The Horrible Dr. Hichcock

Last updated

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock
The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (poster).jpg
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by Riccardo Freda
Screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi
Story byErnesto Gastaldi
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRaffaele Masiocchi [2]
Edited byOrnella Micheli [2]
Music by Roman Vlad [2]
Production
company
Panda Cinematografica [3]
Distributed by Warner Bros. (Italy)
Release date
  • 30 June 1962 (1962-06-30)(Italy)
Running time
84 minutes [1]
CountryItaly [1]
Budget96 million lira
Box office142 million lira

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (Italian title: L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock, lit. "The horrible secret of Dr. Hichcock") is a 1962 Italian horror film, directed by Riccardo Freda and written by Ernesto Gastaldi. The film stars Barbara Steele and Robert Flemyng.

Contents

Plot

The story is set in 1885 and concerns Dr. Bernard Hichcock (Robert Flemyng), a necrophiliac whose "horrible secret" of the title involves drugging his wife, Margaretha (Maria Teresa Vianello), for sexual funeral games. One day he accidentally administers an overdose of a new drug which slows the heart rate and thinks he has killed her. After burying her in a crypt, he leaves London.

Twelve years later, he remarries and returns to his old home. His new wife, Cynthia (Barbara Steele), starts to believe that she sees Margaretha around the house. After Cynthia falls victim to Dr. Hichcock's old parlour games, she suspects he is trying to kill her, but she finds that the truth is much worse. Having realised that Margaretha is still alive but looking haggard from her ordeal, Dr. Hichcock plans to kill Cynthia and use her blood to restore Margaretha's beauty.

Cast

Production

Unlike director Riccardo Freda's previous Gothic-styled film I vampiri , The Horrible Dr. Hichcock was made in a climate where there were more Gothic horror films being produced in Italy. [4] The film began when Luigi Carpentieri phoned screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi to write a giallo story that he liked, titled Spectral. [4] [5] Gastaldi wrote his own treatment under the title Raptus. [5] The original script did not contain the necrophilia that is in the film, which Gastaldi commented that he did not remember why he added it, suggesting that "perhaps one of the associates asked for something harder, more macabre". [5] Freda later claimed that the story was his idea, proclaiming that "It is entirely my idea. I nurtured it for a long time but it is Ernesto Gastaldi, a very good scenarist, who shaped it into form." [5] Gastaldi commented on this, saying that when he met Freda, they did not discuss the film with him and that producer Ermanno Donati gave Freda the script, saying "Let's see if you have the balls to shoot this stuff, it's about corpses!" [5] Gastaldi stated that Freda did not even read the script and replied "As long as I get paid, I'm shooting even the phone book." [5]

The film's co-star Barbara Steele took 10 days off the set of Federico Fellini's 8½ to perform her role in the film. [6] Co-star Robert Flemyng, who was predominantly working in television at the time, took the script, as he wanted to go to Rome. [6] After reading the script, titled Raptus, he only later found the film involved necrophilia and attempted to get out of the film. [6] His agent stated it was too late, as he had signed the contract, so he went forward with making the film. [6] The actress Harriet Medin had been working in Italy since the end of World War II. She received a call from Flemyng before shooting, suggesting that they act so badly that the film would not be released. [6] [7] She is listed in the film credits under her maiden name, Harriet White. The Italian cast and crew hid their names under British-sounding names; this included Freda being credited as Robert Hampton, while set designer Franco Fumagalli became Frank Smokecocks, a literal translation of his last name. [6] Each cast member spoke his or her own language when filming. [7]

The film was shot at Villa Perucchetti in Via Pietro Paolo Rubens 21 in Rome. [7] There are different recollections as to how long the film took to make; the schedule was from April 9 to May 5, 1962 with a 96 million lire budget. [8] Freda stated the film was finished in two weeks, while film historians Alan Upchurch and Tim Lucas state that it was shot in 14 days. [8] Marcello Avallone, who worked on the film with Gastaldi, stated that it took three weeks. [8] Steele recalled that production had long 18-hour days "thanks to the massive doses of Sambuca and coffee. If a dolly collapsed, Freda would just pull the camera on a carpet. Nothing would stop that man." [7] To film everything, Freda sped up proceedings by having three small crews work on the film at once. One of the crews was entrusted to Avallone, who Freda had bonded over through their mutual love of horse racing. [7] Avallone stated that he shot things like close-ups and cutaways to save time. [7] Avallone mentioned that two versions of some sequences were shot: the original Italian, which was more suggestive and chaste, and another for foreign markets that was more risque, as Freda did not want to shoot the more explicit scenes. [7] [8] As of 2017, those versions have not been found. [8] The assistant cameraman, Giuseppe Maccari, played down the second units, stating that multiple cameras were used only on some scenes, such as the climax with the fire in Hichock's villa. [8] The film's make-up artist, Euclide Santoli, recalled the grotesque scenes where Hichcock's face swells and deforms right before the camera. [6] To do the effect, Santoli used a double mask, with the first being thick and identical to the actor's face; it would be applied first, then a second mask that was thin was stuck to the other along the edges with tubes used to blow air through them. [6] Freda later stated that the producers ruined the scenes with this special effect. [6] Freda stated the producers had them split the nightmare scene into several pieces, instead of having it done as one long take. [6]

