Lo spettro (1963) Online

Set in Scotland in the early 1900's, this very welcome sort-of-sequel to THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK (1962) concerns the sickly, wheelchair-bound Dr. John Hichcock (Elio Jotta), whose death is hurried along by his beautiful younger wife Margaret (Barbara Steele) and her handsome doctor/lover (Peter Baldwin), in whose care Dr. H had unwisely entrusted. They poison him and then can't seem to find the fortune that should have been stashed in his safe. While they search the grounds, under the watchful eye of the loyal housekeeper (Harriet White Medin), hubby's ghost seemingly returns to settle the score, driving the two of them to paranoia, madness and murder.

The routine storyline is given a boost by solid direction, atmospheric photography and, especially, a good cast. Though the dubbing is a bit sketchy at times, this is a must for Barbara Steele fans. She's impressively evil in her role and gets a lot of screen time. The twist ending is great and is worth waiting for, as well.

Score: 6 out of 10

This film perhaps holds up better than the first Dr. Hitchcock film and can be seen with or without that film. It stands on its own. A good film for people to be introduced to director Freda's work with. It gets better with repeated viewings and the music score is very good. This is not, just as none of his films are, a supernatural movie. So just know that going in. The film still has a good Gothic feel to it. Sadly there is no really good DVD release version of the film. There is a key and very graphic murder scene that is either cut down or cut completely out of several versions available. Without that being intact the impact of the later part of the film is really reduced. Think about Psycho if you basically cut out the shower scene. Not that this is in Psycho's league but this scene I'm talking about really makes this film work. It would be nice if Freda's films got a box set release of proper versions of his film. He started Mario Bava's career and Argento says Freda had more of an influence on him than Bava was. For now you have to really look hard and watch pretty lousy versions of his films to try to discover him as a director. It's worth the effort but would be nice for him to get some decent releases.

I recently watched this film, which was part of a 10 pack horror collection that was put out by Brentwood. Unfortunately the source print for this dvd was a print that was in terrible condition, and barely watchable.

The first thing that struck me about this film was the music. Even during the opening credits I was watching the credits carefully to see who the composer was, half expecting it to be Ennio Morricone, (which it wasn't). If the music wasn't enough to hook me completely, seeing Barbara Steele on the screen, whom I immediately recalled from "Black Sabbath" definitely made me want to continue watching this film, bad print and all.

The setting of this film is a gloomy Scottish mansion, around the turn of the century. The young wife (Steele) of the creepy, crippled and rich Dr. Hitchcock, conspires with her handsome lover, to murder her husband. Her lover happens to be her husbands physician who is treating him by administering a lethal poison which is immediately followed with the antidote. Needless to say they decide not to administer the second part of the treatment one day and are able to fulfill their burning desire to be together, happy ,rich and rid of the husband. Unfortunately for them, things don't quite work out so well, and things begin to unravel during a succession of supernatural events that take place after the murder.

While this is a fairly predictable plot of greedy people being punished from beyond the grave, the director manages to create a suspenseful and atmospheric film, with some occasional well placed shockers. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would love to see an uncut well preserved print of it.

The Ghost was shot back to back with the excellent 'The Terror of Dr Hichcock' and builds on the former film's sense of claustrophobia and intensity. Exterior shots are kept to a bare minimum and the film dwells on the shadowy corners of the house.

Barbara Steele reprises her role as Cynthia, wife to Dr Hichcock and the housekeeper (Harriet White) also appears in both films. However, there are a number of character changes which deny complete consistency with Freda's earlier effort. For a start, there is no reference to Hichcocks perversity and he is seen more as a bitter cripple. Cynthia has also changed from the innocent in the earlier film to a scheming mature women in The Ghost.

Barbara Steele has often been used to embody both good and evil in film (Night of the Doomed, An angel for satan etc). Freda seems to have done this also, but over the course of the two films, perhaps seeing them as companion pieces.

One final point, whilst 'The Terror of Dr Hichcock' was released on a major video label in the UK, 'The Ghost' wasn't. As a result the only print I have seen is somewhat poorly transfered and probably doesn't do Freda's direction any favours.

In any case, this is an interesting piece of work and should be seen if you have any interest in Freda or Barbara Steele.

I remember getting my drivers' license. It allowed me to travel to towns a few miles from mine and see movies (only one was shown at a time in those days) at small local theaters. In the sixties we had Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Sebastian Cabot, and others entertaining us with lightweight, scary little films. Many were based loosely on the works of Poe. Though I never saw this until a few minutes ago, it fits in with that genre. It has wonderful atmosphere. The heroine is not blameless, but has a case for murdering the old meany. Of course, she's going to pay a price, as is her doctor lover, when the old guy comes back to haunt her. There's a little Rebecca and Gaslight here, but it all works nicely to a satisfying conclusion. He who laughs last, of course. The performances are good and the atmosphere of the castle and its bleak goings on is a lot of fun. There is an intensity at work here that build, till people become paranoid and suspicious. See this. It's not a bad ghost story.

