Craze | |
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Directed by | Freddie Francis |
Written by | Herman Cohen Aben Kandel |
Based on | novel The Infernal Idol by Henry Seymour |
Produced by | Herman Cohen |
Starring | Jack Palance Diana Dors Julie Ege |
Cinematography | John Wilcox |
Edited by | Henry Richardson |
Music by | John Scott |
Production company | Harbour Productions |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Craze is a 1974 horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Jack Palance, Diana Dors, Julie Ege and Edith Evans. [2] A psychotic antiques dealer sacrifices women to the statue of Chuku, an African idol. It was the last film produced by Herman Cohen. [3]
The film was based on the 1967 novel The Infernal Idol by Henry Seymour. In 1972 it was reported Herman Cohen had the rights and a script was being written. [4]
In March 1972 it was announced Jack Palance would star in a film version, which would be a co production between Herman Cohen and Joe Solomon. [5]
Freddie Francis had made a number of horror movies for Amicus and other producers, including Herman Cohen for whom he directed Trog (1970).
Francis wrote in his memoir: "No sooner had I started it than I realised I was flogging a dead horse." He stated that there were "only four good things about" the movie – Palance, Trevor Howard, Edith Evans and Hugh Griffith – adding "Jack lost interest in it almost straight away, Hugh and Trevor were both heavily on the bottle and dear Edith thought we were making a 'proper' film and therefore had all the time in the world." Francis says because the cast included Howard and Griffith, Evans thought there was plenty of time to block scenes, when Francis only had a six week schedule. [6]
Palance arrived in London to make the film which began filming in March 1973. [7] Cohen says he got along with Palance but "everyone else was afraid of Jack – he has that aura about him. Freddie Francis was scared stiff of him." [8]
Francis later said, "Even Jack couldn’t help that one. I thought we could’ve made something of it with Jack, but once again Herman had this old Aben Kandel writing the scripts and I think Abe would do anything Herman told him.” [9]
Francis said the film was "not that good." [10]
Cohen says the film "did very well" financially but was hurt because the producer had sold the film to National General in the US, who were bought about by Warner Brothers; this caused a delay in the film's release in the US. [11]
Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about a florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The film stars Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, and Dick Miller, who had all worked for Corman on previous films. Produced under the title The Passionate People Eater, the film employs an original style of humor, combining dark comedy with farce and incorporating Jewish humor and elements of spoof. The Little Shop of Horrors was shot on a budget of $28,000. Interiors were shot in two days, by utilizing sets that had been left standing from A Bucket of Blood.
Trog is a 1970 British science fiction horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Joan Crawford, Michael Gough and Bernard Kay. The screenplay was by Peter Bryan, John Gilling and Aben Kandel.
Frederick William FrancisBSC was an English cinematographer and film director whose filmmaking career spanned over 60 years, from the late 1930s until the late 2000s. One of the most celebrated British cinematographers of his time, he received numerous accolades for his photography, including two Academy Awards and five BAFTA Awards. As a director he was best known for his horror films, notably those made for production companies Amicus and Hammer in the 1960s and 1970s.
Herman Cohen was an American producer of B-movies during the 1950s, and helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
Lawrence George Cohen was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, before becoming known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and satirical elements — during the 1970s and 1980s. His directorial works include It's Alive (1974) and its sequels, God Told Me To (1976), The Stuff (1985) and A Return to Salem's Lot (1987).
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is a 1952 American comedy horror science fiction film, directed by William Beaudine and starring horror veteran Bela Lugosi with nightclub performers Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo in roles approximating the then-popular duo of Martin and Lewis.
Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) is a British-American horror film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Michael Gough, June Cunningham, Graham Curnow and Shirley Anne Field.
Torture Garden is a 1967 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, Michael Ripper, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Ursula Howells, Michael Bryant and Barbara Ewing. The score was a collaboration between Hammer horror regulars James Bernard and Don Banks.
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Black Zoo is a 1963 American horror film directed by Robert Gordon and starring Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, and Elisha Cook, Jr. It was produced by Herman Cohen and written by Cohen and Aben Kandel.
Aben Kandel was an American screenwriter, novelist, and boxer. He was screenwriter on such classic B movies as I Was A Teenage Werewolf, Joan Crawford's final movie Trog, and one of Leonard Nimoy's first starring vehicles, Kid Monk Baroni. He is the father of poet Lenore Kandel and screenwriter Stephen Kandel.
Konga is a 1961 Eastmancolor science fiction horror film directed by John Lemont and starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns and Austin Trevor.
Tales That Witness Madness is a 1973 British anthology horror film produced by Norman Priggen, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by actress Jennifer Jayne.
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The Doctor and The Devils is a 1985 gothic horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, Julian Sands, Patrick Stewart and Twiggy. It is based upon the true story of Burke and Hare, who in 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland, murdered at least 16 people and sold their bodies for anatomical dissection.
Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly, released as Girly outside the United Kingdom, is a 1970 British horror-comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Michael Bryant and Ursula Howells.
Sign of the Pagan is a 1954 American historical drama film directed by Douglas Sirk, shot in CinemaScope, and released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tchérina, and Rita Gam.
The Headless Ghost is a 1959 British comedy horror film, produced by Herman Cohen and directed by Peter Graham Scott. It stars Richard Lyon, Liliane Sottane, David Rose, and Clive Revill. The films tells of three young people who spend the night in a haunted English castle. With the help of a friendly ghost, they reunite the head of the Headless Ghost with its body, thus ending its 600 years of wandering about headless. The film was made specifically as the second feature for an American double bill with Horrors of the Black Museum (1959).
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx is a 1942 black-and-white murder mystery/horror B film by Universal Studios directed by William Nigh and starring Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Samuel S. Hinds. Although Clarence Upson Young is credited with the screenplay, the actors mostly ad-libbed their lines. The plot involves the search for a serial killer who is targeting men who have been acquitted of murder. The film received poor reviews upon release.