Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors

"Life is electrical by nature, but is... electricity life?"

―Doctor Mendell

Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors

Credits
Title:	Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors
Directed by:	David L. Hewitt
Written by:	Russ Jones David L. Hewitt
Produced by:	David L. Hewitt Ray Dorn Gary R. Heacock
Music by:	Marlin Skiles
Cinematography:	Austin McKinney
Edited by:	Tim Hinkle
Production
Distributors:	American General Pictures Borealis Enterprises, Inc. Dorad Corp.
Released:	1967
Rating:	Approved
Running time:	83 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
Budget:	Unknown
Gross:	Unknown
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Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors is an anthology film directed by David L. Hewitt and released in 1967. Hosted by horror icon John Carradine, the film features five vignettes dealing with elements of the supernatural. The titles of the five stories are "The Witches Clock", "King Vampire", "Monster Raid", "The Spark of Life" and "Count Dracula".

Plot[]

The Witches Clock[]

Bob and Julie Farrell relocate from Manhattan to an old castle in Massachusetts. Julie loves all of the antique furniture they find in the castle, but Bob would prefer to simply clean everything up. They go down into a cellar/basement, which was once an old dungeon. Julie finds an antique grandfather clock, dating back several centuries. She asks Bob to bring it upstairs into the main room. The clock doesn't appear to be working correctly, but Julie finds a key to open up the frame for the clapper. Bob makes an adjustment and the clock begins ticking. As the stroke of midnight arrives, there is a knock at the door.

The Farrells answer the door and find a strangely dressed middle-aged man named Tristram Halbin. Tristram is here to see the Mailer family, but Bob and Julie tell him that no such family lives here any longer. Aware of the terrible storm taking place outside, the Farrells offer Tristram shelter. Bob says that he can help them clean the place up in exchange for room and board. Tristram is very grateful.

The following day, Bob sets himself up in the main foyer. He is a writer and begins writing a piece about local witch lore. A man named Doctor Bernard Finchley pays a visit and introduces himself to Bob. He welcomes him to the village and appears to know a bit about the local lore himself - particularly in regards to this estate. He tells Bob about Lucy Mailer - a witch who lived at this castle and died in the year 1673. He says that Mailer and all of her family members are buried in a crypt beneath the castle. He also mentions that Lucy had enchanted an old clock, giving it the power to bring back the dead.

After Finchley leaves, Bob goes down into the dungeon. He finds the hidden crypt and the vaults containing the bodies of Mailer's friends and family. He also finds a crypt bearing the name Tristram Halbin who died in 1673. Bob now knows the truth about the man upstairs. He runs upstairs to confront Tristram who is in the process of hypnotizing Julie Farrell. Bob exposes Tristram as a warlock and threatens to destroy the clock that resurrected him. Tristram reaches out to stop him, but as Bob stops the clock's clapper, all three of the suddenly erupt into flame. The fire spreads through the rest of the house, gutting the entire building.

Sometime later, a new family moves into the burnt ruins of the Mailer estate. As before, they find the grandfather clock and get it working. Moments later, Tristram Halbin arrives at their door.

King Vampire[]

At a police station in London, two homicide detectives discuss the most recent of a string of thirteen mysterious deaths. The police chief, Marsh, is stymied by the strange deaths and detective John Brenner determines that it could only be the work of a madman. Marsh tells Brenner that the locals have begun referring to the killer as "King Vampire". Brenner decides to investigate the alleys near Welsley Lane where the last murder occurred.

When he arrives there, he sees a gathering of men murmuring to themselves. None of them appear interest in Brenner's questions, but it is clear to him that that they live in great fear of King Vampire. Brenner continues prodding them until one of the men offers forth a description. He says that he saw King Vampire one evening and describes him as slight of build, dressed in black like an undertaker. The other men begin to shy away. A woman named Mrs. O'Shea appears. She confirms what the other men have stated. She says that King Vampire has the face of a corpse.

