Exotica/Horror Movie Connection

For decades I've been searching in vain for an anthology horror movie I saw at the drive-in close to 40 years ago. It scared the daylights out of me then, and still haunts me to this day. I couldn't remember the name of the movie but never gave up the quest.

I did an internet search this morning under keywords of details I could remember and finally found it:

Directed by Mario Bava in 1963, released in Italy under the title "I tre volti della paura" (The Three Faces of Fear) and released in the US under the title "Black Sabbath".

The reviews I found confirmed that it is, indeed, as stylish and spine-tingling as I remembered.

For those of you still with me, thank you for your patience. We're finally getting to the Exotica connection part. When released in the US, the original musical score by Roberto Nicolsi was replaced with a score by non other than Les Baxter!

It's kind of spooky how two of my rather offbeat interests have come together in this weird way...wheels within wheels...

On 2003-06-03 10:21, kctiki wrote:

When released in the US, the original musical score by Roberto Nicolsi was replaced with a score by non other than Les Baxter!

Les Baxter composed many soundtracks for American International Pictures, one of the largest B-movie studios of the 50's - 60's. AIP often bought the American rights to European horror films and then commissioned a new soundtrack, tinkered a bit with the editing and released them to drive-ins.

One of my all time favorite film scores is Les Baxter's HELL'S BELLES.

Here is a link to read about a few other scores he's done: http://www.blaxploitation.com/straxgrp.html

Unfortunately, they are all out of print. If anyone has any cool Baxter scores and want to trade CDR's drop me a private message, I'd love to hear more.

Well I'll be damned! I saw Hell's Belles at the drive-in too. To quote Nora Desmond, "The world hasn't gotten bigger, pictures have gotten smaller!"...or something like that.

Thanks for the info Muggler.

KC

I'm also a horror buff. Due to moving recently, I will be selling my collection of horror mags, Creepy, Twilight Zone, Cemetary Dance, Fango and many other offbeat Euro mage on Ebay. I'll post a note when I get it figured out. Let me know if you are looking for anything in particular.

Trustar

Trustar,

Yes, please post a note when you put the horror mags on e-bay. I only bought one when I was a kid and Mom threatened to withhold my allowance if I bought any more because it freaked me out so bad. So I've been deprived. Owe myself a treat.

kc

I am working from home today and of course have the TV on and am watching the 1956 movie "The Black Sleep".

HORROR MOVIE:
England, 1872. The night before he is to be hanged for a murder he did not commit, young Dr. Gordon Ramsey is visited in his cell by his old mentor, eminent surgeon Sir Joel Cadmund. Cadmund offers to see that Ramsey gets a proper burial and gives him a sleeping powder to get him through the night, which Ramsey takes, unaware it is really an East Indian drug, "nind andhera" ("the black sleep"), which induces a deathlike state of anesthesia. Pronounced dead in his cell, he is turned over to Cadmund, who promptly revives him and takes him to his home in a remote abbey. Cadmund explains he believes Ramsey is innocent and needs his talents to help him in an project, which he is reluctant to immediately discuss further. In fact, Cadmund's wife lies in a coma from a deep-seated brain tumor, and he is attempting to find a safe surgical route to its site by experimenting on the brains of others, whom Ramsey comes to learn are alive during the process, anesthetized by the "black sleep", and are taken to a hidden recovery room in the abbey from which few emerge, though they still live... Written by Rich Wannen

SOUND TRACK:
Les Baxter :music:

CAST:
Basil Rathbone
Akim Tamiroff
Bela Lugosi

I watched "Bride of the Beast" and was delighted that not only did it have a gorilla called "Spanky" but also screenplay by "Edward D. Wood, Jnr" and soundtrack by "Les Baxter". Some of the musical themes Les Baxter wrote for this film he later used in "Ritual of the Savage".

Les Baxter also contributed the soundtrack to the Dunwich Horror, based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft.

You will need to find this one in the wild, because it goes for crazy money on eBay...