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Craze (1974) Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1973
Running Times: 95 mins
Length: 8594 ft
Format: Technicolor 35mm
Ratio:
Sound: CREDITS PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Harbor Productions/Warner Brothers
Producer: Herman Cohen
Production Manager: Jilda Smith SCRIPT
Script: Aben Kandel, Herman Cohen
Story: Infernal Idol by Henry Seymour DIRECTION
Director: Freddie Francis
Assistant Director: Peter Saunders PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: John Wilcox EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Henry Richardson MUSIC
Music: John Scott SOUND
Sound Recordist: Ken Ritchie
Sound Editor: Mike Le Mare DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: George Provis
Set Decorator: Helen Thomas CAST
Jack Palance (Neal Mottram)
Diana Dors (Dolly Newman)
Julie Ege (Helena)
Edith Evans (Aunt Louise)
Hugh Griffith (solicitor)
Trevor Howard (Superintendent Bellamy)
Michael Jayston (Detective Sergeant Wall)
Suzy Kendall (Sally)
Martin Potter
(Ronnie)
Percy Herbert (Detective Russet)
David Warbeck (Detective Wilson)
Kathleen Byron (Muriel Sharp)
Venecia Day (girl dancer)
Marianne Stone (barmaid)
Dean Harris (Ronnie's friend)
Christopher Banks (burial minister)
Anita Sharp-Bolster (Mary Lonsdale)
Frank Forsyth (Frank Trainer)
Barry McDermott (detective) PLOT SUMMARY An antiques dealer has become obsessed with the idol Chuko and presides over human sacrifices at his shrine built in the basement of his shop. Convinced that his recent good fortune has been thanks to Chuko, he continues to murder victims and hatches a plot to frighten a wealthy relative to death. But his alibi is going to rely on the evidence of a disgruntled former lover... CAPSULE REVIEW An entirely awful piece of old tat that wastes some interesting performers (Palance, Doors, Evans, Jayston, Kendall and Warbeck among others are worth more than this) and wastes an hour and a half of viewers' lives. Palance treats the ridiculous script with the contempt it deserves and goes completely over the top but even the meager comedy value his ranting offers wears thin very quickly. AVAILABILITY UK
Theatrical Distributor: EMI Distributors (on double bill with Cat at Mouse) USA
Theatrical Release: Warner Brothers
Video Distributors: Saturn Video; VCR Video CENSORSHIP HISTORY Germany
Rating: 18 UK
Rating: X USA
Rating: R TIMELINE
1973
February
19: UK - production starts
1974
March
11: UK - rated X by the BBFC
May
1: UK - registration screening, Theatre C, Film House, London
31: USA - press screening at the Academy Theatre, Los Angeles, California
June
2: UK - theatrical release (at the Astoria, London)
1988
March
2: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)
1991
January
14: UK - television broadcast (on Thames Television) ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Il buio macchiato di rosso - Italian title
Craze - Dämon des Grauens - German title
Dämon des Grauens - German title
The Demon Master
The Infernal Idol
Locura - Spanish title
Syalenstwo - Polish title
REFERENCES MAGAZINES CinemaTV Today no.10020 (24 February 1973) p.11 (UK)
credits CinemaTV Today no.10084 (25 May 1974) p.14 (UK)
review (by Marjorie Bilbow) Flesh and Blood no.3 (1994) pp.44-45 (UK)
credits, review Halls of Horror no.27 p.18 (UK)
note Hollywood Reporter vol.225 no.22 (9 March 1973) p.36 (USA)
credits Hollywood Reporter vol.231 no.35 (4 June 1974) pp.3, 5 (USA)
credits, review (by Alan R. Howard) Monthly Film Bulletin vol.41 no.485 (June 1974) p.123 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review TV Times 28 June - 4 July 1986 p.37 (UK)
review Variety 12 June 1974 p.18 (USA)
credits, review (by Beau) BOOKS English Gothic p.218
review (by Jonathan Rigby) The Horror Film Handbook
credits, review (by Alan Frank) Ten Years of Terror pp.209-210
credits, review (by Harvey Fenton) KEYWORDS
book into film, human sacrifices, idols
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