Danza macabra (1964)

Directors:

Sergio Corbucci
Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Sergio Corbucci (screenplay)
Giovanni Grimaldi (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 July 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!

Plot:

A writer accepts a bet that he cannot spend the night alone in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Once night falls at the castle...

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Bet | Actual Animal Killed | Nudity | Overnight In A Haunted House

Cast

Barbara Steele	...	Elisabeth Blackwood
Georges Rivière	...	Alan Foster
Margarete Robsahm	...	Julia
Arturo Dominici	...	Dr. Carmus (as Henry Kruger)
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Edgar Allan Poe (as Montgomery Glenn)
Sylvia Sorrente	...	Elsi (as Sylvia Sorrent)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giovanni Cianfriglia		(as Phil Karson)
John Peters
Merry Powers
Umberto Raho		(as Raul H. Newman)
Salvo Randone
Benito Stefanelli		(as Ben Steffen)
Johnny Walters

Directed by
Sergio Corbucci		(as Gordon Wilson Jr.)
Antonio Margheriti		(as Anthony M. Dawson)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergio Corbucci		screenplay and dialogue (as Gordon Wilson Jr.)
Giovanni Grimaldi		screenplay and dialogue (as Jean Grimaud)

Produced by
Leo Lax	....	producer (US version) (as Frank Belty)
Marco Vicario	....	producer (US version) (as Walter Sarah)

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani		(as Ritz Ortolani)

Cinematography by
Riccardo Pallottini		(as Richard Kramer)

Film Editing by
Otello Colangeli		(as Otel Langhel)

Production Design by
Ottavio Scotti		(as Warner Scott)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ruggero Deodato	....	assistant director (as Roger Drake)

Special Effects by
Enrico Catalucci	....	special effects (as E. Catalucci)

Production Companies

• Giovanni Addessi Produzione Cinematografica
• Ulysse Productions
• Vulsinia Films

Distributors

• Cosmopolitan Films (1964) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc. (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Synapse Films (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Castle of Blood (UK) (USA)
Coffin of Terror
Dimensions in Death
Edgar Allan Poe's Castle of Blood
La danse macabre (France)
La lunga notte de terrore
Terrore
The Castle of Terror (USA)
The Long Night of Terror
Tombs of Horror
Tombs of Terror
Makavrios horos (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Giovanni Addessi Produzione Cinematografica

Quotes:

[last lines]
[to himself]
Edgar Allan Poe: Incredible.
[in a ghostly voice-over]
Elisabeth Blackwood: You have stayed with me, Alan.
[in a ghostly voice-over]
Alan Foster: Yes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La vendetta di Lady Morgan (1965)

Good intentions pay off despite clichés

It's hard to explain the appeal of this movie. It's not a gem as some have said. But I wouldn't characterize it as Euro-trash either. The plot is not very original, and borrows—intentionally or not—from Dreyer's VAMPYR (1932), and perhaps a bit from THE HAUNTING (1963). It may also have a literary source in Bulwer-Lytton's story "The Haunters and the Haunted" in which a disbelieving rationalist wagers he can spend a night in a mysterious house where spirits relive incidents from past lives. The film is full of continuity holes (or should I say "challenges"), because many may be explained away. But the execution is flawed. Feral cats, sudden scenes of carnage, and other fright effects do not deliver the shudders.

I must say, however, that the film held my interest, primarily because of the creepy, fog-shrouded sets that look better than they ought to on such a small budget, and because the performances are above average for this type of fare. And although the plot is full of old dark house clichés—slamming doors, billowing curtains, and mysterious portraits—some nice dialog makes it all seem less contrived somehow. There is no doubt that the director and writers were absolutely sincere.

There is also some provocative sexual content and nudity following a tradition of salaciousness that seems to have been a necessary ingredient of horror films as far back as Hollywood's pre-code days. So if I were forced to assess whether this glass is half empty or full I would say it is slightly more than half full. This one might appeal to all those baby boomers who watched the soap opera DARK SHADOWS when they were teenagers in the '60's. It has that feel to it, only with better acting and writing.