Release

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock was submitted to the board of censors in June 1962 where it was given the V.M.18 rating, becoming the first horror film to receive this rating after the new rating system was made in April 1962. [9] Despite the directors' and other sources' claims, the board of censors did not demand that there be any cuts to the film. [9] It was released in Italy on 30 June 1962 and was distributed by Warner Bros. [1] The film grossed a total of 142 million Italian lira on its theatrical run. [1] Box office returns in Italy were considered strong enough that, when Ricardo Blasco's Spanish film Autopsy of a Criminal (1963) was released in Italy, it was promoted as a follow-up, titled L'assassino del dott. Hitchkok. [1] [10]

The film was initially retitled Raptus: The Secret of Dr. Hichcock and offered to American International Pictures by Donati and Carpentieri. [10] The company turned it down, as they could not have it toned down for general audiences in the United States. [10] It was released in October 1964 in the United States as The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock, where it was distributed by Sigma III Corporation [10] as a double feature with The Awful Dr. Orloff . The American version was cut to 76 minutes, which re-arranged scenes, added dissolves and was not always faithful to Gastaldi's original script. [10] British audiences saw it the next year, where it was retitled The Terror of Dr. Hichcock. [10] In 2015, a novelization of the film by Michael R. Hudson was published in the United States by Raven Head Press as part of a series of adaptations of several of Gastaldi's scripts, including My Name is Nobody and The Case of the Bloody Iris . [10]

Reception

From a contemporary review, The New York Times reviewed both The Horrible Dr. Hichcock and The Awful Dr. Orloff and stated "For once, the adjectives in the titles were not only descriptive but also accurate." [11] In France, Positif described the film as to "seem a hymn to necrophilia [...] the storms, the excesses, the veneer of a modern chirurgical décor to cover a stylised rococo background, even the photography dominated by fascinating and artificial flashes of color". [10] The Monthly Film Bulletin declared the film "consistently gripping and enjoyable", despite numerous borrowing from numerous sources, including Vampyr , Jane Eyre , Rebecca and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ; the "guiding hands of director Riccardo Freda and cameraman Raffaelle Masciocchi are unmistakable" noting the use of colour, light, editing and "visually striking compositions." [12]

Glenn Erickson wrote an essay called "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock: Women on the Verge of a Gothic Breakdown" and stated "The outrageous central concern of The Horrible Dr. Hichcock has never been considered appropriate for any film openly advertised and exhibited to the public, horror or otherwise. That a film about the frustrated passions of a necrophiliac could even be released in 1962 is a censorial mystery in its own right -- or, perhaps, a clear testament to the way horror films were officially ignored on every cultural level back then." [13] Meanwhile, the film has been praised as "a unique Italian gothic" with authentic sets, particularly artful acting by Flemyng and Barbara Steele at her best. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Steele</span> British actress (born 1937)

Barbara Steele is an English film actress known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She played the dual role of Asa and Katia Vajda in Mario Bava's landmark film Black Sunday (1960), and starred in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Long Hair of Death (1964), and Castle of Blood (1964).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riccardo Freda</span> Italian film director

Riccardo Freda was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, giallo and spy films.

Ernesto Gastaldi is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular genres including pepla, Western and spy films.

<i>The Whip and the Body</i> 1963 Italian gothic horror film

The Whip and the Body is a 1963 gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava under the alias "John M. Old". The film is about Kurt Menliff who is ostracized by his father for his relationship with a servant girl and her eventual suicide. He later returns to reclaim his title and his former fiancée Nevenka who is now his brother's wife. Menliff is later found murdered, but the locals believe his ghost has returned to haunt the castle for revenge.

<i>Black Sunday</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

Black Sunday is a 1960 Italian gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava in his official directorial debut, and starring Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici and Enrico Oliveri. Loosely based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "Viy", the film takes place in Moldavia and tells the story of a witch who is put to death by her brother, only to return two centuries later to seek revenge upon his descendants.