This highly-regarded example of the Italian Gothic Horror style had eluded me until now; even so, having caught up with it at long last, I still wasn't done with the 'Curse Of THE GHOST': the Retromedia DVD proved faulty, with a glitch around the one-hour mark (where the image skipped and the audio dropped out) and then experienced complete freezing after 88 minutes - so much so that I had to finish the film off on another player! This was after a public domain copy I rented from Hollywood when I was there in late 2005 (which, on a hunch, I decided to check before watching) reverted to the Main Menu midway through the climax!!

Anyway, the film itself is undeniably a highlight of the genre and one of Freda's best (which he made in just 12 days): a follow-up, not a sequel, to his previous collaboration with star Barbara Steele - THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK (1962) - despite the re-use of that notorious character's surname. In the earlier film, too, Steele had been overshadowed by a delightfully manic turn from Robert Flemyng but, here, she lives up to her iconic status as the Queen Of Gothic Horror: few actresses have managed to replicate her sensual mix of wickedness and vulnerability; as for the actor playing Hichcock this time around, who looks a bit like Howard Vernon, he's not too bad - if no match, ultimately, for Flemyng.

Like I said with respect to Hammer's FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972), the plot twists aren't very original - but they make for a great ride regardless; besides, one could just soak in the colorful visuals (even if the print involved features a lot of wear and tear!). Incidentally, the film is rather gory for its time (witness the 'ghost' exhibiting its decaying flesh and the brutal razor murder, with its wonderful device of having blood dripping across the camera lens to simulate the victim's POV), but the lush score (actually a collection of compositions by Francesco De Masi, Franco Mannino and Roman Vlad - billed under one Americanized name, Franck Wallace!) and a reasonable quota of chills (the creepy scenes where the doctor speaks through his faithful and vaguely sinister housekeeper - played by the ubiquitous Harriet White Medin - who, conveniently, doubles as a medium and the various 'apparitions' - wheelchair stumbling down the stairs, dangling corpse) are certainly par for the course...as is, after all, the film's decidedly languid pace.

The deftly ironic climax is very effective - as a self-satisfied Hichcock expounds on his clever machinations while the immobilized Steele looks horridly on, fully knowing that she'll be blamed for the housekeeper's death and, worse still, that she killed her lover for no reason (i.e. he didn't betray her by stealing the jewels, as she had mistakenly assumed, and these were now once more in Hichcock's hands). The English dubbing isn't too bad considering; however, given the story's Scottish setting, it's odd that only one voice actor would deem it fit to attempt a pertinent accent (i.e. the solicitor who reads Dr. Hichcock's will) - which then causes it to seem unintentionally amusing alongside the less heavy inflections of his fellow dubbing artists!

While Freda is often accused of being indifferent to his films (which he often did purely so as to recoup his gambling losses!), he was undoubtedly a pioneer: not only making the first Italian horror effort, but his masterful use of color in the Dr. Hichcock pictures certainly pushed the genre into that corner - after a solitary stab at it by Giorgio Ferroni in MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN (1960) - as few gothics were shot in black-and-white thereafter (notably three films featuring Steele herself, namely CASTLE OF BLOOD [1964], THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH [1964] and NIGHTMARE CASTLE aka THE FACELESS MONSTER [1965]); certainly, Freda's protégé Mario Bava followed his example...and gradually took over the genre!

Riccardo Freda, an Italian director of skill who directed many Sword and Sandal films of the 60's as well as horror greats like I Vampiri, does a very serviceable job directing this thoughtful, mood-laden sequel of sorts to his earlier effort The Horrible Doctor Hitchcok. One does not need to have seen that earlier effort to follow what goes on here as they are really entities unto themselves with the same characters just going through different circumstances and having different motivations. In this film Dr. Hitchcock(living in Scotland - very implausible given the Mediterranean looks of most of the cast) is bound in a wheelchair and has nothing but sickly pity for himself as he wishes to die. Helping him remain alive is a local doctor giving him some sort of concoction to live and, of course, no love triangle would be complete without the love object of the other two sides - sultry, hypnotic breathless Barbara Steele - the 60's queen of the horror film - particularly the Gothic horror film. Steele is not a great actress by any stretch. She is lovely to look at and has the most impressive pair of - yes, I know where I could go here but really I intended to say eyes the entire time. Freda creates a slowly building tension between the central characters and the story is nothing exceptional in terms of creativity. You have seen this story before in various adaptations. Freda does; however, have a flair with the camera lens, and I was really surprised at how well he, the actors, and the story all combined to make an interesting film experience. The rest of the cast is all serviceable with Elio Jotta as Dr. Hitchcock being particularly effective and Harriet Medin(who was in the previous Hitchcock film also as a maid) doing a nice, creepy job as Catherine the housemaid. There are some very powerfully shot scenes: the tomb scene is genuinely eerie and the final denouement is quite good. Loads of atmosphere make this one of the best of its kind.

