Crypt of the Living Dead

source: Crypt of the Living Dead

source: Crypt of the Living Dead

As I am a big Paul Naschy fan, I have seen Patty Shepard in The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman. Of course, you can't help but have seen star Andrew Prine, as he has appeared almost 200 times on TV and movies. Teresa Gimpera, who plays Hannah, was in the excellent Spirit of the Beehive. Sound effects and music were definitely irritating at times, and certainly lessens whatever enjoyment you might find in the movie. There really wasn't a lot to recommend. The story is pretty common for the genre. Despite warnings, they let the vampire out of the cave and spend the rest of the movie chasing her. Blood and gore were minimal, and there was no nudity to distract.

Archaeologist Chris Bolton (a typically excellent and engaging performance by the always reliable Andrew Prine) comes across a vampire burial ground while working on a scientific dig in turkey and unleashes lethal vampire queen Hannah (the beauteous and bewitching Teresa Gimpera) from her tomb. Meanwhile, Bolton romances local school teacher Mary (an appealing portrayal by striking brunette Patty Shepard). Directors Julio Salvador and Ray Danton keep the enjoyable story moving along at a steady pace, make good use of the scenic Turkish locations, do a bang-up job of crafting a supremely spooky'n'dreamy ooga-booga atmosphere, deliver a few nice bits of gore, and pull out the stirring stops for the lively and exciting climax. The solid acting from the capable cast keeps this picture on track: Mark Damon makes a likable impression as the helpful Peter, Ihsan Gedik has a ball as a ferocious wild man, Frank Bana does well as a sage blind doomsayer, and Edward Walsh cuts a suitably imposing figure as the gruff Ali. Juan Gelpi's elegant cinematography provides a wealth of stunning visuals. Phillip Lambro's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. A fun fright flick.

This was a Spanish film, shot in Hungary, and it's such a blotchy mess you have to wonder if the original version featured the American actors at all. It's not the film has anything too annoying or lame, it's just bland. The good part of watching this movie is that you can start in as part of your own private Friday night horror fest, get up and make a sandwich and be sure you won't miss anything. Andrew Prine is a really good guy I saw speak at the New Beverly in Los Angeles a couple of years back. I guess I can ask him next time what the deal was with this movie. Edward Walsh was in two excellent Hollywood Films ( "Hard Times" and "California Split" ) around the same time but you have to wonder if they would have flown him to Hungary for his role. Some of this was probably shot stateside. Don't go out of your way, but like most people, if you get it in a cheap horror set with 200 other movies, go ahead and watch it.

"An archaeologist visits a remote island to bury his late father and, despite the warnings from the local people, opens the tomb of the vampire queen, buried over 700 years ago. This foolish act by the archaeologist and his reporter friend places the entire island in danger, including the local schoolteacher… With the schoolteacher in danger of being a sacrifice to the vampire queen, the duo sets out to stop the vampires, rescue the teacher, and destroy the vampire queen," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. Just so you know, the "schoolteacher" Patty Sheppard (Mary) is bad guy Mark Damon (Peter)'s sister. Andrew Prine (Chris) is the good guy. The film is atmospheric, and features an able cast - but, it takes an interminably long time for anything to happen. When it picks up, it isn't much. And, suddenly, after getting very long in the tooth, it flames out... How can a 1970s vampire film be so anemic? *** Hannah, Queen of the Vampires (6/73) Ray Danton, Julio Salvador ~ Andrew Prine, Mark Damon, Patty Sheppard

Andrew Prine's father is crushed by the marble tomb of a 700 year old vampire, and Prine goes to retrieve the body which is still under the 3 ton tomb. this is just a set up so he will open the tomb and release the beautiful female vampire. It is a very low budget movie filmed in Turkey of all places,is pretty slow, and some of the minor actors can't act. The film does have a good low key performance by Andrew Prine (I don't think he every turned in a bad performance), some good sets, some creepy atmosphere and s somewhat better ending that i expected. I would like to see the original version to see if it is better than our reworked and greatly shortened version. You can tell the original footage from the newer footage.

"The Crypt of the Living Dead" is an odd, but run of the mill horror movie that will hold your interest but not leave anything memorable in it's wake. The acting is OK but the dialogue is pretty bad. There is an interesting assortment of strange characters but they are not shown in depth. A lot of the script just isn't realistic. What the characters do, how the act and react to circumstances just don't have the right feel to it. They had a chance of having some mystery in this film but two of the villains are revealed right at the start of the movie. The third, the vampire herself, is a given. For those looking for the horror aspect, there are some scary scenes and the locations have a Gothic feel. This movie was shot in Turkey and whatever spot they found, I have to give them credit. They found a good location. When all is said and done though, it's an OK movie but nothing special.

Also known as Hannah, Queen of the Vampires this surprising "R" rated film is in black and white. Professor Bolton (Mariano García Rey) is killed in the first scene inside an ancient crypt on an Italian island. His son Chris (Andrew Prine) comes to the island and meets Peter (Mark Damon) and the local school teacher Mary (Patty Shepard). He discovers that the crypt that fell on his father was that of the vampire Hannah (Teresa Gimpera) who has been there since 1269. To the dismay of the village, he opens the crypt to find a perfectly preserved body. The film is low action. It is boring. At one point we discover the vampire can make herself into a mist and then a wolf, supposedly a werewolf, but it looked more like a regular wolf. Film is not for everyone. Very little cheese value, just a bad film.

Atmospheric, eerie little Spanish thriller starring Andrew Prine as a man who travels to a remote island off Turkey after his archaeologist father dies in an apparent accident after discovering an ancient tomb. Writer (Damon) and his sister (Shepard) who have also recently inhabited the island try to facilitate Prine's attempts to raise the heavy sarcophagus that covers his father's remains to affect a proper burial. But the locals are reluctant to assist, fearing that the crypt's occupant - Hannah (Gimpera) - will be resurrected to raise hell on the island. Surprisingly effective, though it appears to be un-liked judging from other reviews, I found the English translation conversion by Ray Danton to be a genuinely scary and compelling tale beautifully shot in black & white, with a talented cast. Prine has the right pitch as the polite outsider who can't be convinced that his actions will awaken a dormant vampire, his attentions straying to the plight of Shepard, concerned for the welfare of her brother. Both the exotic Shepard and durable Damon are assured in their roles, enhancing the production and its overall quality. For her part, Gimpera as Hannah is a beguiling beauty, even if only appearing prominently toward the end of the picture and without any intelligible dialogue. Film buffs should also applaud Danton's assembly of B-movie talent - Edward Walsh and John Alderman in minor roles (Walsh has a great scene after an encounter with Hannah), while prolific Spanish actor Frank Brana has a key supporting role as the blind foreteller of doom. The lighting and sound is exceptionally refined and the film overall is stylish; the beach and cliff-top scenery bathed in black & white is visually stunning, though admittedly some of the night scenes are obscure in the darkness. I read that Danton shot additional English-language footage which was conjoined with Julio Salvador's Spanish version; with no visible seams, it's a rare example of where footage grafts actually enhance the overall result. Builds the suspense gradually (potentially irksome for viewers with a need for constant gratification), the rousing finale is a tense encounter that elevates the pulse, while a curtain-dropping post script is a satisfying epitaph. Worth the effort.