Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat |
| Original title | The Sorcerers |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Michael Reeves |
| script |
John Burke Michael Reeves Tom Baker |
| production |
Patrick Curtis Tony Tenser for Tigon British Film Productions |
| music | Paul Ferris |
| camera | Stanley A. Long |
| occupation | |
| |
Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat (Original title: The Sorcerers ) is a British science fiction horror film from 1967 , which was produced by Patrick Curtis and Tony Tenser for the company Tigon British founded by Tenser . Today the film, which tells the story of an old couple who can control the thoughts of a young man through hypnosis and turn him into a criminal and murderer, is considered a dark classic of British horror films. The script was written by John Burke , Tom Baker and Michael Reeves . The latter also directed. The leading roles were played by Boris Karloff , Catherine Lacey , Elizabeth Ercy , Ian Ogilvy and Victor Henry .
action
Old professor Marcus Monserrat, a well-known hypnotist , and his wife Estelle plan an experiment that has never been seen before. To do this, they need a human test subject. Estelle asks Marcus when he will do the experiment. He replies that it will be ready soon - maybe the next day.
In a club are the teenager Mike Roscoe, his girlfriend Nicole and the auto mechanic Alan, who is also interested in Nicole. Mike is upset when Nicole appears to be flirting with Alan and dancing with him.
Meanwhile, Marcus and Estelle plan their experiment. Estelle suggests using a homeless man, but Marcus says they need a person whose brain isn't clouded over by alcohol. They decide to take a young man who has no prospects and will therefore get involved in their experiment.
Mike decides to leave the club and stretch his legs a bit. Outside, he meets Marcus, who proposes that he take part in a unique experiment that will enrich him. Mike is skeptical at first, but finally Marcus manages to persuade him. He takes Mike home with him, where they are greeted by Estelle. Mike becomes suspicious and thinks that Marcus is fooling him. Marcus explains to Mike that he is a famous hypnotist, but not a juggler like in the circus, but a real scientist. Estelle urges Mike to stay. You connect Mike to a futuristic machine that, according to Marcus and Estelle, will put Mike into a state of ecstasy he has never experienced. Marcus operates a few levers and buttons on the machine, whereupon there is a stinging noise and Mike's face is illuminated with different colored lights. Eventually Mike is put into a trance . Marcus and Estelle order him to get up, which he does. Then they order him to go to a dark room next door. Mike goes to the room. Then they order him to close the door behind them. Mike obeys this order too. Marcus and Estelle are now in control of Mike's mind. Estelle gets cocky. She orders Mike to go into the kitchen and get an egg from the refrigerator. Then Mike should break the egg. When Mike does this, Marcus and Estelle also feel the broken egg in his hand. Both are impressed. Mike should wash his hands, Marcus and Estelle feel that too. Marcus decides to let Mike go again to test the range over which the control still works. They ask Mike, who apologizes for the broken egg, to come over. They tell him to go again and forget everything that happened here. Mike obeys the order. He goes back to Nicole's club. Marcus and Estelle feel Mike from this distance too. They get Mike to leave the club with Nicole and take them to the swimming pool. This has already closed, but Mike breaks in and swims with Nicole. Marcus and Estelle feel the water and Mike's swimming movements. Estelle gets too exhausting and tries to get Mike to leave the pool again. But Marcus calms her down. She should concentrate less on Mike, then she will feel it less strongly. Mike and Nicole finally leave. Mike accompanies her to the front door and asks her if he can come upstairs, which Nicole refuses and says goodbye to him. Estelle realizes what they could do with Mike's help. Marcus, however, wants to use his invention for the benefit of all. Estelle first wants to get Mike to make them rich and only then bring the invention to the public, as they have lived in poverty for a long time because Marcus was ridiculed in the media.
The next day, Estelle saw an expensive fur in the window of a shop. She asks Marcus to use Mike to steal the fur for her. After a long discussion, Marcus gives in, but makes it clear that this is the only time they use Mike for criminal activities. Mike is going to Nicole's house. He rings her doorbell and asks if he can come to her. Nicole allows him to come upstairs. However, she has to get ready first. Mike waits so long on her sofa. Meanwhile, Marcus and Estelle order him to steal the fur. He goes to the shop. Nicole is finally done. She is indignant that Mike is no longer there and calls Alan, who is repairing a car with his boss Ron, to tell him what happened. Alan tells Nicole that he will soon be out of work and that he will come to her afterwards to spend the evening with her.
Mike manages to break into the store, which sets off the alarm. He manages to switch off the alarm, but a police officer becomes aware of it. Mike can steal the fur anyway, but he injures his hand. Marcus and Estelle also have the same wound. Mike throws the fur in a garbage can in front of the store and disappears. Marcus tells Estelle that she should wait half an hour before she gets the fur, but she has lost interest in the fur. She raves about the thrill she experienced when the cop came. She wants Marcus to admit that he enjoyed it too. At first he denies it, but finally he admits it. Still, he thinks it's wrong to abuse Mike like that.
