The Murder Clinic

The Murder Clinic
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by
  • Lionello De Felice
  • Elio Scardamaglia
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Ernesto Gastaldi
  • Luciano Martino
Starring
Music by Francesco De Masi
Cinematography Marcello Masciocchi
Edited by Alberto Gallitti
Production
company
  • Leone Film
  • Ci.Ti. Cinematografica
  • Orphée Productions
Distributed by Regional (Italy)
Release date
  • March 17, 1966 (1966-03-17) (Italy)
Running time
 90 minutes
Country
  • Italy
  • France
Box office ₤96 million

The Murder Clinic (Italian: La lama nel corpo, lit. 'The Knife in the Body') is a 1966 horror film directed by Lionello De Felice and Elio Scardamaglia. It was produced by Elio Scardamaglia, Francesco Scardamaglia and Luciano Martino;[1]. The screenplay was written by Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi from their own story.[1] It stars William Berger, Françoise Prévost, Mary Young and Barbara Wilson.

Plot

In 1870s England, the director of a mental hospital (Berger) is secretly carrying out skin grafts on the patients in an attempt to restore his sister-in-law's mutilated face (it seems she accidentally fell into a lime pit). Meanwhile, a hooded killer is murdering people in the hospital with a straight razor.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in Villa Parisi in Rome.[1] Although most sources indicate producer Elio Scardamaglia was also the director of the film, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi stated that De Felice was actually the film's director.[2] Gastaldi stated that De Felice left the production near the end of shooting with only a few scenes remaining left for Scardamaglia to direct himself.[2][3] It was shot by Marcello Masciocchi and edited by Alberto Gallitti.[1] The music was composed by Francesco De Masi[1]

Style

Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969, described The Murder Clinic as an example of the way Italian gothic horror films evolved into the giallo genre in the 1970s.[4]

Release

Murder Clinic was released in Italy on March 17, 1966, distributed by Regional, at a length of 90 minutes.[1] The film grossed a total of ₤96 million Italian lira on its theatrical release.[1] In 1971, a re-release poster played off of Berger's own trouble with the law with the tag line "William Berger, guilty or innocent?"[5] It was released in France as Les nuits de l'epouvante (lit. Nights of Terror).[1]

The film was released in the United States first as The Murder Clinic, and then years later, in an attempt to promote the film as a zombie movie, as Revenge of the Living Dead.[5]

The film was released on DVD by Code Red DVD as part of the Six-Pack Volume Two box set.[1]

Reception

Curti described the films direction as being "nondescript" and that the many red herrings in the film were unconvincing.[4] Curti also noted, "The film only comes alive when Françoise Prévost is on screen".[4] In his book Italian Horror Film Directors, Louis Paul described the film as a "handsomely crafted gothic thriller".[6]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Curti 2015, p. 165.
  2. 1 2 Curti 2015, p. 168.
  3. ↑ Luther-Smith 1999, p. 71.
  4. 1 2 3 Curti 2015, p. 166.
  5. 1 2 Curti 2015, p. 167.
  6. ↑ Paul 2005, p. 21.

Sources

  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969. McFarland. ISBN 1476619891.
  • Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing.
  • Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.
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