Brenner returns to Inspector Marsh's office and gives him the description of King Vampire. Marsh has his secretary Miss Clark take notes.

Later that evening, King Vampire appears and murders Mrs. O'Shea in a back alley. The crowd gathers around her body and before long Inspectors Marsh and Brenner arrive as well. They cannot understand how the vampire managed to find the one woman who could identify him. The mob leaders already have a suspect in mind. They accost a well-dressed man walking through the park. They accuse him of murdering Mrs. O'Shea. The man has blood on his glove, which only serves to make him appear guilty. He says that the blood came from a dog that he killed. The unruly mob doesn't believe him and they pounce on the gentleman, beating him to death.

A few days later, John Brenner returns to the office. Marsh informs him that three more murders have taken place following the death of the gentleman. Clearly, he was not actually King Vampire. Brenner theorizes that King Vampire might not actually be a "king" at all. In fact, he concludes, he believes that it might actually be a woman. Marsh finds the idea absurd. Brenner leaves his office and Marsh continues to scoff over the notion of a woman committing all of the murders. At which point, Miss Clark gets up from her chair, bears her vampire fangs and attacks Inspector Marsh.

Monster Raid[]

Doctor James Sevard arrives at the castle laboratory of scientist Charles Spalding and his wife, Helen. Spalding tells James about his experiment with great enthusiasm. He is attempting to stimulate dead cell tissue and bring people back from the dead. Doctor Sevard is not here to learn about Spalding's work however. He has come to invite him to a party at his chateau. Doctor Spalding is too wrapped up in his research to attend, but recommends that his wife Helen should go in his place. What he doesn't realize is that this is exactly what Sevard wanted. Helen escorts James to the front door, but they stop in the library to have an intimate moment with one another. The two have been having an affair behind Doctor Spalding's back. They intend on murdering Charles and stealing his work. They can then present it to the scientific panel in Geneva and reap great wealth and fame. Harding's assistant, Desmond, overhears them and reports the news to Doctor Spalding. He tells him how they intend on "doing him in" and taking credit for his discovery. Charles is shocked, but takes the news in stride and maintains his compsoure. He summons Doctor Sevard to his lab.

Doctor Spalding needs a guinea pig to test his theories. He says that he would like Sevard to volunteer for hte experiment, but James politely declines. Sevard recommends using Charles' assistant, Desmond, but Charles rejects the notion. He ultimately decides to test his new formula on himself. Sevard takes advantage of the opportunity and increases the dosage on the formula. The formula places Harding into a deep state of suspended animation. They believe that he is dead. Funeral services are held for him and Doctor Sevard signs the death certificate himself.

A few days later, Desmond goes to the crypt and exhumes Doctor Spalding's rotting remains. Spalding revives. The formula has preserved his life, but he is a zombie now, albeit with full command of his mental faculties. Desmond and he take a coach and ride back to the castle to get revenge against Sevard and Helen Spalding. While Desmond sets fire to the castle, Spalding lumbers through the castle until he finds those who murdered him. He strangles Doctor Sevard then takes vengeance against his "widow", Helen.

The Spark of Life[]

Doctor Mendell is a professor at a university experimenting on the effects of electricity on human cadavers. He lectures two of his students, Doctors Cushing and Sedgewick on the possibilities of using electrical power to reanimate the dead. After class, the two junior scientists get it in their head to put Mendell's experiments to the test. Mendell is at first horrified by the notion, but cannot resist the opportunity to prove his life's work.

They roll a medical cadaver into Mendell's office and he sets up his electrical equipment. He runs a few tests, and then channels massive volumes of electricity into the corpse. The body shakes, growls and slowly rises. Mendell cuts the power and the body collapses, inert. Mendell is pleased and asserts that further treatments might actually bring the entire body back to life.

