With DR. TERRORS HOUSE OF HORRORS (filmed May 25-June 12 1964), producers Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky virtually overnight became rivals to Hammer Films, their company Amicus going so far as to borrow many of the actors and technicians that put Hammer on the map. With Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Peter Madden, Katy Wild, Harold Lang, and director Freddie Francis on board, audiences could be forgiven for thinking this to actually be a Hammer title, yet the anthology format admired by Subotsky, taken from 1945s DEAD OF NIGHT, would never be utilized by Hammer. Like its inspiration, each of the seven Amicus portmanteaus featured some kind of framework, supported by four or five short stories wherein each protagonist meets a similarly gruesome fate (Cushing himself missed out only on THE VAULT OF HORROR). DR. TERRORS HOUSE OF HORRORS sets the template by using Cushing for its framing story (which he also does in FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE and THE UNCANNY), gathering five passengers in one train compartment, who are joined by Dr. W. R. Schreck (the initials W.R.S. on his bag), revealing his name to be the German translation for terror. Dr. Terror turns out to be a fortune teller, his House of Horrors his deck of tarot cards, once tapped three times, reveals the ultimate fate of the subject. First up is Werewolf, as Neil McCallum is victimized by a family curse; second is Creeping Vine, Alan Freemans family imprisoned in their own home by an intelligent mobile plant bent on survival (not a man eating Triffid); Voodoo was a condensed version of THRILLERs Papa Benjamin, enlivened by Roy Castles jazz trumpet band leader, whose adaptation of a sacred voodoo chant has fearsome consequences; Disembodied Hand, the most famous of the five, starring Christopher Lee as venomous art critic Franklyn Marsh, his sharpest barbs aimed at renowned painter Eric Landor (Michael Gough), who exacts a lighthearted yet devastating vengeance, humiliating Marsh to such an unnerving effect that he resorts to running down his defenseless target, leaving the artist without his right hand. The despondent Landor tearfully takes his own life, whereupon his missing hand begins a reign of terror on the hapless Marsh, allowing the normally terrifying Lee to convincingly play against type, as he would again opposite Cushing in THE SKULL. The last tale is Vampire, featuring screen newcomer Donald Sutherland, in only his second film, holding his own as a newlywed husband who learns to his horror that new bride Jennifer Jayne is truly a vampire, almost ruined by Subotskys insistence on an amusing twist ending that only undercuts Sutherlands excellent work. The fifth card reveals the fate of all five, Cushing turning to camera to reveal his true identity: have you not guessed? (a quietly chilling scene). All five stories were as basic as could be, but the films tremendous success would resonate for at least a decade, with the next coming in 1967, TORTURE GARDEN. One forgettable American General release found Lon Chaney and John Carradine starring in DR. TERRORS GALLERY OF HORROR (nuff said!). Next up for Peter Cushing would be Hammers SHE, then Amicus THE SKULL, both co-starring Christopher Lee.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:19:34 +0000
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