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The Gorgon (1964)

Country of Origin: UK/USA
Year of Production: 1964
Running Times: 83m 18s
Length: 7,497 ft
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: Technicolor
Aspect Ratio:
Sound:

DIRECTION

Directed by: Terence Fisher

CREW

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © MCMLXIV [1964] Hammer Film Productions Ltd.
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures Corporation presents a Hammer Film production
Produced by: Anthony Nelson Keys
Production Manager: Don Weeks

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: John Gilling
Based on an original story by J. Llewellyn Devine

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: Bert Batt
Continuity: Pauline Harlow

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Michael Reed
Camera Operator: C. Cooney
Electrician: George Robinson [uncredited]
Grip: Albert Cowland [uncredited]
Stills: Tom Edwards [uncredited]

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Supervising Editor: James Needs
Editor: Eric Boyd Perkins

MUSIC
Music Composed by: James Bernard
Musical Supervisor: Marcus Dods

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Ken Rawkins
Sound Editor: Roy Hyde
RCA Sound Recording

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Wardrobe Mistress: Rosemary Burrows
Make-Up Artist: Roy Ashton; Richard Mills [uncredited]
Hair Stylist: Frieda Steiger

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Syd Pearson

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Bernard Robinson
Art Director: Don Mingaye
Construction Manager: Arthur Banks [uncredited]
Props: Tommy Money [uncredited]

OTHER CREW
Studio Manager: A.F. Kelly [uncredited]
Publicity Supervisor: Dennison Thornton [uncredited]
Publicist: Alan Arnold [uncredited]

LOCATIONS
Produced at Bray Studios, England
Locations: Black Park, Bucks, England, UK [uncredited]

STUNTS
Fight Arranger: Peter Diamond

CAST

Christopher Lee (Professor Karl Meister)
Peter Cushing (Dr Namaroff)

Also Starring
Richard Pasco (Paul Heitz)
Barbara Shelley (Carla Hoffmann)
Michael Goodliffe (Professor Jules Heitz)

with
Patrick Troughton (Kanof)
Joseph O'Conor (coroner)
Prudence Hyman (Chatelaine/Megeira, the Gorgon)

and
Jack Watson (Ratoff)
Redmond Philips (Hans)
Jeremy Longhurst (Bruno Heitz)
Toni Gilpin (Sascha Cass)
Joyce Hemson (Martha)
Alister Williamson (Janus Cass)
Michael Peake (constable)

UNCREDITED CAST

Sally Nesbitt (nurse)

PLOT SUMMARY

A series of strange deaths in the town of Vandorf results in a series of bodies that have been turned to stone. Professor Heitz comes to believe that the culprit is Megaera, the last of the Gorgon sisters from Greek mythology. When he's killed by the creature, it falls to Heitz's son, Paul and Professor Meister to track down the snake-haired monster.

CAPSULE REVIEW

An intriguing idea goes nowhere in this beautifully shot but curiously uninvolving Hammer film. The merging of Greek mythology with Hammer's mittel-European Gothic promised a lot more than the Gorgon manages to deliver, despite some excellent performances - sadly, Fisher's direction is uninspired and Gilling's flat script never really gets going.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Video Distributor: RCA Columbia

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Video Distributor: Goodtimes Video; RCA/Columbia
Laserdisc Distributor: Image Engineering Inc

Finland
Rating: K-16

Spain
Rating: T

UK
Rating: X

USA
Rating: unrated

TIMELINE

1964
October
18: UK - theatrical release

1965
February
17: USA - theatrical release

1997
October
15: France - shown at the Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish and British Film

POSTER TAGS

Petrifies the screen with Horror!

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Brennenden Augen von Schloss Bortimore, Die - German title
Medusa, La - Spanish title
Sguardo che uccide, Lo - Italian title

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The Many Faces of Christopher Lee (1996)

REFERENCES

PERIODICALS

British National Film catalogue vol.2 (1964) (UK)
credits, synopsis

Classic Images no.253 (July 1996) p.42 (USA)
illustrated interview

Daily Cinema no.8956 (26 August 1964) p.9 (UK)
review

Dark Terrors no.3 p.16 (UK)
note

Dark Terrors no.11 (December 1995) pp.9-15 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, production notes

Film and TV Technician vol.30 no.237 (November 1964) (UK)
credits

The House That Hammer Built no.4 (August 1997) pp.220-230 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, review

The House That Hammer Built no.10 (October 1998) pp.91-106 (UK)
illustrated article

Kine Weekly no.2969 (27 August 1964) p.11 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.31 no.369 (October 1964) p.149 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Shivers no.52 p.8
note

TV Times 30 January - 5 February 1988 p.34 (UK)
review

Variety 26 August 1964 (USA)
credits, review

BOOKS

Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History pp.98-99
illustrated review (by Jonathan Rigby)

The Hammer Story pp.82-83
illustrated article, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

gorgon, Greek mythology, legends, Medusa

Last Updated: 23 April, 2010