I remember the first time I ever saw THE TERROR. It was an
English class about mystery writers. Why the teacher ever chose this movie as a
great example of that I’ll never know, unless of course it was the only thing
available in his budget. That being said the truth is that I is a fun movie and
a great example of the Roger Corman school of film making. If you have access
to a star, sets and some film stock left, make a complete feature fast!
With Boris Karloff still available having just shot THE
RAVEN for Corman as well as sets still standing from his film THE HAUNTD
PALACE, Corman paid Leo Gordon $1,600 to write a script and the main portions
of the film that contained Karloff were shot in 3 days. Additional footage was
shot by Corman and a young man he employed at the time named Francis Ford
Coppola as well as footage shot by Monte Hellman, Jack Hill and Jack Nicholson
who also starred in the film. The end result is considered by most to be one of
Corman’s worst efforts but the truth is it’s not all that bad.
Nicholson stars as Lt. Andre Duvalier, a soldier in the
Napoleonic wars who has lost his way and stumbles upon a young woman named
Helen (Shirley Knight) on the beach. She disappears and when he wakes he finds
himself in a cabin in the woods where an old woman and her servant live. They
help him and send him to the castle on the hill owned by Baron Von Leppe
(Karloff). Duvalier arrives at the castle and forces his way in demanding
shelter from the Baron. The Baron agrees and has his manservant Stefan (Dick
Miller) help the Lt.
While talking to the Baron, Duvalier is shown a portrait of
the Baron’s late wife Ilsa. She is a duplicate for young Helene who helped him
the day before. The Baron informs him that she has been dead for many years
now. As the story progresses Duvalier continues to see Helene/Ilsa roaming the
castle and nearby tombs. He later finds out that Ilsa had a lover named Eric
that the Stefan killed while the Baron killed Ilsa. Now she haunts and torments
him from the grave and the only relief will be in his demise.
Ghosts, Barons, hauntings and lost love meld together to
make a film that while not the best thing Corman ever made doesn’t truly
qualify as his worst. His use of already standing sets and actors to put
together a film is something that few is any directors these days would
attempt. Nicholson holds his own in one of his earliest performances, perhaps
not displaying the prowess that would garner him an Oscar later in life but
showing he was at least making the attempt to work at his craft. Karloff does
an excellent job, even more so when you consider his age at the time.
As with several other titles I’ve received from them
recently, this is another public domain title that The Film Detective has
determined deserved the blu-ray treatment. That being the case you’ll find that
this is one of the best prints around of this film. Many offer it but few in
this degree of quality, keeping in mind it was not the most well preserved film
to begin with. It’s nice to see a company want to keep films like these from
disappearing even if they aren’t the cream of the crop for some viewers. Kudos
to The Film Detective for keeping this movie alive.
Here’s a suggestion. Plan movie parties for Friday nights
where you screen two features like this film, movies that were created with the
sole purpose of playing the drive in circuit. Some popcorn, hot dogs and a soda
or two while you sit and enjoy or laugh at what’s on screen make for a fun
night. Who knows, maybe drive-in parties will take hold. This movie is a good
start to those sort of nights.
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