The Blancheville Monster

The Blancheville Monster

Italian film poster for The Blancheville Monster
Directed by Alberto de Martino
Written by
Starring
Music by
  • Carlo Franci
  • Giuseppe Piccillo[1]
Cinematography Alejandro Ulloa[1]
Edited by Otello Colangeli[1]
Distributed by Titanus (Italy)
Release date
  • June 6, 1963 (1963-06-06) (Italy)
Running time
 90 minutes[1]
Country
Box office ₤87 million

The Blancheville Monster (Italian: Horror) is a 1963 Italian-Spanish horror film directed by Alberto de Martino. The films script by Gianni Grimaldi and Bruno Corbucci is promoted as being based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, but actually only borrows elements from the stories "The Fall of the House of Usher", "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" and "Some Words with a Mummy". Long after its release, director Alberto de Martino described his film as "a little film of no importance".

Plot

Emily has a lot of growing up to do. She returns to her family castle after completing her studies to discover that her home life has drastically changed. Her brother is now in charge of the estate, the servants and maids whom she knew for years and were almost part of the family have died and been replaced by new members of staff who are cold and unfamiliar. Her father, Count Blancheville, has been horribly disfigured and lives secluded in one of the castle's isolated towers. Count Blancheville believes that the family curse will be lifted if Emily dies before her 21st birthday (thanks to some kind of ancient prophecy). Emily is 20 years old and her birthday is only 5 days away. To make matter worse, her father escapes from the tower and disappears, only to show up trying to convince Emily to embrace 'sweet death'.[3]

Production

Spanish sources for the production credit Natividad Zaro as a contributor to the script. As with many European co-productions of the era, this was done for tax reasons.[4] Italian promotional material for the film promoted it as a product based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, but the film only borrows elements from "The Fall of the House of Usher", "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" and "Some Words with a Mummy".[1] The films script is closer to that of Roger Cormans films based on Poes work rather than the Italian gothic horror films of era.[5] Director Alberto de Martino felt he was more inspired by Alfred Hitchcock.[1][5]

The film was shot at Monastery of Santa Maria La Real de Valdeiglesias in Spain and at Cinecittà in Rome.[1]

Release

The film was released in Italy on June 6, 1963 through Titanus.[1] It was released in Italy under the title Horror as chosen by producer Italo Zingarelli.[1] The film grossed 87 million Italian lira on its initial theatrical run in Italy.[1]

The Blancheville Monster is public domain in the United States and has been released on home video in varying quality.[4]

Reception

Alberto de Martino referred to his own film as "a little film of no importance" and that only thing he found memorable was the mask in the film which was sculpted by his father.[5] Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969 (2015) stated that the film "does not have much to offer" outside de Martinos competent directing and Alejandro Ulloa's lighting.[5] Curti also noted the plots cliches and mediocre acting.[5] Bartłomiej Paszylk, author of The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films referred to the film as one of the brighter moments of Alberto de Martino career and that "neither the overacting nor the many flaws of the script can take away the pleasure of watching The Blancheville Monster".[2][6]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Curti 2015, p. 86.
  2. 1 2 Paszylk 2009, p. 82.
  3. ↑ Beyond The Darkness: Cult, Horror, and Extreme Cinema, by Phil Russell
  4. 1 2 Curti 2015, p. 88.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Curti 2015, p. 87.
  6. ↑ Paszylk 2009, p. 83.

Bibliography

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