UK, USA, 1964
83m 18s, 7,497 feet
35mm, Technicolor
mono (RCA Sound Recording), English
A British/American horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It was the first film Fisher made for Hammer Film Productions since the commercial failure of The Phantom of the Opera (1962).
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.
Credits
* = uncredited [uncredited crew roles are taken from a listing published in Film and TV Technician vol.30 no.237 (November 1964)]
Crew
Directed by: Terence Fisher
© MCMLXIV [1964] Hammer Film Productions Ltd.
Columbia Pictures Corporation presents a Hammer Film production
Produced by: Anthony Nelson Keys
Production Manager: Don Weeks
Screenplay by: John Gilling
Based on an original story by J. Llewellyn Devine
Assistant Director: Bert Batt
2nd Assistant Director: Hugh Harlow *
3rd Assistant Director: Stephen Victor *
Continuity: Pauline Harlow
Director of Photography: Michael Reed
Camera Operator: C. Cooney
Focus: John Shinerock *
Clapper/Loader: Anthony B. Richmond *
Chief Electrician: Jack Curtis *
Electrician: George Robinson *
Grip: Albert Cowland *
Still Cameraman: Tom Edwards *
Supervising Editor: James Needs
Editor: Eric Boyd Perkins
1st Assistant Editor: David Nimmo *
2nd Assistant Editor: George Patten *
Music Composed by: James Bernard
Musical Supervisor: Marcus Dods
Sound Recordist: Ken Rawkins
Sound Camera Operator: Al Thorne *
Boom Operator: T. Buchanan *
Boom Assistant: Roy Mingaye *
Sound Transfer Operator: Michael Sale *
Sound Editor: Roy Hyde
Dubbing Crew: Anvil Films Ltd. *
Wardrobe Mistress: Rosemary Burrows
Make-Up Artists: Roy Ashton; Richard Mills *
Hair Stylist: Frieda Steiger
Special Effects: Syd Pearson
Production Designer: Bernard Robinson
Art Director: Don Mingaye
Draughtsman: Kenneth Ryan *
Construction Manager: Arthur Banks *
Scenic Artist: Burt Evans *
Props: Tommy Money *
Production Accountant: W.H.V. Able *
Studio Manager: Arthur Kelly *
Production Secretary: Maureen White *
Publicity Director: Dennison Thornton *
Produced at Bray Studios, England
Locations: Black Park, Bucks, England, UK *
Fight Arranger: Peter Diamond
Cast
Christopher Lee (Professor Karl Meister)
Peter Cushing (Dr Namaroff)
Richard Pasco (Paul Heitz)
Barbara Shelley (Carla Hoffmann)
Michael Goodliffe (Professor Jules Heitz)
Patrick Troughton (Kanof)
Joseph O'Conor (coroner)
Prudence Hyman (Chatelaine/Megeira, the Gorgon)
Jack Watson (Ratoff)
Redmond Philips (Hans)
Jeremy Longhurst (Bruno Heitz)
Toni Gilpin (Sascha Cass)
Joyce Hemson (Martha)
Alister Williamson (Janus Cass)
Michael Peake (constable)
Sally Nesbitt [nurse] *
Alternative Titles
Die Brennenden Augen von Schloss Bortimore – Germany
La medusa – Spain
Lo sguardo che uccide – Italy
Links
Extracts included in
The Many Faces of Christopher Lee (1995)
References
Periodicals
- British National Film Catalogue vol.2 (1964) – credits, synopsis
- Classic Images no.253 (July 1996) p.42 – illustrated interview
- The Dark Side no.221 (2021) pp.24-29 – illustrated article (Snakes alive! by Allan Bryce)
- The Daily Cinema no.8956 (26 August 1964) p.9 – review
- Dark Terrors no.3 p.16 – note
- Dark Terrors no.11 (December 1995) pp.9-15 – illustrated credits, synopsis, production notes
- Film and TV Technician vol.30 no.237 (November 1964) – credits
- The House That Hammer Built no.4 (August 1997) pp.220-230 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
- The House That Hammer Built no.10 (October 1998) pp.91-106 – illustrated article
- Kine Weekly no.2969 (27 August 1964) p.11 – review
- Mad Movies no.1 (June 1972) p.unpaginated – credits, review
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.31 no.369 (October 1964) p.149 – credits, synopsis, review
- Shivers no.52 p.8 – note
- TV Times 30 January – 5 February 1988 p.34 – review
- Variety 26 August 1964 – credits, review
Books
- The Charm of Evil: The Life and Films of Terence Fisher by Wheeler Winston Dixon pp.xi, 5, 20, 340, 352, 357, 378, 417-436; 533-534 – notes; credits
- Christopher Lee The Authorised Screen History pp.98-99 – illustrated review (by Jonathan Rigby)
- English Gothic by Jonathan Rigby pp.101, 104, 105-106, 109, 132 – illustrated notes, review
- The Hammer Story by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes pp.82-83 – illustrated article, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes)
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.172 – credits
- Terence Fisher by Peter Hutchings pp.46, 124, 130, 135-139, 143, 146, 148, 153 – notes
- Terence Fisher: Horror, Myth and Religion by Paul Leggett pp.47, 93, 110-116, 118, 128, 149 – notes
