The Mephisto Waltz

source: The Mephisto Waltz

Whatever moral issues exist in this strange tale of the occult, they vanish as soon as you accept the premise of this story--that a woman would kill another to repossess her husband with both of them in the guise of someone else's body!! It's about as weird as any Tales from the Crypt! On the plus side, all of it is stylishly photographed and played with a certain amount of relish, at least by Jacqueline Bisset, Curt Jurgens and Bradford Dillman. Biggest flaw is casting Alan Alda in the central role as the pianist who inherits the musical talent of Curt Jurgens when the Satanist dies, bequeathing Alda with his body and soul. Bisset is the wife who slowly comes to suspect that her husband has been taken over by someone else. Not quite as strikingly original as "Rosemary's Baby", it does have some effective horror moments, notably involving scenes with a rather ferocious black dog and a scene where the Devil is summoned but we never actually see him. Imagination is given free reign here (at least fleetingly), shades of Val Lewton. Perhaps a technique that should have been used more often throughout. None of it quite makes sense and the ending is a distinct letdown, but there are some chilling moments nevertheless. Bisset and Parkins are beautifully photographed, with Bisset coming out ahead in the acting department, playing the stressed out wife with appropriate fear and tension. Parkins, on the other hand, seems to rely on one frozen expression, sleepwalking through her role, relying solely on her looks to get by in a way that Hedy Lamarr was often accused of doing in films of the '40s. As for Alan Alda, he is much too bland, lending neither interest nor credibility to a role that demands a strong romantic lead. His career suggests that he is clearly more comfortable in character roles requiring comic flair, not straight dramatic parts. Bradford Dillman is at least a stronger presence in a lesser role. All in all, not bad for watching when you're in the mood for a tale of the occult. I seem to recall enjoying the book years ago and the film doesn't quite measure up. It emerges as one of those films that could have been much more satisfying with better casting and direction.

After "The Rosemary's baby" and before than "The Exorcist" there was "The Mephisto Waltz", a brilliant film about satanism. The plot is thrilling and creepy, a romantic horror film. The cinematography is really good and the direction is wonderful. Jacqueline Bisset in her best role, her character is lovely and mysterious. The satanism was a hit theme in the 70's horror films and "The Mephisto Waltz" is a great example! Wonderful movie!

that this film *was* made in 1971, a time of psychedelia, drugs, and bad horror film-making? Rosemary's Baby was, in truth, a film about paranoia, with the trappings of devil worship the engine that made it run. It was also blessed with an excellent cast, and what was clearly a healthy budget for the time. In contrast, Mephisto Waltz concerns the ruthless desire for immortality, with a dollop of devil worship to make it possible. Therefore, I think it unfair to compare the two. Finally, while I've never been an Alda fan, his character was required to be colorless and malleable. Had his character been a strong one, he'd surely have intuited what was happening, and never have allowed himself to be overtaken. Considering the decade in which the film was made, and a real dearth of truly good 70s "chillers," I don't think Mephisto fared quite so poorly. I, too, read the book. As with most books-to-film, a good deal is lost. However, it nonetheless gave me a chill or two, not an easy feat for someone who's read and seen nearly every "horror" novel or film made until the last five or so years.

Minor Spoilers Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda ) is a music journalist and frustrated pianist, married with Paula (Jacqueline Bisset) and having a nine years old daughter. When he is invited for an exclusive interview with the outstanding pianist Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens), he is very welcomed by the famous pianist and his beautiful wife Roxanne Delancey (Barbara Parkins), and becomes friend of the couple. The life of Myles changes completely, and he becomes a successful disciple of Duncan, and Paula believes that Duncan, Roxanne and their friends worship the devil. "The Mephisto Waltz" could be a good low budget movie, with a better development of the story and the characters. The film itself is very dated, with the type of psychedelic image, use of filters, and horrible work of edition, with weird cuts of many scenes. The story plagiarizes the storyline of "Rosemary's Baby", showing a community that worships the devil. The characters of "The Mephisto Waltz" are poorly developed along the story, and there are many flaws in the screenplay. For example, Abby Clarkson (Pamelyn Ferdin) has a mysterious disease and dies, and is forgotten in the rest of the story. Based on the last scenes, when Paula switches her soul with Roxanne's, was the desire of Paula for Myles so intense, that she decides to live with Myles having the soul of the man who traded the life of their daughter per a successful life? However, "The Mephisto Waltz" has a good atmosphere of horror and together with the astonishing beauty of Jacqueline Bisset are the best attractions in this confused movie. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): "Balada Para Satã" ("Balad For Satan")

