The Horrible Dr. Hichcock

Following on from last week, I watched:

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962/1963).

This is the second of Barbara Steele's Italian Gothic's, and is directed by Riccardo Freda. Beware some spoilers going forward.

We're in London in the mid 1880's, the home of Dr. Bernard Hichcock (Robert Flemyng) (constantly called professor not doctor), a famed surgeon. He has also invented an experimental anesthesia that greatly improves the patients chances of survival. However, he harbors a dark secret; he has necrophiliac tendencies. He controls these urges by drugging his willing wife, Margaretha (Maria Teresa Vianello) before sex, but one evening he gives her too much and she dies. Devastated by the loss he leaves his housekeeper Martha (Harriet Medin) in charge of the estate and disappears for twelve years.

Upon his return with his new wife, Cynthia (Barbara Steele) they move in to his mansion. Cynthia, an already nervous young woman soon starts to see terrifying things, including the ghost of Margaretha. The doctor assures (dismisses) her that she's only imagining things because of her nerves. Things escalate, mysterious happenings become common and we hurtle towards the end.

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock was filmed in only fourteen days, with three small crews working at the same time and sadly it shows. The shots are mostly fine and the actors are competent, but scenes jump around, they start and end abruptly, frankly it is a mess. Not a catastrophe, but definitely noticeable. I really wish they could have takes a few weeks more to smooth out the wrinkles and plug the plotholes. Steele herself took just ten days off from filming Fellini's 8½ to make this movie.

The story is not bad at all, but it isn't all that original either. There are shades of House of Usher (1960) and Tomb of Ligeia (1964), though that one was released the following year. The dead wife haunting the new one is old, but to be fair, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock uses the trope well. There is also the aspect of the doctors unpleasant appetites that have not gone away. The movie really does a great job showing his struggle and agony in trying to resist the horrible urges.

Barbara Steele is yet again the focus and main star, and she is great. Unlike her roles in Black Sunday, The Long hair of Death and An Angel for Satan, here she has no power. She's not possessed by a powerful ancestor, she is completely vulnerable and she does a great job showing that. This being a Gothic horror, she faints all the time. Despite her weak condition she still has the courage to investigate and try to discover the truth. I just wish she didn't faint quite so much.

So, do I recommend this movie? To hardcore fans of Gothic horror, yes. Casual fans are honestly better off watching the other movies I mention above. The Horrible Dr. Hichcock is not bad, but it has a lot of problems which is a bit heartbreaking. The story is good, but it needs more time and a more delicate touch to develop properly.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

An Angel for Satan.

I was in an odd mood so I watched:

An Angel for Satan (1966).

This Italian Gothic with its terrific title, was directed by veteran Camillo Mastrocinque and stars the amazing Barbara Steele, Anthony Steffen, Claudio Gora, Mario Brega and many more.

The story is this; It is the late 1800's, and artist Roberto Merigi (Anthony Steffen) arrives at a lakeside manor in order to restore a statue from the 1600's that's been retrieved from the lake. The local villagers are terrified as the statue is said to not only be cursed, but also be the likeness of a witch, who was also the local countess. Merigi meets his employer, the Count Montebruno (Claudio Gora) and later on the new owner Countess Harriet Montebruno (Barbara Steele). Harriet, the count's niece has been away in England for her education since being a little girl. In no time, people start dying and Harriet starts to behave very strangely. That the statue retrieved from the lake is the perfect likeness of Harriet can't be a coincidence, right? Ultimately the question becomes, is the curse real, is it all a mundane conspiracy, or maybe both?

An Angel for Satan marks the last of Barbara Steele's seven Italian Gothic movies that started with Mario Bava's wonderful Black Sunday (1960). This movie is not as elegant as Black Sunday, but it is pretty good nevertheless. I find that more often than not, you have to critique a movie within its own genre. Sure, some elements of any film are universal, such as sound, editing, cinematography etc, but I can't compare a movie like An Angel for Satan with The Great Escape (1963). This is a Gothic horror and as such it has to be judged.

The story is serviceable and solid if not terribly original. The “person who might be possessed by an ancestor” trope is old indeed, but it's good when done well. Here it works fairly well, but I question a couple of plot points I don't want to spoil. Essentially this is what makes me question if the presented solution at the end really is the whole story. Like with The Innocents (1961), everyone has to make up their own mind.

Mechanically An Angel for Satan is solid and very competent. Nothing stands out as either superb or subpar, leaving you with a movie that stands firmly in the middle of the road. What really pushes this movie above average is the atmosphere and the actors.

The atmosphere is delightfully Gothic but it doesn't overdo it like Roger Corman had a tendency to do. Sure, if you're going to do it, do it properly and all that, but sometimes a bit of restraint is a good thing.

The actors are first class. Admittedly, the obligatory dubbing was at times so over the top that it detracts a bit from the final result, but that is not on the actors.

So, do I recommend this movie? If you like old Gothic movies, absolutely! Although the start is a bit slow, once things get going you are going to get a really nice movie. There's something about An Angel for Satan that evokes a sense of Giallo, a genre that basically took over once the Gothic era ended. Solid all throughout, I had a very good time, and I may just watch a few more of it's kind in the near future.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!

 

The Internecine Project

This week I watched:

The Internecine Project (1974).

We meet American economics professor Robert Elliot (James Coburn), a high level government advisor who lives in London. He uses a small network of varied people to spy on businessmen in order to make an illegal fortune for himself. He receives word that he is to be given a very prestigious and powerful job back in the states, but this presents a problem: his network. These people; Ian Hendry (Alex Hellman) a highly placed official in the Foreign Office, a masseur in a very prestigious club, Bert Parsons (Harry Andrews), a scientist, David Baker (Michael Jayston) and luxury call girl Christina Larsson (Christiane Krüger), can all incriminate him. The professor simply can't take the risk of being blackmailed or exposed for his illegal activities, so there is only one solution: they must all die. Being a very clever person indeed, Elliot devises a plan to have all four people kill each other on the same day.

This isn't a spoiler by the way, this is the standard synopsis everwhere. The Internecine Project is one of those interesting movies that is all about the experience. Being along for the ride as it were. Short of detailing every minute of the 89 minute runtime, this movie can't really be spoiled, it has to be watched.

The director, Ken Hughes, who also wrote and directed movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Cromwell (1970), handles The Internecine Project with great style. The movies oozes competence in every scene. From cinematography to dialogue to music, everything is where it should be. It is solid expertise rather than eccentric genius, but often enough that is better.

The fact that you are following all the manipulation and murder from the wrong side of the fence really makes this movie stand out amongst the plethora of great 70's thrillers. Normally when you watch the murderer creep up on the victim, you sympathize with the victim, you want them to escape, but in The Internecine Project I found myself wanting the complicated murders to succeed. A weaker script and less competent director would have made this movie a complete mess, but they pull it off beautifully. Sure, the ending is a bit weak but only compared to the rest of the movie.

I have seen reviews complaining about the movie being boring and too talky, but I can't agree. This is not an action movie. Would you add a long car chase to Halloween? A martial arts fight to Psycho? Of course not. The Internecine Project contains what it needs and nothing more.

So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. It has never been so tense and exciting to follow people committing grubby murders since I saw The Day of the Jackal (1971). The Internecine Project isn't a masterpiece but it is great in its own way. If you can stand a bit of talking and a lack of explosions, do yourself a real solid and watch The Internecine Project. Oh and I had to look it up, it is pronounced Inter-nee-sign.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!