Mike goes back to Nicole, completely confused, and asks her to let him in. Nicole, annoyed at first, realizes something is wrong with Mike and lets him in. He explains to her that he doesn't remember anything and doesn't know why he suddenly left. Nicole has compassion for him. She hugs and kisses him. Finally the two sleep together.
Estelle suggests to Marcus that they get Mike to take a ride on the motorcycle so they can experience the feeling of speed. Marcus agrees, whereupon Mike wants to take Nicole for a spin in the country. He steals Alan's motorcycle and drives off with Nicole. When Alan notices the theft, he has to embarrassingly explain to Ron that this was the girl he had dated the day before. Meanwhile, Marcus and Estelle enjoy the rush of speed. Estelle makes Mike drive faster and faster. Nicole gets scared and asks Mike to slow down, which Estelle prevents and makes him drive even faster. Marcus tries to fight Estelle and tells Mike to slow down, but Estelle's will is stronger. Eventually Mike turns across country while the frightened Nicole clings to him. After a while he drives back to Alan, who is beside himself when he sees Nicole crying, and insults Mike. Estelle orders Mike to hit Alan, which he does. Mike and Alan fight. When Ron tries to intervene, he too is injured by Mike. Mike suddenly realizes what he's done and disappears.
Marcus is shocked by Estelle, who has obviously gone mad. He decides to bring Mike back and reverse the experiment. But Estelle does not allow this, because she has recognized that her will is stronger than that of Marcus. She takes the walking stick from Marcus, causing him to fall over. Then she goes into the laboratory and uses the walking stick to destroy the machine. Marcus has to watch helplessly.
Marcus fell asleep in the meantime. Estelle, who is drunk from a few glasses of wine, wakes him up. Marcus thinks he can defeat her now that her will is no longer so strong under the influence of alcohol. In the evening Mike goes to his ex-girlfriend Audrey Woods, after he has been flashed off at Nicole, to tell her about the strange happenings. She wants to help him, but Estelle takes back control of Mike. Marcus can't prevent Estelle from getting Mike to murder Audrey with scissors. Later he goes to the club, where Nicole and Alan are currently. You watch as Mike approaches a singer and goes outside with her. He leads them into a dark alley. Then he orders her to sing. The singer is confused and refuses, whereupon Estelle brings Mike to strangle the singer. Marcus can't prevent that either.
The next day, Nicole and Alan meet in a Jewish bakery. You read in the newspaper that the singer you saw Mike with last night was murdered. When they also read a newspaper article about the murder of Audrey Woods, it is clear to both of them that Mike was the culprit. They decide to go to Mike's house and accuse him of doing the murders. Mike can't remember anything, but Nicole and Alan don't believe him, whereupon Estelle gets Mike to pull a knife and go after them. Nicole escapes and Alan fights Mike. Estelle and Marcus are feeling the pain too, so Estelle gets Mike to steal a car and drive away. Nicole alerted the police. A police car arrives and takes Nicole and Alan to pursue Mike. Marcus remembers the cut on his and Estelle's hand and makes a plan. He makes Mike drive faster and faster. Estelle loses control after being weakened by Alan's beating. Mike eventually drives down a deep slope. Seriously injured, he tries to get out of the car, which is slowly beginning to burn. He fails to get out of the car and burns in agony. Nicole and Alan watch in horror. The last scene shows the cremated corpses of Marcus and Estelle.
background
production
Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat was Michael Reeves' second directorial work in 1967. After he worked in Italy as second unit director for producer Paul Maslansky on the gothic horror film Il Castello dei Morti vivi (1964) with Christopher Lee and then directed La Sorella di Satana (1966) with Barbara Steele , he returned to England back to there Under the spell of Dr. Turning Monserrat .
So far, Reeves had only accepted commissioned work, which is why he wanted to work on the script this time. He bought the rights to John Burke's science fiction story Terror for Kicks and, together with good friend Tom Baker, rewrote it into a script called The Sorcerers .
He was able to engage horror legend Boris Karloff as the main actor , whom he met in Spain and got along so well with him that he offered to play in one of his films. Thanks to Karloff, who only received a fee of £ 11,000, and the simple and original script, which was somewhat reminiscent of Karloff's earlier film The Devil Commands (1941), Tony Tenser explained himself , which was mainly exploitation films such as The Horror on Black Torment (1964 ) or Frankenstein 70 - Das Ungeheuer mit der Feuerklaue (1966) produced and distributed and previously, together with Michael Klinger, helped the young Roman Polanski to make his breakthrough by producing his films Ekel (1964) and When Katlebach Comes (1965) ready the film to produce. While filming Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat Tenser founded the production company Tigon British Film Productions , which became the third leading production company in British horror cinema alongside Hammer Films and Amicus Productions with films such as The Blood Beast (1968) and The Witch of Count Dracula (1968) . Also Patrick Curtis , who was with Raquel Welch at the time , who worked on the costumes in the film, and whom he married on February 14, 1967.
