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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 0:01:35 GMT
'The Gorgon' is based on an original story by J. Llewellyn Devine. It's set in Germany in 1910. Seven unsolved murders have been committed in five years in the rural village of Vandorf. Each victim was found in stone, or had they been turned to stone? The local constabulary has opted to sweep compelling evidence under the carpet as they seek to hide the abominable truth. When local model Sascha Cass (Toni Gilpin) becomes the latest victim and suicidal portrait artist Bruno Heitz (Jeremy Longhurst) is made the accused, Bruno's father, Professor Jules Heitz (Michael Goodliffe), sets out to investigate. "Is it the directors having a good time which makes French films so good? I'm always astonished by the excellence of French films on which no money worth speaking of has been spent compared with high-powered musicals which have cost [so many] thousands."
- Dilys Powell, 'The Michael Powell Interviews'
“It’s not for me. I hate being idle. As dear Boris [Karloff] used to say, when I die I want to die with my boots on. Which he did. As did Vincent [Price]. And Peter [Cushing].”
- Sir Christopher Lee, The Telegraph
'The Gorgon' is an interesting creature feature from Hammer Films that transplants Greek mythology to Germanic culture. The legend behind the story dates back two millennia, when two sisters of a gorgon triplet were destroyed and the third escaped to the future. The story switches protagonists and points of view and is dutifully handled by Hammer maestro Terence Fisher. The director's romantic side was really allowed to let fly when he turned to gothic cinema and his burgeoning new horror style blossomed with the lush vampire classic 'The Brides Of Dracula' (1960). For 'The Gorgon', Fisher exhibits the influence of two of his film-making inspirations, the emotional fantasists Frank Borzage and Rene Clair. Peter Cushing ~ Monster Hunter
'The Gorgon' is a studious character piece with gorgeous period details concocted by production designer Bernard Robinson and an extraordinary musical accompaniment by James Bernard who uses a soprano voice and a Novachord to bring the floating gorgon to life. Hammer were pushing their music into brave new directions in the mid-1960s as the pop scene in Great Britain was teeming with new life, a welcome element perhaps best charactarised by the inclusion of a thrilling sitar sequence in John Gilling's monster movie 'The Reptile' (1966). |
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Post by teleadm on Sept 24, 2017 1:07:59 GMT
The Gorgon, the lady with snakes in her hair. I remember this one from my old Horror Movie books, though I've never see it myself.  I didn't know about this untill now, long before she was the Snakes Gorgon Lady. |
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Sept 24, 2017 1:38:17 GMT
I think Tony Randall beat her to the screens by a few months as Medusa in Dr Lao.
It bugged me that they called it the Gorgon when the names listed are the Furies, another trio of mythological sisters (who are also depicted with snakes in their hair).
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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 1:42:30 GMT
The Gorgon, the lady with snakes in her hair. I remember this one from my old Horror Movie books, though I've never see it myself. I didn't know about this untill now, long before she was the Snakes Gorgon Lady. The gorgon isn't scary at all in 'The Gorgon'. She looks like she has sweet wrappers stuck in her hair. The gorgon in 'Clash Of The Titans' (1981) frightened the life out of me. |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 24, 2017 3:58:15 GMT
 =  Isn't the Gorgon supposed to have snakes FOR hair, not just IN hair ? Edit: yep per dictionary : Gorgon - each of three sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snakes for hair, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. |
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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 4:07:49 GMT
= Isn't the Gorgon supposed to have snakes FOR hair, not just IN hair ? Edit: yep per dictionary : Gorgon - each of three sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, with snakes for hair, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. Budget cuts. |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 24, 2017 5:28:55 GMT
Thanks for rekindling the memories petrolino ... I still clearly remember images from my one and only viewing of The Gorgon
I had just turned seven when the film aired on Aussie TV in August 68 late one Friday night. Deadly Ernest (Ralph Baker) was a TV schlock horror host on the O-Ten Network Melbourne which aired "Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies" (1966-72). The program was renowned for the macabre antics of the host and for its screening of low-budget B-grade or worse, horror/supernatural, sci-fi themed cinema. Deadly...  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 24, 2017 5:42:37 GMT
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Post by telegonus on Sept 24, 2017 7:13:44 GMT
It's a very good film, Petro, typical of Hammer at its best. I like the acting and art direction. A question: I've seen The Gorgon only once but I could have sworn the setting wasn't Germany but some unnamed Balkan country. There were those German names, but I took them to be,--my memory is a bit vague on this--scientists, doctors, scholars, rather as in the 1932 The Mummy, set in Egypt but with a story revolving mostly around Brits. One of us must be off, eh? I thought that the movies used its Greekness rather as the Val Lewton Isle Of The Dead did, albeit for a different effect. The major characters in the Lewton were nearly all English but Gen. Pherides.
