
trimbolicelia21 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Ok little thriller horror film from 1957. A woman is possessed by the spirit of her husband's devil-worshiping first wife. With her Satanist mother assistance the spirit wife plans to make the possession permanent. The husband and the second wife's sister try to prevent this. Some moody atmosphere and a lots of creepy music add to the ambience. Not available on DVD but I obtained a reasonable quality DVD-R, Recommended for fans of the genre.
Eerie Atmosphere
rjmarzano2 April 2006
This is an eerie movie about someone who comes back from the dead to take over the body of someone else.
This was accomplished by practitioners of the black arts who wanted to bring the original person back to life.
The entire movie has a rather strange atmosphere due to the subject matter.
This is an interesting subject because it is probably possible. Usually the cases I've heard about was where someone becomes possessed by non human entities (The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, etc.).
Possibly more likely is the theory presented in the the movie 'Horror Hotel' where the satanic creatures are given many lifetimes by Satan.
Ultimately this is probably what satanism comes down to. A certain number of evil lifetimes in exchange for a soul.
It is thought provoking.
Jeff Marzano
Recommended further viewing:
Horror Hotel IT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space) Invasion Of The Saucer Men Not Of This Earth (original) The Blob (with Steve McQueen) The Brain That Wouldn't Die The Flesh Eaters The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake The Hideous Sun Demon The Hypnotic Eye The Incredible Shrinking Man The Indestructible Man The Manster The Thing (from another world) The Thing That Couldn't Die The Twilight Zone Collections
This was accomplished by practitioners of the black arts who wanted to bring the original person back to life.
The entire movie has a rather strange atmosphere due to the subject matter.
This is an interesting subject because it is probably possible. Usually the cases I've heard about was where someone becomes possessed by non human entities (The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, etc.).
Possibly more likely is the theory presented in the the movie 'Horror Hotel' where the satanic creatures are given many lifetimes by Satan.
Ultimately this is probably what satanism comes down to. A certain number of evil lifetimes in exchange for a soul.
It is thought provoking.
Jeff Marzano
Recommended further viewing:
Horror Hotel IT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space) Invasion Of The Saucer Men Not Of This Earth (original) The Blob (with Steve McQueen) The Brain That Wouldn't Die The Flesh Eaters The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake The Hideous Sun Demon The Hypnotic Eye The Incredible Shrinking Man The Indestructible Man The Manster The Thing (from another world) The Thing That Couldn't Die The Twilight Zone Collections
Back from westerns
searchanddestroy-18 July 2023
The first and most important thing I want to say is that this movie is directed by a great western specialist for whom it is one of the TWO horror films - with also THE UNKNOWN TERROR - besides westerns, westerns and westerns. So this is maybe not a great horror film, but because and only because it is from this western maker Charles Marquis Warren, I was so curious to see it. And I think that's not bad at all. This kind of intrigue is not my cup of tea at all, I am a bit bored, but let's be fair, there have been far worse in this scheme. It is a small budget and that's even better to work hard on a good script. But this plot would have been better made by a director such as Lewis Allen for instance, for whom it was more his stuff - THE UNINVITED, THE UNSEEN -, more than westerns.
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