After securing a budget of £ 40,000 (which later became £ 50,000), the search for actors began. The role of Mike was cast, for example, with Michael Reeves school friend Ian Ogilvy, who had previously appeared in several of Reeves' short films and in Revenge of the Blood Beast . Boris Karloff was dissatisfied with his role as Professor Monserrat. In the original draft of the script he was a mad scientist, which Karloff found too one-dimensional and negative, so he had the script rewritten in his favor. He liked the role because it was a change from his latter roles in American films such as Inheritance with Obstacles (1966), which were very stressful for him. Although he often sat in a wheelchair privately, Karloff appeared in the film without it. In his last film, The Witch of Count Dracula , also produced by Tigon British , he was only seen in a wheelchair. Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat symbolizes that the times of the horror film changed in the late 60s, which is later discussed in Moving Targets (1968).
The role of Professor Monserrat's sly wife Estelle was cast with the well-known theater actress Catherine Lacey , who even stole the show from Karloff in some scenes. Ironically, she was more averse to evil roles. Lacey is from films such as her Alfred Hitchcock's A Lady Disappears (1938) and the hammer productions Shadow of a Cat (1960) and The Curse of the Mummy (1966) as a crazy fortune teller.
For the then 16-year-old Susan George , who later became famous with films such as Sam Peckinpah's thriller Who Sows Violence (1971) and the horror film Die Fratze (1972), Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat her second role after Cup Fever (1965). The role of the police inspector was played by Ivor Dean , who was already experienced in such roles, among others in the series Simon Templar with Roger Moore .
Tony Curtis worked as art director , who later worked on many Amicus productions and was temporarily married to the Hammer actress Yutte Stensgaard . Stanley A. Long , who directed several soft erotic films in the 1970s, acted as cameraman. Long's longtime business partner Arnold Louis Miller was executive producer. Michael Reeves' friend Paul Ferris was responsible for the music , who later composed the score for the Tigon films The Witches Hunter (1968) and Night When the Skeleton Wakes Up (1972). It also wrote the nightclub songs Your Love and Sweet Nothing .
Geoffrey Rodway , who mainly worked on the American comedy series Is ja crazy ... was on Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat is responsible for the makeup.
Filming began on January 16, 1967 and lasted a total of six weeks. As early as May 1967, under the spell of Dr. Monserrat shown in Cannes so that the foreign rights could be sold to various distributors.
Theatrical release
The film opened in British cinemas in June 1967. In some regions it was shown as a double feature with Roger Corman's The Mass Murderer of London (1962). Tony Tenser was more than satisfied when the film was booked for three weeks for the posh Carlton Cinema in London's West End, which was remarkable for a low budget production. In Germany, under the spell of Dr. Monserrat was released in cinemas on May 1, 1969 under the distribution Avis film .
Awards
In July 1968, Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat won the Grand Prix at the 6th Festival of Fantastic Films in Trieste . Boris Karloff and Catherine Lacey received special awards for their life's work.
criticism
Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat received mostly positive reviews:
"Relatively exciting, in some ways tasteless horror film."
"Gloomy and, despite the time color, 'modern' city horror"
Frames
German theatrical version
The German theatrical version of Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat was cut by about 2 minutes and was approved by the FSK for people aged 16 and over. The German video cassette also contained this cut version.
Uncut version
On the other hand, the German DVD contains the uncut version with a length of 82 minutes, which also received an FSK-16 approval and was shown for the first time on German free TV on Arte on November 28, 2008 . Both on DVD and on TV, the scenes that were previously missing can only be seen in the original with German subtitles, as they were never dubbed in German.
Publications
The VPS label released the cut version of Im Banne des Dr. Monserrat on VHS . The uncut version was released on DVD by EMS on April 10, 2008.
Web links
- Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat in the online film database
- Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat in the synchronous database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on Patrick Curtis and Raquel Welch on zimbio.com
- ↑ Information on Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat on blogspot.com (English)
- ↑ Booklet of the German DVD from EMS from 2008
- ↑ Booklet of the German DVD from EMS from 2008
- ↑ Booklet of the German DVD from EMS from 2008
- ↑ Under the spell of Dr. Monserrat. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique on cinema.de
- ^ Entry on the German first broadcast of the uncut version in the online film database
- ^ Entry on the German VHS by VPS in the online film database
- ^ Entry on the German DVD by EMS in the online film database