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Post by poelzig on Sept 24, 2017 7:25:56 GMT
Maybe not the best Hammer horror but still a solid and entertaining entry. Also it was unique.
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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 17:03:35 GMT
It's a very good film, Petro, typical of Hammer at its best. I like the acting and art direction. A question: I've seen The Gorgon only once but I could have sworn the setting wasn't Germany but some unnamed Balkan country. There were those German names, but I took them to be,--my memory is a bit vague on this--scientists, doctors, scholars, rather as in the 1932 The Mummy, set in Egypt but with a story revolving mostly around Brits. One of us must be off, eh? I thought that the movies used its Greekness rather as the Val Lewton Isle Of The Dead did, albeit for a different effect. The major characters in the Lewton were nearly all English but Gen. Pherides. You may be right about the setting telegonus. I checked some online reviews and some say it's a small German village but it feels like one of those typically frozen-in-time villages in '60s / '70s European horror movies you'd find just as easily in the Balkans. |
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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 17:10:24 GMT
Thanks for rekindling the memories petrolino ... I still clearly remember images from my one and only viewing of The Gorgon
I had just turned seven when the film aired on Aussie TV in August 68 late one Friday night. Deadly Ernest (Ralph Baker) was a TV schlock horror host on the O-Ten Network Melbourne which aired "Deadly Earnest's Aweful Movies" (1966-72). The program was renowned for the macabre antics of the host and for its screening of low-budget B-grade or worse, horror/supernatural, sci-fi themed cinema. I can't see you image planet due to "tripod" hosting. Is Deadly Earnest this creepy dude?  Our horror host for many years here in U K has been spooky Emily Booth. She's appeared in some great movies too ...  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 24, 2017 17:14:29 GMT
Speaking of "Horror Hosts" ... the U.S. current one who seems to be the best known is  there may be others ! |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 24, 2017 17:17:56 GMT
Sven with Elvira  John Zacherlie (he showed me my first horror films  )  |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 24, 2017 20:29:09 GMT
Thanks for rekindling the memories petrolino ... I still clearly remember images from my one and only viewing of The Gorgon
I can't see you image planet due to "tripod" hosting. Is Deadly Earnest this creepy dude? Our horror host for many years here in U K has been spooky Emily Booth. She's appeared in some great movies too ... "could not see the image due to tripod" hosting ?? That's him petrolino ... the Melbourne host Ralph Baker as Deadly, here is the list of films from 1968 some fun/rare titles for your interest? 1968 05/1/68 Behemoth The Sea Monster (1959) 12/1/68 Warning From Space (1963) 19/1/68 The Ghost Walks (1934) 26/1/68 King of The Zombies (1941) 02/2/68 The Vampire (1957) 09/2/68 The Snake Woman (1961) 16/2/68 Twenty Million Miles To Earth (1957) 23/2/68 The Lost Missile (1958) 01/3/68 -- Not shown due to power strike -- 08/3/68 The Monster That Challenged The World (1957) 15/3/68 The War of The Worlds (1953) 22/3/68 Voodoo Island (1957) 29/3/68 The Planet Mars (1952) 05/4/68 When Worlds Collide (1951) 12/4/68 The 27th day (1957) 19/4/68 Gog (1954) 26/4/68 Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1956) 03/5/68 Conquest of Space (1955) 10/5/68 The Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) 17/5/68 Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) 24/5/68 I Bury The