Press Book Collection - Scream and Scream Again (1970)

 

Celluloid Snaps - The Deadly Bees (1967)

Director - FREDDIE FRANCIS

Country - UK

Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Dir: FREDDIE FRANCIS
Country: UK

Like most horror anthologies the Amicus production Tales from the Crypt is a patchy and uneven affair; at times sublime and highly entertaining, at others rushed, predictable, and unsatisfying. This hasn’t stopped it becoming the most immediately recognised of their numerous portmanteau movies, a situation no doubt aided by the films tremendous commercial success. My personal favourite will forever remain The House that Dripped Blood (1971) for its blend of comedy, self-referential satire, effective scares, and the stylish and intelligent direction of Peter Duffell. Duffell clearly impressed Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg for he was offered the job of directing Tales from the Crypt, but he chose to turn it down. So they turned to Freddie Francis, a safe but dull pair of hands, a man capable of churning out serviceable genre movies, but ones almost entirely lacking in inspiration. Fortunately the decision to turn to the gore soaked pages of EC Comics offset this somewhat. Writers such as Johnny Craig, Al Feldstein, and William M. Gaines excelled at creating short sharp morality plays overflowing with poetic irony, black humour, and disreputable characters. EC Comics still had a whiff of scandal attached to them, and one must credit Subotsky for toning down the savagery, without compromising the overall message of each story.

The City of the Dead (1960)

Dir: JOHN LLEWELYN MOXEY
Country: UK

AKA:
Horror Hotel

"Just Ring for Doom Service"

The City of the Dead belongs to a subset in British horror cinema that explores the relationship between the arcane beliefs of witchcraft and the occult and contemporary modernity. Other notable examples include Night of the Demon (1957), Night of the Eagle (1962), Witchcraft (1964), and The Witches (1966). Although The City of the Dead was produced under the banner of Vulcan Productions, in many ways it can be considered the first production of Amicus. Max J. Rosenberg  was an uncredited producer here, with Milton Subotsky taking the role of executive producer as well as contributing the story upon which the screenplay by George Baxt was based. In its own way then The City of the Dead is an historically important film, though you wouldn’t think so thanks to its descent into relative obscurity. This was a situation that was remedied somewhat by the DVD release courtesy of VCI in 2001. What makes the film particularly striking and unusual was the decision by the filmmakers to recreate the town of Whitewood, situated deep in the heart of the Massachusetts countryside, on a soundstage at Nettlefold studios, which was situated deep in the heart of the Surrey countryside in England. This gives the film a unique look, and a slightly surreal vibe, which is heightened significantly by Desmond Dickinson’s lustrous monochrome cinematography.

Torture Garden (1967)

Dir: FREDDIE FRANCIS
Country: UK

After the resounding success of their first portmanteau horror film Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) it was inevitable that Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky would initiate a second. In the meantime Amicus had produced eight single narrative films with varying degrees of success. The commercial high point of this two year period was without a doubt Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 AD (1966). But in terms of creativity Amicus hit a home run with the peculiar contemporary set gothic chiller The Skull (1965). The short story that formed the basis of this distinctive film was written by Robert Bloch, and it was to his short stories that Amicus would turn for their second anthology Torture Garden. This time Subotsky took a back seat with regards to the writing and allowed Bloch the opportunity to adapt his own stories. One of the weaknesses of Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors was the clichéd nature of Subotsky’s screenplay, the stories themselves were highly predictable, but the movie was saved by an ingenious framing narrative. Although Torture Garden has aged very badly (it is easily amongst the weakest of Amicus’ anthologies) the stories themselves do at least possess a certain off kilter originality, and a weirdness and unpredictability that makes them far more intriguing propositions than the desultory generic retread Subotsky had provided two years before.

