UK, 1968
89m, 7976 feet
35mm film, Eastmancolor
mono, English
A British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell.
Plot Summary
Robert Manning visits the remote house where his missing brother was last seen and learns of the legend of the Black Witch of Greymarsh, Lavinia Morley. How does the legend tie in with his brother’s disappearance? And is it more than just a legend?
Credits
Crew
Director: Vernon Sewell
Copyright MCMLXVIII [1968] Tigon British Film Productions Ltd.
Tony Tenser presents. Filmed on location by Tigon. British Film Productions Limited
Executive Producer: Tony Tenser
Producer: Louis M. ‘Deke’ Heyward
Associate Producer: Gerry Levy
Production Manager: Alex Carver-Hill
Screenplay by: Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln
From a Story by: Jerry Sohl
Story: The Dreams in the Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft *
Assistant Director: Dennis Lewis
Continuity: Mary Spain
Director of Photography: Johnny Coquillon
Camera Operator: Peter Hendry
Focus Puller: Tony Breeze
Grips: Michael Beauchamp
Editor: Howard Lanning
Editing Assistants: Marion Curren, Jonathan Morris
Processed at: Rank Laboratories, Denham
Music Composed and Conducted by: Peter Knight
Sound Mixer: Kevin Sutton
Dubbing Mixer: Hugh Strain
Dubbing Editor: Dennis Lanning
Costume Designer: Michael Southgate
Make-Up Artists: Pauline Worden, Elizabeth Blatiner
Hairdresser: Ann Fordyce
Art Director: Derek Barrington
Property Master: John Poyner
Construction Manager: Maurice Smith
Production Secretary: Cynthia Palmer
Director of Publicity: Peter Jacques *
Locations: Middlesex, England, UK
Cast
Boris Karloff (Professor John Marshe)
Christopher Lee (Morley)
Mark Eden (Robert Manning)
Barbara Steele (Lavinia Morley)
Michael Gough (Elder)
Virginia Wetherell (Eve Morley)
Rosemarie Reede (Esther)
Christine Pryor (party girl)
Michael Warren (chauffeur)
Stephanie Marrion (party girl)
Denys Peek (Peter Manning)
Millicent Scott (stripper at party)
Nita Lorraine (woman with whip)
Tasma Bereton (painted party girl)
Jenny Shaw (2nd virgin)
Lita Scott (girl with cockerel)
Roger Avon (Sergeant Tyson)
Douglas Mitchell (driver in car chase)
Rupert Davies (Vicar Radford)
Derek Tansley (Judge)
Ron Pember (petrol attendant)
Nicholas Head (torture master)
Carol Anne (1st virgin)
Vivienne Carlton (sacrifice victim)
Paul McNeil (party guest)
Kerry Dean, Rosalind Royale (party girls)
Vicky Richards (belly dancer at party)
Terry Raven (driver in car chase)
Nova St. Claire (girl in car chase)
Alternative Titles
The Crimson Altar
The Crimson Cult – USA
Curse of the Crimson Cult
Die Hexe des Grafen Dracula – Germany (television)
La maison ensorcelée – France
Monstret i skräckens hus – Sweden
The Reincarnation
Schwarze Messe auf blutrotem Altar – Germany
Spirit of the Dead
Witch House
References
Periodicals
- Beddabled! no.7 ‘Something Witchy This Way Comes’ pp.unpaginated – illustrated article (Monster Mash-up: Psychedelic Witchery in Curse of the Crimson Altar by Matthew Callingham)
- The Daily Cinema no.9466 (3 January 1968) p.11 – note (In production)
- The Daily Cinema no.9469 (10 January 1968) p.9 – note (In production)
- The Daily Cinema no.9490 (28 February 1968) p.15 – note
- The Daily Cinema no.9603 (22 November 1968) p.4 – review (by Marjorie Bilbow)
- Films and Filming vol.15 no.5 (February 1969) p.48 – credits, review (by Richard Davis)
- The Hollywood Reporter vol.210 no.39 (17 April 1970) p.8 – credits, review (by John Goff)
- Kine Weekly no.3189 (23 November 1968) p.10 – review
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.36 no.420 (January 1969) p.9 – credits, synopsis, review
- Supernatural no.1 (January 1969) pp.34-35 – illustrated article (Curse of the Crimson Altar)
Books
- American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography by Rob Craig p.103
- American International Pictures: A Filmography by Robert L. Ottoson pp.187, 189 – credits, synopsis, review
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.195
- Boris Karloff: A Critical Acount of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work by Scott Allen Nollen pp.333; 398-399
- The Christopher Lee Filmography by Tom Johnson and Mark A. Miller pp.181-184
- Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History by Jonathan Rigby pp.123, 124, 143
- The Cult Films of Christopher Lee by Jonathan Sothcott pp.126-135
- English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.12, 178, 178-79, 194
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.150
- Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures by Mark Thomas McGee p.306
- Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.86
- Film Review 1969-70 by F. Maurice Speed (ed.) p.203 – credits, review
- The Films of Christopher Lee by Robert W. Pohle Jr and Douglas C. Hart pp.125-127
- Fright Night on Channel 9 by James Arena pp.144-145
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.140 – credits, review
- Kine & TV Year Book 1970 p.109 – credits
- Lord of Misrule (new edition) by Christopher Lee p.296
- Lurker in the Lobby, The: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft by Andrew Migliore and John Strysik pp.26-27 – illustrated credits, review
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.80 – credits
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Monsters: The American International Story by Bruce G. Hallenbeck pp.226-227; 292
- Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 by Gary A. Smith pp.63-64
- World Filmography 1968 pp.195-196
