Danza macabra

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Danza macabra
Directed by	Antonio Margheriti
Produced by	Leo Lax Marco Vicario
Written by	Sergio Corbucci Giovanni Grimaldi
Starring	Barbara Steele Georges Rivière
Music by	Riz Ortolani
Cinematography	Riccardo Pallottini
Editing by	Otello Colangeli
Distributed by	Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc (US)
Release date(s)	July 29 1964 (US)
Running time	87 min
Country
Language	Italian
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Danza Macabra (Castle of Blood) is the title of a 1964 black and white Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti, using the pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson. This film is also known as Coffin of Terror, Danse macabre, Dimensions in Death, La Lunga notte de terrore, Terrore, The Castle of Terror, The Long Night of Terror, Tombs of Horror, and Tombs of Terror.

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

1 Cast
2 The story
3 The Poe Connection
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Cast

Barbara Steele — Elisabeth Blackwood
Georges Rivière — Alan Foster
Margarete Robsahm — Julia
Arturo Dominici — Dr. Carmus
Silvano Tranquilli — Edgar Allan Poe
Sylvia Sorrente — Elsi

[edit] The story

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

A journalist challenges Edgar Allan Poe on the authenticity of his stories, which leads to him accepting a bet to spend the night in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Ghosts of the murdered inhabitants appear to him throughout the night, re-enacting the events that lead to their deaths. It transpires that they need his blood in order to maintain their existence. Barbara Steele plays a ghost who attempts to help the journalist escape.

[edit] The Poe Connection

Silvano Tranquili plays Edgar Allan Poe in this movie, and the credits claim that the movie is based a Short story by Poe. In reality no such story exists, although in the opening scene Tranquili is heard reading the end of Poe's story Berenice.

Danza Macabra was remade by the same director in 1971 as Nella stretta morsa del ragno. In this version Poe was played by Klaus Kinski, and the movie claimed to be based on a different non-existent Poe story called Night of the Living Dead.

[edit] Trivia

Silvano Tranquili appeared in the remake Nella stretta morsa del ragno as a different character named William Perkins.
Arturo Dominici who plays Dr. Carmus appeared in the role of Javuto with Barbara Steele in La maschera del demonio (1960) known as Black Sunday in the U.S..