Official/unofficial sequel to "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock" with the captivating Barbara Steele now playing the doctor's wife Margaret instead of Cynthia and Elio Jotta taking in the role of Dr. Hichcock himself. Titled simply "The Ghost" on my DVD collection the Dr. is now confined to a wheelchair and is administered small doses of a poison in order to dilute whatever is ailing him. Assisting him in his matters of health is the handsome Dr. Charles Livingstone who also is having an affair with Margaret. Late one night after a séance Margaret confides in Charles that she cannot take being around him anymore and that maybe he can administer a deadly dose of the poison to her husband in order for her to claim his inheritance and live together in the Gothic Scottish castle as the lovers they were meant to be. When Dr. Livingstone agrees and murders Dr. Hichcock the castle becomes haunted by the corpse with ghastly reminders of the dastardly deed. Complicating things even more is Dr. Hichcock's faithful housekeeper Catherine who seems to keep an attentive eye on Margaret and Charles' suspicious actions. When the Hichcock fortune turns up missing Margaret begins to wonder if her husband's ghost has hidden it or perhaps her beau hasn't been as truthful as she thinks he is. Dr. Livingstone I presume? Maybe.

Not much that hasn't been done before here though it is a pretty decent effort with a rather graphic scene for a movie made in the early sixties. Without a doubt this movie was augmented greatly by the performance of the large-eyed "Queen of Gothic Horror" Barbara Steele. Her portrayal of a wife with so much disgust for her crippled husband which is trumped only by her greed is powerfully done. The climax actually proves that Margaret and Dr. Hichcock were cut from the same cloth concerning the lack of morality and how they treat others to gain what they think should be theirs. Can become a little plodding during the 95 minute running time though the ending will keep you glued to the screen. The print of "The Ghost" unfortunately was taken from a degraded copy as some of the scenes jump from frame to frame which gets rather annoying from time to time. The dubbing at times are suspect as well. Funny how the setting was supposed to be in Scotland yet only one person spoke with a Scottish brogue and rather poorly at that. Not the greatest work I've seen from the Gothic horror genre though I believe fans of Barbara Steele would enjoy this.

Riccardo Freda's "Lo Spettro" aka. "The Ghost" of 1963 is yet another delightfully uncanny Italian Gothic Horror film starring the wonderful Barbara Steele (my favorite actress), and while it cannot possibly compare to the absolute highlights in Steele's career, such as Mario Bava's masterpiece "La Maschera Del Demonio" ("Black Sunday", 1960), Roger Corman's "Pit and the Pendulum" (1961, also starring the great Vincent Price) or Antonio Margheriti's "Danza Macabra" ("Castle of Blood", 1964), this is another mesmerizing experience that no lover of Gothic greatness can afford to miss. "Lo Spettro" is a sequel to Freda's earlier Gothic Horror film, "L'Orribile Segreto Del Dr. Hichcock" ("The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock", 1962; they obviously left out a "t" in order to avoid legal difficulties), also starring Steele, which I haven't yet seen. Her character is named 'Margaret' in this film whereas the name was 'Cynthia' in "Dr. Hichcock. This film doesn't require having seen "Dr. Hichcock" , however.

Scotland, 1910: The brilliant, but critically ill, wheelchair-bound Dr. Hichcock (Elio Jotta), who needs to take lots of medications against his mysterious disease, is working on a serum to cure paralysis. His beautiful young wife Margaret (Barbara Steele) is having an affair with his assistant/colleague Dr. Livingstone (Peter Baldwin), however, and the two do not intend to wait for the old Doctor to pass away by natural reasons. Shortly after his funeral, creepy things begin to happen in the uncanny mansion...