Living (1958) 31/5/68 Battle In Outer Space (1960) 07/6/68 The Flight That Disappeared (1961) 14/6/68 The Space Children (1958) 21/6/68 The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959) 28/6/68 It! The Terror Beyond Space (1958) 05/7/68 The Giant Gila Monster (1959) 12/7/68 Voodoo Woman (1957) 19/7/68 Gigantis (1959) 26/7/68 Twelve To The Moon (1960) 02/8/68 Satellite In The Sky (1956) 09/8/68 The Gorgon (1964) 16/8/68 The Invisible Invaders (1959) 23/8/68 The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) 30/8/68 The Flame Barrier (1958) 06/9/68 Teenage Cavemen (1958) 13/9/68 Dr. Blood’s Coffin (1961) 20/9/68 Kronos (1957) 27/9/68 Earth Versus The Flying Saucers (1956) 04/10/68 Pharoah’s Curse (1957) 11/10/68 Flight To Mars (1951) 18/10/68 The 30-Foot Bride of Crazy Rock (1959) 25/10/68 The Beast With A Million Eyes (1956) 01/11/68 Blood And Roses (1961) 08/11/68 Curse of The Demon (1957) 15/11/68 The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) 22/11/68 The Tingler (1959) 29/11/68 The Ape (1940) 06/12/68 The Giant Claw (1957) 13/12/68 Port Sinister (1953) 20/12/68 The Living Ghost (1942) 27/12/68 The Man With Two Lives (1942) |
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Post by petrolino on Sept 24, 2017 20:46:17 GMT
That's him petrolino ... the Melbourne host Ralph Baker as Deadly, here is the list of films from 1968 some fun/rare titles for your interest? 1968 05/1/68 Behemoth The Sea Monster (1959) 12/1/68 Warning From Space (1963) 19/1/68 The Ghost Walks (1934) 26/1/68 King of The Zombies (1941) 02/2/68 The Vampire (1957) 09/2/68 The Snake Woman (1961) 16/2/68 Twenty Million Miles To Earth (1957) 23/2/68 The Lost Missile (1958) 01/3/68 -- Not shown due to power strike -- 08/3/68 The Monster That Challenged The World (1957) 15/3/68 The War of The Worlds (1953) 22/3/68 Voodoo Island (1957) 29/3/68 The Planet Mars (1952) 05/4/68 When Worlds Collide (1951) 12/4/68 The 27th day (1957) 19/4/68 Gog (1954) 26/4/68 Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1956) 03/5/68 Conquest of Space (1955) 10/5/68 The Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) 17/5/68 Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) 24/5/68 I Bury The Living (1958) 31/5/68 Battle In Outer Space (1960) 07/6/68 The Flight That Disappeared (1961) 14/6/68 The Space Children (1958) 21/6/68 The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959) 28/6/68 It! The Terror Beyond Space (1958) 05/7/68 The Giant Gila Monster (1959) 12/7/68 Voodoo Woman (1957) 19/7/68 Gigantis (1959) 26/7/68 Twelve To The Moon (1960) 02/8/68 Satellite In The Sky (1956) 09/8/68 The Gorgon (1964) 16/8/68 The Invisible Invaders (1959) 23/8/68 The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) 30/8/68 The Flame Barrier (1958) 06/9/68 Teenage Cavemen (1958) 13/9/68 Dr. Blood’s Coffin (1961) 20/9/68 Kronos (1957) 27/9/68 Earth Versus The Flying Saucers (1956) 04/10/68 Pharoah’s Curse (1957) 11/10/68 Flight To Mars (1951) 18/10/68 The 30-Foot Bride of Crazy Rock (1959) 25/10/68 The Beast With A Million Eyes (1956) 01/11/68 Blood And Roses (1961) 08/11/68 Curse of The Demon (1957) 15/11/68 The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) 22/11/68 The Tingler (1959) 29/11/68 The Ape (1940) 06/12/68 The Giant Claw (1957) 13/12/68 Port Sinister (1953) 20/12/68 The Living Ghost (1942) 27/12/68 The Man With Two Lives (1942) Deadly Earnest clearly has great taste in movies! |
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Post by telegonus on Sept 25, 2017 23:20:41 GMT
