{"id":4244,"date":"2021-10-30T20:28:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T20:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=4244"},"modified":"2023-01-22T22:12:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T22:12:47","slug":"film-city-of-the-dead-1960","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=4244","title":{"rendered":"FiLM REViEW: City of the Dead, 1960"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We watched this (again) tonight, as part of our Halloween half-term horror movie fest. The original English version is poorly named: it\u2019s set in a village, not a city. But it\u2019s a much better title than the US version, which revelled in the name Horror Hotel<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It follows a familiar old horror film theme: witchcraft persisting into the present. Albeit that the present in this case is now a very retro black and white place! The plot is totally ridiculous, naturally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nan, beautiful but very dim\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
It wouldn\u2019t be horror without boobies!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nan Barlow, a terrifically beautiful but rather dim student of Prof. Driscoll (Christopher Lee), visits Whitewood, Mass., at the latter\u2019s suggestion, for reasons of academic research, concerning 17th C. witchcraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before this, key characters are introduced at the film\u2019s outset, in scenes of a 17th C. witch burning. The villagers burn Elizabeth Selwyn as a witch. Now, three centuries later, Nan\u2019s visit is the chance for the Whitewood coven to indulge in a spot of virginal blood sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Valentine Dyall, aka Jethrow, phantom hitchhiker and witch. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Patricia Jessel is Elizabeth Selwyn\/Mrs. Newless.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These key characters are Mrs Newless, who runs the Raven\u2019s Inn, where Nan is staying, and Jethro Keane. Newless is of course Selwyn, and Jethrow is her lover, who we see invoking Satan to save Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all ludicrous hokum, of course. And the film is also a little weird for the interludes of relatively \u2018cool jazz\u2019, as opposed to your typical horror movie spooky music (you get some of that as well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The 17th C. opening scene\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The phantom hitcher\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
It\u2019s always misty in Whitewood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Hooded figures, more mist, crooked crosses\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These old Hammer-style movies are kind of charming, in a bizarro kitsch kind of way. I quite like them for their antiquated charms. And this is a better than average one, in terms of mood and atmos\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not particularly scary, more quaint, frankly. Were such films frightening when they came out? I really don\u2019t know. It\u2019s hard to credit that they were. But perhaps for some they were? Nowadays they\u2019re more like a spooky form of panto\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nan\u2019s bro\u2019, Dick, and Norman MacOwan as the blind (and bushy-eyebrowed) Reverend Russell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The dreaded coven!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
In search of the life eternal\u2026 virgin\u2019s blood, etc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nan\u2019s brainless doe-like complacency gives ways to nails on a blackboard screaming when, well\u2026 I won\u2019t spoil it for those who haven\u2019t seen this. Her college beau and her brother decide someone ought to go looking for her, when she fails to rendezvous at a swinging party she said she\u2019d be at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remainder of the film changes from following Nan to the duo\u2019s investigation of her disappearance. Culminating in a\u2026 well, again, I won\u2019t spoil it for those who haven\u2019t seen it. There\u2019s a blind reverend, a mute housemaid, and lots of general spookiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The shadow of the cross\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Silly, but appropriately fun for the nights running up to All Hallows Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This more modern graphic is used on Shudder channel listing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We watched this (again) tonight, as part of our Halloween half-term horror movie fest. The original English version is poorly named: it\u2019s set in a village, not a city. But it\u2019s a much better title than the US version, which revelled in the name Horror Hotel. It follows a familiar old horror film theme: witchcraft … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “FiLM REViEW: City of the Dead, 1960”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-16s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4244"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8146,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244\/revisions\/8146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}