La vergine di Norimberga (1963)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Frank Bogart (novel)
Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)

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 | Female Nudity | Attempted Drowning | Murder | Dead Woman Carried

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

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]

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.

Unique Gothic Horror

This film by Antonio Margheriti certainly tells one of the most unusual stories ever told in a Gothic horror movie. Margheriti directed it through and through Gothic - the old, creepy castle, thunderstorms, secret passage ways, skulls piled up, medieval torture devices and so forth - but the story takes place in the presence.

The Bavarian town of Nuremberg made headlines after World War II: The biggest process against Nazi leaders was held there. So it's no surprise that the motive for the happenings in the film "La Vergine di Norimberga" directly rely on Nazi war atrocities - and to combine Gothic horror with the darkest chapter of German history is undoubtedly unique (the German version, however, censored the whole Nazi subplot and made the killer's motive much simpler - avoid this version at all costs). This combination may sound odd, but it works in this film perfectly and gives it also a "no war ever again"-statement that I fully support (but if one watches how many wars are always going on in all different places on earth, one really wonders if mankind has learned of the past war atrocities including WWII).

Christopher Lee gives another supporting role to remember, and Riz Ortolani's score is bombastic, but fits the Gothic atmosphere of the picture. There are some surprisingly gory moments in the film (concerning it was made in 1963), but they never make the impression of being gratuitous or senseless. I highly recommend this film not only to fans of the genre. The U.S.-video print from "Panther Video" (long out of print, though) presents a surprisingly good looking picture quality with lush colors and clear sound that would also make a fine DVD release possible.

My rating: 8 out of 10 - look for this gem!