As mentioned above, the ravishing Barbara Steele, is my favorite actress, and she is once again great here. In my humble opinion, no other actress was ever capable of blending incomparable beauty with a genius for the uncanny as it is the case with this unchallenged Goddess of Gothic Horror, and no other actress ever will. Under the solid direction of Riccardo Freda, Miss Steele plays yet another typical role with typical greatness. As the credited director of the first (post-WW2) Italian Horror film, "I Vampiri" of 1957, Freda deserves praise as one of the pioneers of Italian Horror, though it must be said that it was actually the great Mario Bava (my choice for the greatest Horror director of all-time) who completed that gem and who is arguably responsible for its greatness. Besides our beloved Barbara, the rest of the cast is also very good, especially Elio Jotta is great as the sinister Dr. Hichcock. William Baldwin is good enough as Dr. Livingstone, as is Harriet Medin as the housekeeper, and the cast furthermore includes Umberto Raho, whom Italian Horror fans might recognize as a regular supporting actor in many films (including Margheriti's "Castle of Blood", Bava's "Baron Blood" and Ubaldo Ragona's "The Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price).

The film is almost entirely set inside Dr. Hichcocks eerie, castle-like mansion, which is a terrific setting for old-fashioned Goth-Horror indeed. Franco Mannino's score, which mainly consists of an eerily beautiful theme that is replayed throughout the film, greatly increases the film's rich atmosphere. Overall, "Lo Spettro" is not one of the greatest films in Barbara Steele's filmography, but it still is a very good and creepy Gothic Horror film that none of her fans could possibly afford to miss. Barbara Steele is once again stunningly beautiful, and brilliantly sinister - I simply cannot find enough words to adequately praise this wonderful lady. Barbara, we worship you!

As you might expect, this film is really quite similar to Riccardo Freda's earlier horror flick "The Terror of Dr Hitchcock", although for my money; I'd say this one is slightly better. The two films share a director and a lead actress in common, as well as a lead character name. This film firmly fits into the 'Gothic' side of Italian cinema, which Steele often starred in, and Freda makes excellent use of this style with some real standout cinematography. It became clear that Riccardo Freda was, in fact, a hack; as it turned out that the great Mario Bava did most of the work on a lot of his films, and his later stuff - Tragic Ceremony and The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire to name a couple - was a million miles away from being brilliant. This film would appear to be Freda at his best, therefore, and it's actually not bad. The plot centres on Dr. John Hitchcock; a cripple who wants to die. His wife is, naturally, having an affair with her husband's doctor, and pretty soon the two of them conspire to murder Dr Hitchcock for his money. However, they didn't bargain for him haunting them after his death...

The film's title suggests that it's a ghost story, but I would say that The Ghost is more of a mystery chiller. There's not a great deal of real bona fide horror, and to be honest; I felt the film was a little too talky and would have proffered it to be a bit more visceral. The film's main draw is, obviously, Barbara Steele and the 'Queen of Horror' looks great throughout the film. The decor and set design is great too, and these allow Freda to build an oppressive and macabre atmosphere, which benefits the plot line quite well. The main problem with the film is the fact that a lot of it feels really amateurish. The dubbing is atrocious (even more so than usual) and some of the things the characters say are ridiculous. Whether or not that's down to the translation, I don't know. The climax is the best part of the film for me. Of course, it's not a completely sense-making ending and there are a few holes left; but it's a nice twist at least, and it does justify the shortfalls of some of the rest of the movie. Overall, I won't go as far as to say that The Ghost is a horror classic; but it's good entertainment, and fans of Gothic horror will enjoy it.

Barbara Steele is great as the conniving wife of Dr. Hitchcock in this, Freda's sequel to The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock. She conspires with Dr. Hitchcock's physician (who is also her lover) to do away with her old, sick and wealthy husband, which leads to the old revenge-from-beyond-the-grave storyline. While clichéd and (mostly) predictable, this film remains a must-see for fans of atmospheric horror and, in particular, Italian horror films of the 1960's. Riccardo Freda's excellent work combining lighting, sound and camera movement creates an eerie and foreboding atmosphere which overcomes the films weaknesses and gives healthy punctuation to the films shocks. This movie is well worth tracking down, and is certainly deserving of wider recognition than it has thus far received.

Ah, another Italian Gothic horror film starring the unearthly beautiful Barbara Steele! They always receive my full attention & appreciation! Apparently, this is some kind of sequel/spin-off to "The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock" that got released one year before and also starred stunning Barbara. The good news is that you absolutely don't require seeing that one in order to follow this story. Both movies simply revolve on the same pivot character, namely the uncanny Dr. Hitchcock, played in this movie by Elio Jotta. He's rich and arrogant, but bound to a wheelchair and forced to take a lot of medication to keep his bizarre disease under control. His much younger wife Margaret and her lover, Dr. Livingstone, plan to kill him quicker so that they can carelessly search the mansion for hidden fortunes. Shortly after the funeral, however, the greedy young couple becomes plagued by all kind of mysterious occurrences! It's Goth-horror, so you pretty much know what to expect. Wheelchairs falling down a flight of stairs, music boxes that start to play unsettling tunes all by themselves, strange noises coming from the family vault, etc…It looks like Dr. Hitchcock, or at least his vengeful spirit, has returned from the grave to prevent his unfaithful wife from inheriting his money. Ricardo Freda ("The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire") maintains a tense and ominous atmosphere throughout the entire film and the decors are effectively sinister. Particularly the tomb underneath the large mansion is quite an eerie place! The story's climax, albeit a bit implausible, is great horror material and will be appreciated by Italian horror fanatics, I'm sure. Barbara Steele's beauty and charisma simply can't be described and I'd recommend this movie, as well as everything else she ever starred in, if it were only to stare at her face for 95 minutes.