<i>The Ghost</i> (1963 film) 1963 film

The Ghost is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda, using the pseudonym "Robert Hampton". The film stars Barbara Steele and Peter Baldwin. Other titles for the film include The Spectre and Lo Spettro del Dr. Hichcock.

<i>I Vampiri</i> 1957 film

I Vampiri is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.

<i>Caltiki – The Immortal Monster</i> 1959 film

Caltiki – The Immortal Monster is a 1959 black-and-white science fiction-horror film with similarities to The Blob that was released in the previous year. The film's storyline concerns a team of archaeologists investigating Mayan ruins, who come across a creature that is a shapeless, amorphous blob. They manage to defeat it using fire, while keeping a sample of the creature. Meanwhile, a comet, which previously passed near the Earth around the time of the collapse of the Mayan civilization, is due to return, raising the possibility of a connection between the creature and the comet.

<i>Nightmare Castle</i> 1965 film

Nightmare Castle is a 1965 Italian horror film directed by Mario Caiano. The film stars Paul Muller, Helga Liné and Barbara Steele in a dual role.

<i>The Witchs Curse</i> 1962 film

The Witch's Curse is a 1962 Italian peplum-fantasy film, directed by Riccardo Freda.

<i>The Virgin of Nuremberg</i> 1963 film

The Virgin of Nuremberg is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Anthony Dawson.

<i>The Long Hair of Death</i> 1964 film

The Long Hair of Death is a 1964 Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti. It stars British actress Barbara Steele in the roles of Helen Rochefort and Mary, Italian actor George Ardisson as Kurt Humboldt, and Polish actress Halina Zalewska in a dual role as Adele Karnstein and her daughter Lisabeth. It is set in a 15th-century feudal castle, and the nearby village.

<i>Murder Obsession</i> 1981 film

Murder Obsession, a.k.a. Fear, is a 1981 Italian giallo-horror film directed by Riccardo Freda, and starring Laura Gemser and Anita Strindberg.

<i>The Murder Clinic</i> 1966 film

The Murder Clinic is a 1966 slasher giallo film directed by Lionello De Felice and Elio Scardamaglia. It was produced by Elio Scardamaglia, Francesco Scardamaglia and Luciano Martino;. The screenplay was written by Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi from their own story. It stars William Berger, Françoise Prévost, Harriet White Medin, Mary Young and Barbara Wilson.

<i>Specters</i> (film) 1987 film

Specters is a 1987 Italian horror film directed by Marcello Avallone and starring Donald Pleasence.

Luigi Carpentieri (1920-1987) was an Italian assistant director (1940-1949) and film producer (1947-1968). Together with Ermanno Donati, he founded the production company "Athena Cinematografica", which in 1960 became "Panda Cinematografica". All films produced by [[the company were genre films.

Ermanno Donati was an Italian film producer. Along with Luigi Carpentieri, Donati won the Nastro d'Argento award for Best Producer for the film The Day of the Owl.

<i>The Exterminators</i> (film) 1965 film

The Exterminators is a 1965 spy film directed by Riccardo Freda. It was the fourth in the Francis Coplan series of films. It was released in the United Kingdom as The Exterminators and on television in the United States as FX 18 Superspy.

Ornella Micheli was an Italian film editor active from the 1950s through the 1980s. She often worked on the exploitation films and thrillers of directors Lucio Fulci, Riccardo Freda, and Giuliano Carnimeo.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Curti 2015, p. 69.
  2. 1 2 3 Curti 2015, p. 68.
  3. ↑ Curti 2017, p. 318.
  4. 1 2 Curti 2017, p. 177.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Curti 2017, p. 178.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Curti 2017, p. 184.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Curti 2017, p. 185.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Curti 2017, p. 186.
  9. 1 2 Curti 2017, p. 188.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Curti 2017, p. 189.
  11. ↑ Archer, Eugene (3 December 1964). "L Orribile Segreto del Dottor Hitchcock (1962) A Pair of Films". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Orrible segreto del dottor hichcock, L' (The Terrible Dr. Hichcock)". Monthly Film Bulletin . Vol. 30, no. 348. British Film Institute. 1963. p. 160. ISSN   0027-0407.
  13. ↑ Erickson, Glenn. The Horrible Dr. Hichcock: Women on the Verge of a Gothic Breakdown, dvdtalk.com
  14. ↑ Hughes 2011, p. 81.

Sources

  • Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano: The Complete Guide from Classics to Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN   978-1-84885-608-0.
  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films: 1957-1969. McFarland. ISBN   978-1476619897.
  • Curti, Roberto (2017). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN   978-1476628387.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.