Dr. Orloff's Monster

source: Dr. Orloff's Monster

Moviecut—Dr. Orloff's Monster

Nothing to do with Dr. Jekyll (or even Mr. Hyde) but a variation on the Dr Orloff universe (with a nod to Dr. Caligari) this is a good looking film, lensed in atmospheric black and white but mainly unsurprising and unexciting. I liked Luisa Sala as the aging wife Ingrid and Pastor Serrador as the mannered police inspector Klein but otherwise the cast was ordinary. The main problem is that there seemed no reason for the series of killings made by the sound controlled (!) Andros. A tolerable movie, and prolific director Jess Franco did make worse films. Much worse.

Iconoclastic filmmaker Jess Franco followed up his breakthrough Gothic horror film "The Awful Dr. Orlof" with this similarly effective black & white thriller. The stand-in for Dr. Orlof this time is a scientist named Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jauregui), who presides over a castle in the country. Conrads' teenaged niece Melissa (the sexy Agnes Spaak) comes to visit to claim her inheritance after the death of her father, whom Melissa never met. Meanwhile, Conrad is sending his "robot" creation Andros (Hugo Blanco) out to murder female entertainers, for his own evil reasons. Franco melds "mad scientist" and Gothic themes with youthful romance, some poignant drama, irreverent humour, and smokey jazz clubs for this typically interesting work. Viewers who may regard Franco as a sleazy hack need only see efforts like this to see that he was no one-trick pony. The atmosphere is solid, and the performances are efficient without being too flashy. Spaak is appealing as the young lead, and also doing an engaging job is the films' MVP, Luisa Sala as Conrads' wife Inglud. She delivers a haunted performance as a forlorn woman who doesn't exactly have a loving relationship with her husband. Pepe Rubio is a hoot as Juan Manuel, an outgoing Spanish cabbie who aggressively tries to work his charms on Melissa. Pastor Serrador is likewise highly amusing as a police inspector with a dry wit (and a bad cold). "Dr. Orloff's Monster" (just one of the films' titles) may be a little light on sci-fi and horror elements for some tastes, but fans of Franco's racier pictures will pleasantly note that he has the camera linger quite lustily on the physical assets on some of the female cast members. Among the noteworthy aspects here are the cinematography (by Alfonso Nieva) and the music (by Fernando Garcia Morcillo and Daniel White). In the end, "Dr. Orloff's Monster" is memorable for having a sad & tragic feel to the story, with the viewer taking pity on this killer Andros, a victim himself of another persons' machinations. Franco himself has a small role as a piano player. Eight out of 10.

Jess Franco's The Mistresses of Dr. Jeckyll is a sequel of sorts to his 1962 horror The Awful Dr. Orlof, although the character of Orlof only appears in the opening scene, in which he reveals to his associate, Dr. Conrad Fisherman (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui), his secret theory about reanimating a corpse. Unless I missed something, there is no-one called Dr. Jeckyll in the film (perhaps Fisherman was called Jeckyll in the original language version; the copy I saw was dubbed). When Fisherman learns that his wife Ingrid (Luisa Sala) has slept with his brother Andros (Hugo Blanco), the doctor slays his sibling by stabbing him with a scalpel, bringing him back from the dead as a robotic slave who can be controlled by ultrasonic transmissions. Conrad proceeds to punish wayward women by sending Andros out to kill, finding victims in the jazz clubs and bars of Holfen. Meanwhile, Conrad's niece Melissa (Agnès Spaak) arrives at Conrad's castle to take control of her inheritance, unaware that her dead father wanders the corridors at night. Although not nearly as good as The Awful Dr. Orlof, this is still one of Franco's more coherent and therefore more enjoyable films, made before the effects of the psychedelic '60s took hold and he started to churn out incomprehensible garbage like Succubus and Nightmares Come At Night. The plot mightn't be the most inspired - it's formulaic 'tragic monster' fare - but Franco creates lots of contemporary gothic atmosphere, delivers some nice black and white imagery, and gives us a couple of cool jazzy musical numbers to boot. 5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Depending on which version of this film's title you prefer, this Jess Franco picture might well be seen as a return to the character of Doctor Orloff, originally played so brilliantly by Howard Vernon in 'The Awful Doctor Orloff'(1962). As someone who became familiar with Franco's work through his later, gaudier 'exploitation' pictures, these earlier entries are a revelation – truly he was masterful at weaving horror atmospherics, a truly talented director of unnerving imagery, using stark black and white to its fullest advantage. Interspersed with several cabaret scenes – a favourite distraction of Franco and one that would crop up in many subsequent projects – this appears to be the story of lovely Melissa (Agnès Spaak), who travels to a superbly realised sinister family castle owned by her Uncle Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui). She has been lead to believe her father Andros (Hugo Blanco) died there recently – except that her uncle has turned him into a somnambulistic zombie who sleeps upright in a glass coffin. That's what zombies do, of course? Andros is given the full horror treatment in all ways but one. Direction, sinister musical cues, creepy lighting lay the chills on thick – and yet the make-up is far too subtle to justify the screams of hysterical fear that greet his stumbling confrontations with various characters. Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui is not hugely effective as Jekyll – he lacks any of the restrained sense of power Vernon had, and Manuel (Pepe Rubio) is occasionally rather irritating as Melissa's love interest (as juvenile boyfriend characters often are), but the acting is rarely less than adequate. The characters are not as important as the atmosphere Franco weaves, and the sinister world of 'Orloff' is pleasingly recreated – whatever the main character calls himself.