This is one of the best Italian Gothic horror movies of the 1960s. A crippled doctor is murdered by his wife and her lover and seems to haunt them. The haunting triggers, or rather bring to surface, the greed and distrust in the ex-wife, played perfectly by Barbara Steele. The haunting scenes are competently crafted and there is a surprisingly violent and gory scene as well. The finale is reminiscent of Poe. Unfortunately, the transfer on the available DVD (a double bill with the German thriller DEAD EYES OF London, in line with the movie's original double bill in its US theatrical release) is not as pristine-looking as one wishes it was. The picture quality on the said DVD is OK, but not as pristine as the movie deserves. I read that the French DVD was no better.

Succulent typecast Gothic horror with campy melodramatics bestowing sly twists and turns at the back end and the stunning beauty and capability of actress Barbara Steele. What starts off creaky, forms into a strong and gripping story of betrayal, greed, secret love and possible madness? Where we find the slow-boil situations manipulated and the hysterical nature breaks free with some effective shivers and thrills. The best thing is watching Steele's character's restless transformation, as is she cracking under the pressure by seeing her dead husband (who she plotted to murder) or is there scheming going on by her doctor lover (a decent Peter Baldwin) or is someone plotting against the both of them. The straight-laced script perfectly dissects and hides the feverish mystery with an excellent bittersweet conclusion. Riccardo Fredo's direction is pedestrian, outside some camera framing (like a death scene where the blood sprays the screen) and the dank, but haunting mansion. Ellia Jotta is exemplary as Dr. John Hitchcock and Harriet Medin is good too. Contrived, but agreeable ghost story.

I'd read that THE GHOST (English title for Lo Spettro) was a sequel to THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK. It has the same character names - in some cases but in almost every case, the character from HICHCOCK is either played by someone different from the first movie or has a slightly different name than they had in the first movie. I honestly don't see how you can call it a sequel because it seems to have no direct connection to HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK other than a couple of actors returning from the first movie. However, I am getting away from the point, which is that you do not have to see the first movie to enjoy THE GHOST. I've now seen both and they can stand alone as films. I am only speculating but I suspect it may have originated as a sequel to HICHCOCK (both were filmed back to back over a span of 12 days if I am not mistaken) or maybe someone tried to make it a sequel to HICHCOCK during the dubbing. Who knows? Having seen both films, I personally like THE GHOST much better than HICHCOCK. Both are very pretty to look at with great cinematography and awesome sets. I think THE GHOST is a better told story and moves at a swifter pace I think. I'd not really tried very hard to track down THE GHOST after seeing HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK. HICHCOCK suffers from the fact that director Riccardo Freda got behind schedule and removed 10 pages from the script in order to stay on schedule. The American distributor removed another 10 minutes from the finished film and that kind of renders the final film very difficult to understand. In fact, I didn't really understand it until I read a long analysis of HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK on a fan site which basically explained what the film did not. In contrast to HICHCOCK, THE GHOST was apparently filmed as written. I was lucky enough to be able to see what appears to be an intact copy of the film complete with a murder sequence that must have seemed pretty graphic to viewers in 1963. It seemed graphic to me in 2010. One review of this film called it "almost bloodless" so I assume the film was heavily cut, for theatres as well as television. The copy I saw had a scene so bloody, I was shocked to find it in a film released in 1963, but then again, maybe people then didn't see the same film I saw recently. With Freda and probably most of the crew long dead, I guess we may never know if these cuts were only for the English releases or if they were inflicted on the Italian copy as well. If you are wondering why I praise the film so much, here are a few reasons. For starters, the story is excellent. The actors are dubbed so it's hard to judge their performances but the characters are pretty well drawn for a dubbed foreign film and all the production credits like music score, make-up, special effects, sets, cinematography are all top drawer. Like most Italian horror films from the 1960s, it starts off a little slow but give it a chance. If you manage to see an uncut print like I did, you will be very satisfied with the twists and turns that come fast and furious. I honestly got caught off guard by this movie. I may be dense but I didn't see some of the things in this film coming ahead of time, and I've watched horror movies all my life. Director Riccardo Freda proves he was definitely a better than average talent when he had the schedule, the script and the right actors. All the stars aligned for this one. I think it's Freda's masterpiece...easily his best horror film (I've seen this, HICHCOCK and TRAGIC CEREMONY). It's a shame that the credits call him "Robert Hampton." He should have had his real name on this since I think it's a movie he would be proud of.