From Beyond the Grave (1974)

Dir: KEVIN CONNOR
Country: UK

AKA:
Creatures
Creatures from Beyond the Grave
Tales from Beyond the Grave
Tales from the Beyond
The Undead

Amicus Productions’ seventh horror anthology film From Beyond the Grave is one of the better efforts from Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg. This is largely due to an even tone throughout the stories, and a more inspired visual style. Although it doesn’t quite compete with The House that Dripped Blood (1971) and Tales from the Crypt (1972) it is a significant improvement over Amicus’ previous anthology film The Vault of Horror (1973), which was a tired and perfunctory affair that didn’t do justice to the EC comics source material. Instead Subotsky turned to the chillingly well crafted short stories of R. Chetwynd Hayes and by and large Raymond Christodoulou and Robin Clarke’s screenplay does justice to the tales. This is probably one of the most fondly remembered of Amicus’ anthologies due to the memorable framing narrative. The cadaverous Peter Cushing plays the doddery proprietor of an antiques store called Temptations Ltd. Within its dank and dusty interior Cushing busies himself at his vast collection of object d’art, disappearing and reappearing with unnerving and eerie regularity. For each customer that enters the shop and makes the bell above the door chime, the proprietor seems to have exactly the item they desire. Their fate rests upon their decision to acquire the item with honesty and openness or deception and lies.

The Vault of Horror (1973)

Dir: ROY WARD BAKER
Country: UK/USA

After the commercial success of Tales from the Crypt (1972) there was a certain inevitability about Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg’s decision to once again return to the black humour and irony of EC Comics’ gore soaked pages. The stories of Al Feldstein and William M. Gaines were particularly suited to Amicus’ method of production, even if Amicus were never able to fully realise the viscera. Unfortunately The Vault of Horror is too light and inconsequential a follow up to Tales from the Crypt, and in all honesty is probably the companies weakest anthology. In the space of just a year what seemed exciting and interesting had degenerated into tiredness and datedness. The names on the marquee which included Tom Baker, Terry Thomas, Daniel Massey, Curt Jurgens, and Edward Judd represent the weakest casting to date for an Amicus anthology. Though scraping below the surface we do get dependable turns from Denholm Elliot, Anna Massey, Glynis Johns and Dawn Addams. The film opens with a series of establishing shots of Westminster, The Thames, and The Houses of Parliament as if too emphasis the films British credentials.. The only surprise in the film is that the ‘Vault’ itself is situated in the sub-basement of a non-descript tower block. Once our exclusively male incumbents have seated themselves they began to tell each other about the recurring dreams they have been experiencing. The only successful aspect of this extremely weak bridging narrative is the occasional inspirational shot from Roy Ward Baker.

The Amicus Productions Poster Gallery

I thought I would do something a little different and present for your viewing pleasure a guide to the film productions of Amicus in poster form. I imagine the majority of my regular readers are familiar with the output of this Anglo-American independent producer. But for those who arent Amicus was formed by writer/producer Milton Subotksy and resourceful producer Max J. Rosenberg. After a few early attempts at success such as Rock Rock Rock! (1956) under the name Vanguard Productions and The City of the Dead (1960 - aka Horror Hotel) under the name Vulcan Productions the duo emerged in the 1960's as Amicus and soon found their niche: low budget horror and science-fiction films made in Britain. They particularly excelled at the portmanteau or anthology film format, and in the 1960's were serious contenders to the throne which Hammer sat upon.

It's Trad, Dad! (1962 - aka Ring-a-Ding Rhythm!) - Dir Richard Lester

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I, Monster (1971)

Dir: STEPHEN WEEKS
Country: UK

The chilling and legendary gothic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1886, has proven to be a particularly durable narrative for cinema and television to mine. Unfortunately the commercial imperatives of the marketplace, not to mention the conventions of narrative cinema, have often compromised its translation from page to screen. Perhaps most prominent in cinematic versions is the need too include a romantic sub-plot. The original novella is remarkable for its total lack of female characters. The second notable alteration is the need too include a special effects driven sequence illustrating the transformation Jekyll experiences when he morphs into the wicked Mr. Hyde. This aspect of the adaptation has taken on a prominence in the narrative that far outweighs its importance. For their 1971 take on Stevenson’s tale Amicus Productions, with a screenplay by co-founder Milton Subotsky, bravely removed the romantic underpinnings of past versions, and in a further act of bravery or perhaps desperation, gave the directing duties to young newcomer Stephen Weeks.

