Dementia 13 (1963)

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Francis Ford Coppola (writer)
Jack Hill (second unit writer)

Release Date:

18 November 1966 (Denmark)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You Must Pass the "D-13" Test To Prepare You for the Horrifying Experience of Dementia 13. If You Fail the Test...You Will Be Asked to Leave the Theater!

Plot:

John Haloran has a fatal heart attack, but his wife Louise won't get any of the inheritance when Lady Haloran dies if John is dead...

Plot Keywords:

Heart Attack | Castle | Pond | Irish | Shotgun

Cast

William Campbell	...	Richard Haloran
Luana Anders	...	Louise Haloran
Bart Patton	...	Billy Haloran
Mary Mitchel	...	Kane
Patrick Magee	...	Justin Caleb
Eithne Dunne	...	Lady Haloran (as Ethne Dunne)
Peter Read	...	John Haloran
Karl Schanzer	...	Simon
Ron Perry	...	Arthur
Derry O'Donavan	...	Lillian
Barbara Dowling	...	Kathleen

Directed by
Francis Ford Coppola		(as Francis Coppola)

Writing credits
Francis Ford Coppola		(writer) (as Francis Coppola)
Jack Hill		(second unit writer)

Produced by
Roger Corman	....	producer
Marianne Wood	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ronald Stein
Les Baxter		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Charles Hannawalt		(as Charles Hanawalt)

Film Editing by
Stuart O'Brien
Morton Tubor		(as Mort Tubor)

Art Direction by
Al Locatelli		(as Albert Locatelli)

Set Decoration by
Eleanor Coppola		(as Eleanor Neil)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard F. Dalton	....	assistant director (as Richard Dalton)
Jack Hill	....	second unit director

Art Department
Edward Delaney	....	sculptor

Sound Department
Joseph Gross	....	sound
Liam Saurin	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
John Vicario	....	camera operator
Michael Vines	....	best boy

Editorial Department
Donald Shebib	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
George Brady	....	technician
Patrick Brady	....	technician
Dr. William Joseph Bryan Jr.	....	technical advisor
Eyemonn Callian	....	production assistant
Patrick Doyle	....	technician
Paul Julian	....	title designer
Michael Purcell	....	technician
Angela Wadlow	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Filmgroup Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1963) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• K-tel Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Marengo Films (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Troma Team Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• UAV Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Arcadia Entertainment (2003) (Greece) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• 303 Recordings (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Multimedia Group (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Vidtape (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Weton Wesgram (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Regal Films (????) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cable Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (1994) (Finland) (VHS)
• Cine FX (????) (France) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Finnkino (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Hollywood Home Theatre (????) (USA) (VHS)
• K-tel Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Liberty Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Ovation Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• World Video Picture (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Aer Lingus  thanks
• Guinness Breweries  thanks
• Irish International Airlines  thanks
• Screen Time Images  film restoration

Also Known As:

The Haunted and the Hunted (UK)
Demência 13 (Brazil) [pt]
Demencia 13 (Spain) (cable TV title) [es]
Dementia 13 (Brazil) [pt]
Dementia 13 (West Germany) [de]
Dementia 13 (Spain) (DVD title) [es]
Djævelens borg (Denmark) [da]
Nattens skräcknäste (Sweden) [sv]
Parafrosyni (Greece) [el]
Terrore alla 13 ora (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (colorized)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Filmgroup Productions

Trivia:

Francis Ford Coppola was assisting Roger Corman on the set of The Young Racers (1963) in Ireland. Corman allowed Coppola to use the same set, crew and actors Luana Anders, William Campbell and Patrick Magee for this film if he could shoot around the shooting schedule of Corman's film.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Billy and Kane are walking around the pond, the boom mic falls into view. A little later, the shadow of the boom mic operator is visible on Kane.

Quotes:

Louise Haloran: It's nice to see her enjoying herself for a change. The mood around this place isn't good for her.... Especially an American girl. You can tell she's been raised on promises.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Dementia 13 (1963) (#1.58)" (1980)

Worth much more than rating reflects

Being a film buff, and not exclusively a fan of the horror genre, I saw the average rating on imdb and expected a kitchy, amateurish farce-of-a-flick. What it turned out to be caught me absolutely off-guard. The only thing more terrifying than the film itself was the poor overall rating it received on imdb. This is a superb example of a psychological thriller, and certainly the most underrated and underappreciated film of this genre I have ever seen.

Dementia 13 is a fairly simple narrative on the surface, but underneath it is an interweaving story, each branch adding depth and mystery to the story and each branch being a carefully-planned twist of the senses.

My wife, being a huge fan of the genre, especially of films from the 60s, has already encouraged me to watch numerous other films similar in narrative feel, such as "The Innocents" based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James or "The Haunting" based on the Shirley Jackson story. After seeing so many films, many of which were based on well-crafted stories by famous authors, it astounds me to think that A young Francis Coppola not only directed this superb film, but CONCEIVED it and WROTE it as well. The result reads just as well (and even better, in many cases) than many well-crafted novels, itself being a story of an utmost macabre and chilling nature... and the storytelling leaves little to be desired.

Francis Coppola, only 22 at the time, made this film with a miniscule budget of only $20,000 and an extremely rushed shooting schedule. It is no wonder Coppola blossomed into a well-respected, master craftsman of film. And the limited resources all but completely excuse any of the flaws in this film. Looking at the facts about the film and its maker surely must invoke jealously in any artist who realizes what true masters can accomplish at a young age.

Yes, it is true that Dementia 13 takes elements from Hitchcock's Psycho (among other Hitch films), including anticipatory tension, a finely dissonant score, and even several camera shots, but Coppola isn't just mimicking Hitchcock. He's manipulating the very essence of what makes Hitchcock frightening, while adding his own distinct style and flavor to the film.

And it IS genuinely frightening. It implies unspeakable things and it toys with one's mind as one watches it. And when the screen DOES show you something you've been anticipating, (partly in thanks to the demented film score,) expect to be surprised and expect your skin to tingle something fierce. The psychological angle with which Coppola approached Dementia 13 leaves one with the terrible sense that the human mind REALLY IS capable of this kind of demented horror... which, of course, makes the film all the more terrifying and satisfying.

This film is not merely an amateur's flailing attempt. It is the first masterpiece of a blooming genius.

The rating it has on imdb is appallingly low. I can't even begin to wonder what kinds of bad horror films are getting better ratings by people. Maybe more people just need to see this fairly obscure film before it will get its overdue appreciation. 9 out of 10