Now, here is the only thing I do not understand about THE GHOST and that is why this film is not commercially available in it's uncut form. There are budget DVDs of it out there usually featuring a transfer from some old battered 16mm TV print and most of those are cut. THE GHOST is now one of my all-time favourite examples of the golden age of Italian horror films and ranks right up there with the best works from Mario Bava and Antonio Margheriti. I can only conclude this is another sad case of being unable to locate the original negative or not being able to find a usable and uncut copy of the film. THE GHOST is one of the most entertaining and satisfying examples of Gothic Italian motion picture horror and does not deserve it's relative obscurity. I'm just glad I waited until I could see an uncut print of it. It's not in the best condition but at least it is complete. Don't miss this one. THE GHOST is well worth whatever trouble you have to go to in order to see it. Hopefully someone will give it a pristine and restored release to DVD or Blu-Ray. Someday it will be recognized for the fine film that it is.

An adulterous wife (Barbara Steele) impatiently awaits the demise of her moribund husband to inherit his wealth and mansion. Her dalliance with his personal doctor, virtually in plain sight, eventually tempt them both to bring about his premature death. Unfortunately, things soon start going bump in the night and their now public relationship rather quickly disintegrates as they become consumed by greed, guilt and suspicion. The whole sorry affair is ended abruptly by another murder and the inevitable plot-twist this genre seems to demand.

Although I respect Freda and his pioneering greatness for Italian horror cinema, I found this rather poor quality suspense film pretty slow and predictable. The story is so transparent, I had worked out all the plot details within the first 15 minutes! Visually, the film is very interesting though. There are some very creative shots which help in creating a moody, Gothic atmosphere.

The cast are capable enough, with particular mention to the husband's lawyer. But it is Barbara Steele who is the big name here; her at once vulnerable beauty and femme fatale guile give her such charisma, her on- screen presence lend as much to her performance as any of her acting skills do. However, in this film, I felt she could have did better in that department.

This murder mystery blends in to many of the others of the day and has nothing to offer of considerable value that makes it stand out from the rest. Not that it is a bad film though, rather it is a tame and vaguely entertaining piece which will do nothing more than amuse for 90 odd minutes.

Oh that sultry but sometimes evil looking Barbara Steele....beautiful in a very untraditional way that sadly got her typecast as evil Gothic females out for revenge. In the series of Italian made horror films she appeared in during the 1960's, she didn't even get to dub her own voice in English in spite of being from England! So once you get past that sad fact (and how the voices don't always mesh up with the actors onscreen), you can enjoy this Gothic thriller that shows a versatile Steele playing the troubled wife of Dr. Hitchcock (Elio Jotta), perhaps a relative of "the Horrible Dr. Hitchcock" (a film of the previous year also featuring Ms. Steele), in love with her husband's doctor (Peter Baldwin), yet standing by her crippled husband until she can't take it anymore. Shown stopping him from committing suicide, it is soon apparent that Steele regrets that, and she seduces lover Baldwin into injecting Jotta with his own poison that made him a cripple, with Jotta having earlier revealed that too much of that serum would cause a painful death. The very Mrs. Danvers like housekeeper (Harriet Medin) keeps a close watch on both Steele and Baldwin, and local ministers warn Steele of the rumors going around concerning her and the good doctor. Mistrust develops between the two lovers which results in some violent twists and a shocking revelation towards the end that concludes with some delicious irony.

If you remain patient with the bad dubbing and slow moving action during the exposition scenes, you will soon be drawn in to the secrets going on in the haunted halls of another horrible Dr. Hitchcock. None of the characters are particularly noble, all having motivations that seem suspect, and when the lovers begin to seemingly turn against each other, it takes some interesting bloody turns. Steele isn't completely cold blooded. She is haunted by the sounds of her husband's music box, and this leads her guilt to slowly eat away at her, eventually sending her on the road to madness. Steele doesn't always need her voice to act; She can reveal so much with those "steely" eyes. Little bits and pieces of detail indicate that Steele once did love her husband, but his own obsession with his experiments became his undoing, leading her to look for comfort elsewhere. Baldwin is suave and cool, a master of quiet coolness that leads Steele to conclude that he is out to betray her. Medin is not only a Mrs. Danvers type character; In her cool manner and tightly cropped hair and outfits, she could also be compared to "Downton Abbey's" sinister O'Brien, even though her character isn't nearly as malevolent as either Danvers or O'Brien. The twists at the end keep coming at you as if the emotions were in 3-D, and this makes for a hysterical conclusion that may have you laughing at the irony in delight.