If you know the story of Dr Faustus, you'll know that's it's about a medieval man who sells his soul to the devilish Mephistopheles (Mephisto for short) in return for extra life. The Mephisto Waltz is a 1971 horror film which brings a similar story into a modern day setting. While moments of this psychedelic bloodcurdler are quite intriguing, other parts are downright risible. Alan Alda is clearly miscast in the leading role but the others do rather well, especially creepy Curt Jurgens and Barbara Parkins. And for once Jacqueline Bisset gets the chance to rise above her usual pretty-but-wooden presence, giving a strong (some might say career-best) portrayal as a woman caught up in something more sinister than she can comprehend. Journalist Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda) once dreamt of being a concert pianist, but gave up his dream when his debut performance was heavily criticised. However, he still has extraordinary musical talent, and this is something that has not escaped the notice of a dying pianist named Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens). Ely suggests an interview with Clarkson and the latter, flattered, is only too keen to oblige. But the reality of the matter is that Ely is actually a dedicated Satanist who plans to use occult magic to "switch" bodies with Clarkson when his inevitable death from leukaemia eventually occurs. As anticipated Ely soon passes away, but Myles' wife Paula (Jacqueline Bisset) quickly notices strange and inexplicable character changes in her husband. He is more aggressive and perverted in bed, oddly colder and crueller towards her, and full of renewed vigour towards his musical compositions. He also seems rather taken with Ely's daughter Roxanne (Barbara Parkins), making Paula feeling less and less wanted. Paula gradually pieces together the mystery with a little help from Ely's ex-son-in-law Bill (Bradford Dillman). She discovers the history of Ely's satanic practices and also learns that Ely had an incestuous relationship with his daughter – a relationship he plans to renew now that he has taken over her husband's body. But Paula isn't prepared to accept defeat without a fight, and goes to extraordinary lengths to have her twisted revenge….. The Mephisto Waltz has moments that are effectively eerie, such as a few shuddersome dream segments and a memorable sequence involving a masked ball, but more often than not it is rather predictable. The open-ended climax is also rather heavy-handed. I usually like movies with unusual and thought-provoking endings, but this one just seemed excessively hokey. The whole concept of Paula summoning the Devil to help her get her own back against Roxanne - by BECOMING Roxanne (!!) - spoils the film for me. Paula is the one character with whom we can sympathise throughout the film, but at the end she fights evil with evil and this strips away any audience appeal her character might bear. Jerry Goldsmith provides a suitably creepy music score, and the flashy cinematography of William W. Spencer generates occasional suspense, but on the whole The Mephisto Waltz narrowly misses the mark. While some will enjoy its dark playfulness and interpretable ending, others – like myself – will find it frustratingly underdeveloped.

