La vergine di Norimberga (1963)

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Frank Bogart (novel)
Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

15 August 1963 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Women are being tortured to death with various torture devices in the dungeon of an old castle by a deformed, hooded, holocaust survivor. |

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Stabbed In The Hand | Rat | Nudity | Hypodermic

Cast

Rossana Podestà	...	Mary Hunter
Georges Rivière	...	Max Hunter (as George Riviere)
Christopher Lee	...	Erich (as Cristopher Lee)
Jim Dolen	...	John Selby, FBI Agent
Anny Degli Uberti	...	Frau Marta
Luigi Severini	...	Doctor
Luciana Milone	...	Trude
Lucile Saint-Simon	...	Victim (as Lucile St. Simon)
Patrick Walton
Consalvo Dell'Arti
Peter Hardy
Rex Vidor
James Borden
Bredon Brett
Robert Mayor
Carole Windsor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mirko Valentin	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Antonio Margheriti		(as Anthony Dawson)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frank Bogart		novel
Ernesto Gastaldi		screenplay and adaptation (as Gastad Green)
Edmond T. Gréville		screenplay and adaptation (as Edmund Greville)
Antonio Margheriti		screenplay and adaptation (as Anthony Dawson)

Produced by
Marco Vicario	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Riccardo Pallottini		(as Richard Palton)

Film Editing by
Otello Colangeli		(as Angel Coly)

Art Direction by
Henry Daring
Riccardo Domenici		(as Dick Dominici)

Set Decoration by
Albert Griffiths

Costume Design by
James Lyon

Production Management
Sante Chimirri	....	production manager (as Jim Murray)
Fred Holliday	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bertrand Blier	....	assistant director
Ruggero Deodato	....	assistant director

Special Effects by
Antonio Margheriti	....	special effects (as Anthony Matthews)

Production Companies

• Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films

Distributors

• Stellor Films (1963) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Zodiac Films (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• AIP Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Panther Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Sinister Cinema (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Shriek Show (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twin Tower Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (video as "Virgin of Nuremburg")
• Winner Video (1985) (France) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Back to the Killer
Horror Castle (USA)
Terror Castle
The Castle of Terror (UK)
The Virgin of Nuremberg (International: English title) (literal title)
Das Schloss des Grauens (West Germany) (video title) [de]
Die Gruft der lebenden Leichen (West Germany) [de]
El justiciero rojo (Spain) [es]
La vierge de Nuremberg (France) [fr]
Nüremberg bâkiresi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Panic (France) (video title) [fr]

Runtime:

83 min | USA:84 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | West Germany:18 (nf) | USA:Unrated (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Atlantica Cinematografica Produzione Films

Trivia:

Christopher Lee's voice was dubbed by another actor for the English-language version.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the movie is set in Germany, palm trees can be seen during the exterior shots and the geography and exterior architecture denotes the landscape that of southern Europe.

As Visually Beautiful as a movie can be

What truly makes the difference between "La Vergine di Norimberga" and the rest of the Italian horror movies of the 60s and 70s is the amazing visual composition that director Antonio Margheriti creates with the aid of his team. Music and visuals converge to create one of the most beautifully looking horror movies.

Based on a novel by Frank Bogart, the movie is about a woman, Mary (Rosanda Podestà), who has recently moved to his new husband's castle in Germany. The Gothic castle keeps many secrets and one night Mary watches a murdered woman inside of one of the many torture devices kept in the castle's museum. Her husband, Max Hunter (George Riviere), thinks it was a hallucination since there is no proof a murder took place in the castle, but she is convinced that the old family friend Erich (Christopher Lee), is responsible of the murder. The mysterious dark figure of "The Punisher" roams the castle, but is he a ghost? or something else? This movie mixes perfectly the suspense and the mystery, the jazzy score at first may seem odd, but it fits the movie very well, giving a bigger atmosphere of surrealism to the movie, very fitting to Mary's confused state of mind. The beautiful sets are like a canvas, with a palette predominantly red that gives the movie an elegant, yet dark look. It is a very unique look for a horror movie, and it works in an awesome way.

The acting is good for the most part, although the dubbing that Italian movies used to have is a bit bad. Particularly in the case of Christopher Lee, whose voice is quite different. Nevertheless, Podestà makes a great performance and while Lee is relegated to a supporting role, he also makes a good job. George Riviere's performance may not be the best, although It would be better to judge it with the original audio.

The score is haunting, and very appropriate. Oscar winner Riz Ortolani created a score that sets up the atmosphere of surrealism the film demands. In fact, if a flaw was to be found, was that at times it feels too much style over substance, as there are points of high visual beauty but little plot development.

The SFX are quite advanced for its age, mainly in the make-up department, as the movie delivers some gore making a bizarre contrast between the beauty of the setting and the gruesome violence of the villain. While this movie may seem outdated, it is an overlooked gem that is still very good.

This was the first horror movie by Antonio Margheriti, and it was without a doubt his best. A joy to watch, Italian Gothic horror at its best. 8/10