Having struggled for a number of months to find a good DVD edition for Riccardo Freda's first Gothic Horror collaboration with Barbara Steele, (The Terror of Dr.Hichcock) I was relived to discover on Amazon that Alpha Video had brought out their second,and final movie:The Ghost out on a DVD that was being sold at a super-cheap price.
Sadly,about 5 minutes after the Alpha DVD had arrived in the post,I realised that the reason the DVD was being sold at such a cheap price,was possibly connected to the picture quality looking like it had been chucked into a potato masher.Pulling my self backup from Alpha's disappointment,I decided to go on an extensive search in the hope of finding Freda's Technicolour glowing ghost.
The plot:
Scotland-1910:
Suffering from a crippling illness,Dr.John Hichcock relies on the good will of his wife Margaret and the advance medical protocol performed on him by Dr. Charles Livingston,who along with giving John tiny doses of poison,in order for it to loosen up his bones and muscles,also takes part in the séances that John holds with Margaret and their house keeper Catherine Wood.Unbeknowst to John,Margaret and Charles have become passionate lovers,who are sick of the very sight of him.
Taking part in a rather dangerous séance,Margaret convinces Charles that now is the perfect time to give John a little bit too much poison.Making sure to cover their tracks,the couple prepare for the hearing of the will,which will lead to them receiving all of the cash that "kind,old" Dr.Hichcock has left for them.Expecting to hear music to their ears,John and Margaret are instead given an unexpected surprise,when they are told that Hichcock has put all of the "will money" into a safe that only he has the key to.
Franticly searching round for the key,Charles and Margaret begin to fear that the séances John held may have left to something else being left behind from "the other side" with his will
View on the film:
With Ernesto Gastaldi's plodding screenplay being the main thing that led to The Terror of Dr.Hichcock being a huge disappointment,I was thrilled to discover that director Riccardo Freda had joined up with Oreste Biancoil to write the screenplay for this far superior film.
Keeping the movie set in Hichcock's atmospheric castle,Freda and Biancoil impressively transform the movie gradually from a chilling Gothic Horror filled with "empty" wheelchairs moving around and a key which seems to always disappear,into a dark Film Noir as cracks begin to appear in Margaret and Charles's passionate lives over if they can truly trust,that neither of them will leave the other empty handed and run off with Hichcock's wealth all for themselves.
For his terrificly stylised directing,Freda shows a surprisingly restrained approach to the Technicolour aspect of the movie,by filling the castle with mist and shadow to build up a shivering mood,that is ripped apart by bursting abrasive colours that Freda uses to give the movies most sinister moments a vibrant twist.
Featuring in almost every single scene of the movie,Barbara Steele gives a truly tremendous performance that causes the viewer to become completely transfixed on the film,thanks to Steele being able to perfectly mix the movie's deep in the eyes Gothic terror,with a ravishing,double crossing side that leads to this being an appointment with Dr.Hichcock that you will happily remember.
Sadly,about 5 minutes after the Alpha DVD had arrived in the post,I realised that the reason the DVD was being sold at such a cheap price,was possibly connected to the picture quality looking like it had been chucked into a potato masher.Pulling my self backup from Alpha's disappointment,I decided to go on an extensive search in the hope of finding Freda's Technicolour glowing ghost.
The plot:
Scotland-1910:
Suffering from a crippling illness,Dr.John Hichcock relies on the good will of his wife Margaret and the advance medical protocol performed on him by Dr. Charles Livingston,who along with giving John tiny doses of poison,in order for it to loosen up his bones and muscles,also takes part in the séances that John holds with Margaret and their house keeper Catherine Wood.Unbeknowst to John,Margaret and Charles have become passionate lovers,who are sick of the very sight of him.
Taking part in a rather dangerous séance,Margaret convinces Charles that now is the perfect time to give John a little bit too much poison.Making sure to cover their tracks,the couple prepare for the hearing of the will,which will lead to them receiving all of the cash that "kind,old" Dr.Hichcock has left for them.Expecting to hear music to their ears,John and Margaret are instead given an unexpected surprise,when they are told that Hichcock has put all of the "will money" into a safe that only he has the key to.
Franticly searching round for the key,Charles and Margaret begin to fear that the séances John held may have left to something else being left behind from "the other side" with his will
View on the film:
With Ernesto Gastaldi's plodding screenplay being the main thing that led to The Terror of Dr.Hichcock being a huge disappointment,I was thrilled to discover that director Riccardo Freda had joined up with Oreste Biancoil to write the screenplay for this far superior film.
Keeping the movie set in Hichcock's atmospheric castle,Freda and Biancoil impressively transform the movie gradually from a chilling Gothic Horror filled with "empty" wheelchairs moving around and a key which seems to always disappear,into a dark Film Noir as cracks begin to appear in Margaret and Charles's passionate lives over if they can truly trust,that neither of them will leave the other empty handed and run off with Hichcock's wealth all for themselves.
For his terrificly stylised directing,Freda shows a surprisingly restrained approach to the Technicolour aspect of the movie,by filling the castle with mist and shadow to build up a shivering mood,that is ripped apart by bursting abrasive colours that Freda uses to give the movies most sinister moments a vibrant twist.
Featuring in almost every single scene of the movie,Barbara Steele gives a truly tremendous performance that causes the viewer to become completely transfixed on the film,thanks to Steele being able to perfectly mix the movie's deep in the eyes Gothic terror,with a ravishing,double crossing side that leads to this being an appointment with Dr.Hichcock that you will happily remember.