The House that Dripped Blood (1971)

Dir: PETER DUFFELL
Country: UK

Despite being hamstrung by one of Max J. Rosenberg’s silliest and most inappropriate titles (the director Peter Duffell wanted the far superior Death and the Maiden) The House that Dripped Blood is easily one of the finest, if not the finest, anthology horror film too emerge from Amicus Productions. Brilliant casting, excellent writing, and most importantly, unusually good direction give these simple morality tales an impressive veneer that Amicus only reached on a few exceptional occassions. If the film does have a weakness then it lies in the rather feeble and half-hearted framing narrative. This sees Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) from Scotland Yard investigating (this involves sitting around, drinking tea, and being told creepy stories!) the recent disappearance of actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee). The estate agent, who is named A. J. Stoker (John Bryans) in one of numerous self reflexive touches, expresses dire warnings, but they ultimately go on deaf ears as the film reaches a somewhat predictable climax.

The Beast Must Die (1974)

Dir: PAUL ANNETT
Country: UK

aka:
Black Werewolf

This utterly daft, but oddly endearing low budget horror flick saw Amicus Productions once again attempting (unsuccessfully) to conquer the single narrative feature film. As a story this is a complete nonsense but The Beast Must Die has the peculiar charm and characteristics of the cult film. An almost indefinable appeal, but one which has nevertheless seen this film remembered fondly. At the time it was heavily criticised for its gimmick of having a ‘werewolf break’ to allow the audience to decide which of Tom Newcliffe’s (Calvin Lockhart) guests is in fact a ravening lycanthrope. But this is precisely the type of detail which now aids a cult reading of the film. Furthermore the film has a large amount of generic hybridisation - melding as it does the horror elements of the werewolf sub-genre, thriller elements, the red herring structure of an Agatha Christie whodunit and various blaxploitation signifiers. Shot largely on location in the Surrey countryside surrounding Shepperton Studios the film makes use of some great rural countryside, especially in the sequences which open the film.

Madhouse (1974)

Dir: JIM CLARK
Country: UK

aka:
The Madhouse of Dr. Fear
The Revenge of Dr. Death

This joint venture between American International Pictures and Amicus Productions is based upon the novel Devilday by Angus Hall. Despite a promising and intriguing premise this amounts to little more than a tired and jaded trawl through the greatest hits of Vincent Price. There are numerous opportunities for some self-reflexive fun and pastiche, but director Jim Clark and his collaborators don’t quite have the guts to push the film in the direction of the spoof territory where it may have succeeded. Price plays the character of Paul Toombes a faded has-been of a Hollywood star who achieved notoriety and success in the past with a series of horror films in which he played the sinister psychopath Dr. Death. The film opens with a glitzy, vulgar and camp Hollywood party in honour of Toombes’ latest marriage. Sadly the decapitation of his new love sours the mood somewhat (though its the typically tawdry Amicus décor that had me retching in horror) and Toombes suffers a complete breakdown jabbering incoherently that Dr. Death was responsible. Years later Toombes accepts an invite from an English television producer to resurrect Dr. Death for the small screen - only for his insecurities , mental anguish, and past to return to haunt him.

The Monster Club (1980)

Dir: ROY WARD BAKER

Country: UK

From a critical point of view The Monster Club represents the nadir of the British horror anthology film. This is a tradition in British horror which stretches back to the post war chills of Ealing Studios Dead of Night (1945) and was brought to longer lasting popularity by the Anglo-American production outfit Amicus. By 1980 the Amicus leadership had gone their separate ways and under the guidance of Milton Subotsky Amicus stuttered fitfully to this final swansong. The writing had been on the wall for the anthology horror film after the critical and commercial shortcomings of Subotsky’s feline themed bore The Uncanny (1977). Subotsky either chose too ignore this failure or was completely oblivious to an international market that had turned away from the quaint offerings that Amicus were now known for.

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

Dir: FREDDIE FRANCIS
Country: UK

The beautifully titled Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors holds a prominent place in British horror history for being the first anthology film produced by Amicus Productions - an Anglo-American production house led by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. For a while the blueprint of the portmanteau format, big name ensemble casts, and inspirational low budget filmmaking heralded a commercial rivalry with Hammer. But one that ultimately tailed off in the mid 1970’s as American investment was pulled out of British productions resulting in floundering fortunes for both. Screenwriter Subotsky took as his model the creepy and atmospheric Ealing Studios film Dead of Night (1945). This film utilised the anthology form in order to explore themes of time and memory in post war Britain, and created much final resonance with a bridging story that added to the sense of alienation, dislocation and loss. Subotsky’s effort puts aside any intellectual dimension in favour of presenting five sub-generic horror staples in service of a fun and mildly creepy exercise in genre.