One lonely old frail crippled of a man. Two deceitful murderers, seeking the old man's treasure..... The ghost, is one of the best classic horror films I have see. The story plays out in a style similar to one masterfully written by Edgar Allan Poe. It keeps you guessing, building on the suspense; until that final moment when the ghost is revealed, and the devil has his day.

The talent, should be seen as an all star cast. The acting is that good. The story, draws the viewer in rather quickly; and keeps you entertained until the end. From the opening, and throughout the movie, the background score works well with the scenes, and the originality of the story, is unlike anything that has been filmed today.

This film, definitely feels like classic horror, and would appeal to audiences of classical film, and of modern horror fans today.

This movie proves that old classic movies are not just old movies, to many; these movies are new films that have yet to be seen.

In 1910 Scotland where Scottish accents are rare, Dr. John Hitchcock (Elio Jotta) is confined to a wheel chair and has a favorite pastime of holding seances with his long time house keeper Catherine Wood (Harriet Medin). His wife Margaret (Barbara Steele) has been having an affair with John's doctor Charles Livingstone (Peter Baldwin) and John knows it. The film is so old, it isn't difficult to figure out the simple plot and twist, one that has been duplicated.

I my copy I found the film quality to be better than the grainy sound quality. The dubbing was okay if you didn't mind the sound not coming close to lip movement. Early scream queen Barbara Steele's films can be found on numerous multi-packs.

I am not sure what kind of poison one can inject into the blood stream, and then drink something moments before death and then be fine. Don't try that at home.

The Ghost (1963)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Italian shocker has Dr. Hitchcock (Elio Jotta) dying but his doctor Charles (Peter Baldwin) is battling hard to try and extend his life. So Dr. Hitchcock thinks. In reality Charles is having an affair with Hitchcock's wife Margaret (Barbara Steele) and the two are trying to kill him. Once dead, the new couple feel they have a fortune coming to them but soon they believe the dead man's ghost is after them.

After the success of THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK, director Riccardo Freda and Steele teamed up for this film. Even though one of the main characters here is named Dr. Hitchcock I don't think they two films are really connected, although some horror fans give some pretty good theories as to why they are. Either way THE GHOST is a great looking picture with a lot of very good things in it but at the same time there are a couple major issues that keep it from being much better.

I'll get the flaws out of the way first but there's no question that there's way too much melodrama going on. I say that because there are way too many scenes at the start of the picture where we're waiting on the doctor to die and I personally felt it took too long to happen. Once the two lovers begin to fight I felt there were a few too many scenes that got dragged out without adding much to the picture. The 95-minute running time certainly drags at times due to the slow pacing.

With that said, the film does offer up some very good atmosphere that can only be found in these Italian Gothic pictures. Freda does a nice job at building up this atmosphere and he certainly makes a very good looking picture. Another major plus are the performances with both Baldwin and Jotta doing nice work. The real star is of course Steele who steals the picture as the double crossing wife. Add in a couple nice twists throughout the film and THE GHOST is worth watching.

Riccardo Freda's follow-up to his own TERRIBLE SECRET OF DR. HICHCOCK is a ghastly work of Gothic genius that nearly equals his own first masterpiece. THE GHOST is a solid example of the Italian Gothic genre at its finest. Despite the fact that a lot of the scares have become clichéd today, the atmospheric photography and great Italian style counts for a lot and gives the film a superior look to its British and American cousins. While not as strong a film as his first - which controversially contained the subject of necrophilia - THE GHOST nonetheless has a dark atmosphere and a hard edge as it explores the dark side of the human soul. All of the characters portrayed are corrupt in some way, whether it be the greedy, selfish and unlovable Dr Hichcock, the adulterous two-faced doctor, and most of all that Gothic icon, Barbara Steele herself, as the money-obsessed, greedy wife with no moral scruples of note.

