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The Horrible Secret Of Dr. Hichcock
AKA L' Orribile Segreto Del Dr. Hichcock
Directed By Riccardo Freda
Released: 1962
Starring: Barbara Steele, Robert Flemyng, Silvano Tranquilli, and Maria
Teresa Vianello
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Released By European Trash Cinema
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Dr. Bernard Hichcock (played by Robert Flemyng)
plays a twisted game with his wife, Margherita (Maria Teresa Vianello).
Using an experimental anesthetic, he knocks her unconscious (and nearly on
the brink of death) before they make love. One day, the game goes too far
and Margherita dies. Distraught, Dr. Hichcock leaves the country for many
years. He returns with his new wife, (and former patient) Cynthia (Barbara
Steele), but all is not well. Cynthia begins to believe that she is
haunted by the ghost of Margherita and that her new husband is trying to
kill her. She turns to Dr. Kurt Lowe (Silvano Tranquilli), Dr. Hichcock's
colleague, for help and tries to convince him that she isn't going mad
before it's too late.
It took me a while to track down this obscure Italian horror milestone. I
kept reading about it and reading about it and now, finally,
The Horrible Secret Of Dr. Hichcock
is all mine. Lucky for me, the film lived up to and then destroyed all of
my expectations. Director Riccardo Freda (The
Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire,
The Ghost)
masterfully directs this morbid and perverse film. The creepy atmosphere
oozes off of the screen while this lushly filmed and perfectly lit
exercise in gothic terror spins its web over the viewer.
British born actor Robert Flemyng tears up his scenes as the maniacal
Dr. Hichcock. The guy is about to give himself an aneurism in a couple of
choice moments and all of it just works. Barbara Steele (The
Faceless Monster) plays the damsel in distress
wonderfully and, as usual, her sultry screen presence is undeniable.
Steele flat out refuses to let her role be forgettable despite how simply
Cynthia's character is written (how many times can this chick faint?). Dr.
Kurt Lowe, our hero, is played quite well by Silvano Tranquilli who would
show up in a number of Poliziottesco films such as
Violent Naples,
Violent Professionals,
and Syndicate Sadists.
For all the secret passages, skeletons, fog, fainting spells, black cats,
and thunderstorms you could ever want, then look no further than
The Horrible Secret Of Dr. Hichcock.
This film easily ranks among the best Italian gothics out there and the
years have been very kind as it is still an entertaining and eerie flick.
I only wish that I could travel back in time and catch
Dr. Hichcock in
theaters back in the early 60s. I have a feeling that the themes of
necrophilia, the premature burials, a certain ghostly specter in a funeral
dress, and the fiery finale must have had people climbing the friggin'
walls!
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DVD Stuff:
This DVD-R of
The
Horrible Secret Of Dr. Hichcock
certainly appears to be complete and uncut. The film is in widescreen and
happens to be the Italian dubbed version with easy-to-read English
subtitles. Recorded off of an Australian television program (specializing
in cult movies), this certainly looks
like it has gone through a few hands before it got to me. The film is
scratched, a little too dark, the colors are faded, and there is some
digital pixilation to be found. However, this is definitely a watchable
version and it is in great shape considering how hard this film is to
find. European Trash Cinema certainly has the goods.
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Links:
Get this film on DVD-R from
European Trash Cinema.
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Quotes:
"So you too find science as alluring as a beautiful woman."
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