It's a very good film, Petro, typical of Hammer at its best. I like the acting and art direction. A question: I've seen The Gorgon only once but I could have sworn the setting wasn't Germany but some unnamed Balkan country. There were those German names, but I took them to be,--my memory is a bit vague on this--scientists, doctors, scholars, rather as in the 1932 The Mummy, set in Egypt but with a story revolving mostly around Brits. One of us must be off, eh? I thought that the movies used its Greekness rather as the Val Lewton Isle Of The Dead did, albeit for a different effect. The major characters in the Lewton were nearly all English but Gen. Pherides. You may be right about the setting telegonus. I checked some online reviews and some say it's a small German village but it feels like one of those typically frozen-in-time villages in '60s / '70s European horror movies you'd find just as easily in the Balkans. Thanks for responding, Petro. I also did a little on-line research on The Gorgon and all sources said the film was set in Germany, which of course could all be wrong, though after two or three saying the same thing, well, I guess so. It just didn't feel like Germany to me. There was something primitive and "peasanty" about the setting and the local folk, as if the village was a less well evolved place than not only Germany but Austria or any other part of central and western Europe. More so than Hungary, too. There was a feeling of distance in it, of the major characters and their place of origin, if you know what I mean. They didn't appear to be on their home turf, and this went beyond some backwater of Wilhelmine Germany or Austria-Hungary. It's like they were near Greece but not in Greece. |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 25, 2017 23:32:56 GMT
petrolinoDeadly Earnest clearly has great taste in movies!and access to some that Sven doesn't seem able to get his paws on. 
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Post by petrolino on Sept 28, 2017 20:25:48 GMT
You may be right about the setting telegonus. I checked some online reviews and some say it's a small German village but it feels like one of those typically frozen-in-time villages in '60s / '70s European horror movies you'd find just as easily in the Balkans. Thanks for responding, Petro. I also did a little on-line research on The Gorgon and all sources said the film was set in Germany, which of course could all be wrong, though after two or three saying the same thing, well, I guess so. It just didn't feel like Germany to me. There was something primitive and "peasanty" about the setting and the local folk, as if the village was a less well evolved place than not only Germany but Austria or any other part of central and western Europe. More so than Hungary, too. There was a feeling of distance in it, of the major characters and their place of origin, if you know what I mean. They didn't appear to be on their home turf, and this went beyond some backwater of Wilhelmine Germany or Austria-Hungary. It's like they were near Greece but not in Greece. Hi telegonus. I guess Hammer shot their horror films predominantly in England and recreated the different European locales they were going for. I struggle to remember where evocative productions like Terence Fisher's 'Dracula : Prince Of Darkness' (1966) and Freddie Francis' 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave' (1968) are set, be they in and around Transylvania, or deep within a German forest region. I'm guessing they covered alot of geographical space in their 1960s heydey. |
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Post by telegonus on Sept 28, 2017 22:43:23 GMT
True about Hammer, Petro. Their "Europe" was cozy but rather small, and rather similar, not surprisingly, to Universal's, and a good deal smaller, it seems. They seemed to work harder than Uni at making their back lot look authentic as to locale, right down to the costumes, thus their Rumania or Bulgaria would be as convincing as their Germany or Austria.
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