The most creepy part being that this was a t.v. movie airing on prime-time when small kids like me were watching. Makes the case of ratings systems by itself. At a time when you could barely get away with saying "hell" on t.v., how did they get away with a movie like this? Spoilers ahead: Alan Alda plays a music journalist who is tricked by an older musician who is a satanist, and his body is usurped by the older man's soul. Alda's wife Paula knows something is wrong, and throughout the movie slowly discovers the truth. She seems strangely unaffected by the loss of her husband's soul (and mind); she wants his body (!) (as if it is more her husband than anything else). However, she loses her husband to another satanist, and without any prior knowledge of satanism, proceeds to trick them all at their own game, by selling her soul and taking over Alda's wife's body. "Happy" ending. This teaches us: That the mind and soul are nothing, the body is everything (well, it is an American story); That beauty literally is only skin deep; that love is only as deep as your skin; that adults are willing to sell their souls instantly to get mortal happiness; that Satan can evict your soul any time he wants and replace it with someone elses, even without your permission; and that God won't interfere, as he isn't even mentioned in the movie. Not good lessons for nine and ten-year-old kids to watch as Alda and his wife are smooching on the way to bed at the end of the movie. How did they get away with this movie on t.v. at a time when kids were watching? Were they aware of the themes, and how sick the message was? People talk about how sick t.v. is today. Gotta tell you, folks; things like this outdo any number of shows that use the word "*." The movie is well-made, creepy, with one of the most effective and believable appearances of "The Evil One" in any movie I have ever seen; because he doesn't appear with million-dollar special effects; he is simply there, a (strangely convincing) entity in the shadows, waiting to do his business with stupid humans when summoned, and leave. This would have been a good R-rated movie; but it was entirely inappropriate for children, stupid for parents to let them watch, and I would definitely *not* let impressionable children watch it. It makes the statement that God is out to lunch, and happiness can be obtained only by selling your soul (before it is ripped out of you.) Seven out of ten stars, because of production, not content.

One asks himself after the movie: who is the devil? He never shows up, but you see his feet. The theme of the Mephisto Waltz of Franz Liszt has nothing do do with the movie. The actors are great: Jacqueline Bisset as Paula Clarkson is even more beautiful without make-up. Curd Jürgens as Duncan Ely is satisfying. But the story misses focus and goes in all directions. The ending is so disappointing that it destroys the building up of the story. After all an interesting subject that deserves a better script.

It is important in film-making not only create an impression but also to engender some sort of gut reaction from the audience, especially in horror films. We can judge a horror film in addition to its style, by its ability to actually frighten. THE MEPHISTO WALTZ does well on this count. The film is about a couple who is coerced into the household of rich socialite-Satanists, led by Duncan Ely, who is played by Curt Jurgens, who is pretty good here. What follows is a deadly game of cat-and-mouse between the converted and unconverted to Ely's sect. It is pretty well-written and shot, with genuine suspense and a deceptively simple use of oblique angles and soft focus to create a nightmarish atmosphere. The problem with the film is that it is too long, and domestic sequences are not poignant enough to be interesting, despite the strange Alda performance. However, there are scary sequences of fantasy vs. reality and terror-based ideas, such as Jaquelin Bisset's realization that her dreams are reality and the pure horror of the dog attack scene. Initially director Paul Wendkos's inserts seem too jarring, but in being jarring they make the action more threatening. I didn't really like the title sequence because it gives away too many of the nice shots we should be surprised or thrilled by later in the film. One thing that definitely adds to the suspense of the film is Jerry Goldsmith's score: it rivals Herrman's PSYCHO score for violin-fueled, full-blooded accompaniment to a horror film. Overall, despite some problems of character development and loose ends, THE MEPHISTO WALTZ is a frightening film, and a devious twist on a concept used in such other films as THE SEVENTH VICTIM and ROSEMARY'S BABY, this one is a distinctive experience in the bizarre. Some may not like the plot's convolution, but assuredly watch if you are a fan of horror films of any connotation.

A good plot similar to HP Lovecraft's "The thing on the doorstep" without the "innsmouth look" of Asenath but with the body swapping of devil worshippers attempting an eternal leapfrog through history using others bodies . Violence is kept to a minimum the required evil for this horror is amply supplied by absentee devil who's decadent servants plot and dissemble to increase their own worth , chilling dreams of the blue wax applying witches are the best moments. Alan Alda's performance was believably naive and overshadowed by a masterful and compelling kurt jurgens dry self absorbed and above the pettiness of his guests . Miss Blisset charming, beautiful ."The Ninth gate" , "The night of the demon" may be better films but would happily keep company on the same shelf.