The slow-paced tale begins in Scotland, 1910, and is off on a good foot with a séance. Quickly we are introduced to the characters, some adultery in the greenhouse between Margaret Hichcock and Doctor Livingstone, and a sadistic, extended murder sequence in which the doctor is slowly poisoned to death. After the funeral is over, spooky shenanigans come to the fore and the film becomes pretty frightening. Gotta love those Italians - in one scene we hear a dog howling mournfully over the grave of its master, in the next somebody shoots it! Margaret is pushed to the edge by all manner of apparently supernatural phenomenon, while searching for her husband's lost treasure which is somewhere in the house. In the film's most gruesome scene, it is discovered that the key to his safe is still in Hichcock's pocket, so his mouldering, slimy body is exhumed in the search! Margaret discovers jewels hidden in the doctor's travel bag and becomes convinced that he has double-crossed her. In a fit of rage she attacks him and slashes him to death with a razor. This is probably the film's most powerful moment and is pretty grisly for the time, with that old trick of blood running down the camera lens in a P.O.V. shot from the victim. At this point the film plays its trump card with a major plot twist which is pretty hard to spot and makes for a nice, unexpected surprise. I won't spoil it, only to say that as the bodies pile up at the film's climax it almost adopts the style of a Shakespearian tragedy, with death and destruction at every turn.

Freda once again offers up plenty of shocks and scares, some clichéd (such as the steps sounding in a walking room, dripping blood, the noise of clanking chains), and some not. In particular I liked the scene of a wheelchair wheeling itself along with nobody in it! There's a brief scene of a possessed woman speaking in a man's voice which is pretty disturbing, and of course the setting of the dark and dingy mansion makes for a lot of atmosphere. I also really liked the use of a music box tune which recurs throughout the movie. First its used in a romantic sense, but it quickly becomes an omen of evil and a sinister sound.

The acting is spot on and all of the lead performers give strong performances. Although here the (unrelated) Hichcock character isn't given as much screen time as Robert Flemying in the first movie, Leonard Elliott puts in a strong performance and the camera makes good use of his cadaverous looks. Barbara Steele is as good as ever in the lead role, mixing her wide-eyed fear with some cold-hearted moments of greed and creating a convincing character who demands your attention. Peter Baldwin isn't given much to work with but puts in a solid turn as the put-upon doctor. Harriet Medin also deserves a note as the sinister housekeeper Catherine, who has a habit of popping up in unexpected places and also lends something to the film's dark feel. Although not the best the genre has to offer, Freda's offering is still a good movie and a cut above most from the period in terms of style and sheer horror.

as my subject line says,, the movie started of painstakingly slow, for the 1st hour,, then all of a sudden the last 30-35 mins, there was so much to take in and stuff was happening at break neck pace . never heard of Barbara Steele before, wow she's so sexy, and amazing her eyes are haunting to say the least. I can imagine any man doing exactly whatever she wanted him to do and be happ about it. Our poor Dr. Hitchcock plays a handicap bound to a wheel chair, his wife decides that she wants him gone and dead fast. so she get's the help of the family lawyer,, and they proceed to try and kill Dr. Hitchcock,, but did they really kill him.. appears so.. but watch and find out,, there are a lot of things I really liked about this one,, I just wish it wouldn't have taken forever for the movie to get a jumpstart,, but once it did I was very happy.. not a bad little movie at all, and enjoyed Barbara Steele immensely. .

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.

Don't you just hate it when your housekeeper starts speaking with your murdered husband's voice? And it's simply impossible to get them ghost blood stains out of your duvet! Don't even mention those bloody wheelchairs that move about on their own...

These are some of the many problems facing Italy's favourite Scouser, Barbara Steele, after she manages to convince her lover to finally bump off her emotionally crippled, and also physically crippled, husband cripple John 'Cripple' Surname.

It's a case of what came first, John's séances and messing with poisons or Babs' affair with the doctor. You'll have plenty of time to mull this over because this film takes thirty-five minutes to get anything remotely spooky. Although you do get to see how messed up this situation is for everybody.

Once John's bumped off and buried, it's time to find his treasure! The problem is that a little 'being dead' doesn't seem to put John off, as he keeps appearing everywhere, things move about, and his spirit is seemingly using the housekeeper as a glove puppet.

Is it all real or some sort of ruse? It's worth waiting to find out as we get a pretty grim ending where one character is brutally and graphically set about with a straight razor (then burned!) and the rest of the cast suffer pretty horribly too (except a smug priest).

Slow at first, but then the twists and atmosphere get more impressive as it continues on. Barbara Steele gets a lot to do here so that always helps.

The plot is just a dictionary of horror movie ingredients A to Z, causing a cartoon like effect on the characters difficult for me to relate to. Barbara Steele has so many frightening moments to scream, but she only moans, cries, suffers and laughs hysterically. One room is just filled with props like skulls, candles, and chandeliers to rattle around in. The twist ending is much like Les Diabolique except the bad guy doesn't win out. It's also hard to believe anyone could develop a drug to imitate death and return to life after a funeral.