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans. I watched this on Netflix streaming, so I have to say I do not think they had the best copy possible. At times it seemed like a poor digital transfer from an old source. This did not really hurt the movie, but I just want to say if you want to see this film in its best light, you may want to look elsewhere. (Though, for all I know, no good copy exists.) How this film ties together Orlof, Jekyll, an robots is a bit confusing, not helped in the least by the translation issue. I watched it as "Monster of Dr. Orlof", which seems to suggest a far different film than "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll", and yet they are one and the same.

"Dr. Orloff's Monster" is an interesting curio, a sequel, in name only, to "The Awful Dr. Orloff", my favourite Franco pic. Only once in this version is the name "Orloff" mentioned. The Howard Verson role here, another disgraced surgeon, is played by Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui and his name is Dr. Jekyll. His "Morpho" equivalent, however, called "Andros" (Hugh Blanco), is a central character. Like Morpho, the blind manservant in "Awful", Andros kills for Jekyll and harbors a grudge or two. The story is straightforward. Jekyll's niece Melissa (Agnes Spaak) travels to Austria to visit her uncle at his brooding castle. She finds an unhappy household (shades of "A Virgin Among The Living Dead") and a hostile reception from Jekyll who is all work and no play. But being a curious lass, Melissa takes time to explore the castle at night and meets up with Andros, who turns out to be her missing, deceased father, a tragic figure who lives in a state of walking death and is controlled by low level sonics. Not as technically polished or atmospheric as "The Awful Dr. Orloff", it is still miles beyond most of the crap Franco churned out. Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, as Jekyll, is not a very charismatic male lead, and reminded me of a poor man's Sebastian Cabot (from TV's "Ghost Story"). Spaak as Melissa is very pretty and sexy and Blanco manages to elicit our sympathy for his shambling dead man. Stylistically, the film is uneven, and the pacing is funereal at times, evidence of Franco's work ethic melancholy. The director's trademark jazz clubs, saucy strippers and camera zooming are in surplus here, as is his penchant for lurid close-ups of deformed faces (something that must be admired). I like the film, but it lacks energy and suffers from cloudy motivation and one-dimensional characterization. Still worth seeing, though.

Saw via DVD 7/23/17. One of Franco's best works, in a class with the best of Mario Bava or Dario Argento. The film is his distinctly personal take on the myth of the animated (or re-animated) as homunculus (cf. Caligari, Golem, Frankenstein). The movie achieves strong pathos when the young heiress encounters the monster, a Freudian moment combining the beauty of Agnes Spaak with the terror of a vintage Lon Chaney reveal. The cinematic technique is assured, with especially masterful use of lighting and camera angles. The black and white photography is as visually striking as Franco's Eastmancolor "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971). Anticipates Lynch while looking back at Franju's "Eyes Without A Face"(1959) with maybe some Antonioni thrown in here and there – who knows? As in the other Franco movies I've enjoyed, great soundtrack and music, with the master himself in a keyboard cameo in a jazz dive. Essential film for Francophiles, but maybe also a good starter work for viewers simply wanting a break from Bunuel (yes, they met, according to this website).

Although made on a shoestring budget and as a sequel to The Awfull Dr. Orloff, this is a very enjoyable flick and a fine example of early Southern European horror. It's actually better than it's predecessor. The plot is not real important (it contains a zombie-like creature, a castle and a mad scientist). What makes this movie is the mood, the often beautiful camera-angles, the art direction and the hints of later Franco movies. For example, there's several scenes with women performing, often in erotic scenes, with men watching - which is exactly the kind of voyeuristic cinema Franco would turn to in later years (Vampyros Lesbos, Demoniac). There's - of course - quite some nudity, which must have been considered quite risque in 1964. And there's a small cameo for the director himself, as a pianist who seems to be blind..... Also of interest is the use of electronic devices used to make the zombie a murderous weapon, they give a strange effect to the movie and reminded me of early 50's sci-fi B-movies. All in all, recommended for Franco fans and b/w horrormovie fans. If you've never seen a Franco I suggest starting with Vampyros Lesbos or Female Vampire.