They make a second attempt, but Mendell is disappointed with the results. He begins to doubt whether he will truly be able to bring a body from the dead. At that moment, the corpse springs to life and begins spastically twitching all over the table. The three men rush over to restrain him. After a few tense moments, the body collapses again. Mendell is pleased. He now believes that he will be able to take his work to the next level. He goes to another section of the laboratory to ponder the possibilities.

The body awakens and is slightly more relaxed now. It begins to speak and introduces itself to the other two scientists as Amos Duncan. Doctor Cushing recognizes the name as belonging to a man that murdered three people and was executed for his crimes. Duncan, still weak, confirms that he is that same man and declares that he will now have his revenge against those that executed him.

Mendell, Cushing and Sedgewick consult with one another over what to do next. They can't very well have a convicted murderer running around. Despite their collective reservations, they decide that it would be best to destroy Duncan. Mendell is selected to be the one do the deed. Cushing and Sedgewick leave and Mendell remains in the lab to take care of Duncan. They come back into the lab moments later to see how things went. They see a body on the table under a sheet. Cushing checks the body's pulse to confirm that it is deceased. When he pulls back the sheet however, he finds that it is actually Doctor Mendell's body on the table. As the two men look on in horror, Amos Duncan creeps up behind them with a knife.

Count Dracula[]

In Transylvania, a man named Harker travels to the castle of a Count named Alucard. The coachman will only take him so far and warns Harker about staying at the castle. Harker has no patience for the driver's superstitious nature and elects to make the rest of the journey on foot. The Count greets him and offers him a meal. While they dine, they conclude a business matter which involves the sale of a piece of property near London called Carfax Abbey. The Count shows Harker to his room and excuses himself. He tells him that he will be unable to greet him in the morning and will have to wait until sundown before they meet again.

A short time later, a woman named Medina enters Harker's room. She is a vampire and tries to seduce him. Just as she bites into his throat however, Harker hears a disturbance from outside the castle. Medina quickly gets up and leaves the room. Harker goes to follow her and runs into the Count. The Count takes note of the fresh wounds on Harker's neck. They hear a knock on the door and go to answer it. The town Burgomeister alerts them that a young child has been attacked by a woman in white. The townspeople suspect that it might be the work of a vampire. Harker volunteers to help out their search parties.

A group of people wander through the moors and cemeteries surrounding the castle. One of their number, Hans, separates from the group and begins searching on his own. A vampire woman appears and attacks him and the man shouts. The others begin running towards the sound of his voice. They find the villager dead on the ground, but no sign of the vampire. They split the search party into two groups and Harker and the Burgomeister begin exploring the crypts. They find two coffins, one of which containing the body of the vampire who attacked Hands. Harker drives a wooden stake into her heart, destroying her. They then turn their attention towards finding the second vampire woman. Medina appears in the crypt and Harker pushes her against her coffin as he plunges a stake into her heart.

He returns to Alucard's castle and tells the Count the news. He pledges that he must now find the vampire responsible for turning the two women into monsters. Alucard quickly realizes that Harker is speaking about him and prepares to attack him. It is Harker who gets the upper hand however when he reveals his own secret -- he is a werewolf!

Cast[]

Actor

Role

Lon Chaney, Jr.

Doctor Mendell

John Carradine

Narrator / Tristram Halbin

Rochelle Hudson

Helen Spalding

Roger Gentry

Bob Farrell / Dr. James Sevard / Harker / Mob Leader

Ron Doyle

John Brenner / Dr. Charles Spalding / Doctor Cushing

Karen Joy

Julie Farrell / Vampire (Medina)

Vic McGee

Doctor Barnaby Finchley / Desmond / Amos Duncan / The Burgomeister

Marsh

Mrs. O'Shea

The coachman

Doctor Sedgewick

Notes & Trivia[]

This film is alternately known as Gallery of Horrors, Return from the Past, Alien Massacre and The Blood Suckers.
The tagline to this film is, "So shocking it will sliver your liver!"
Not to be confused with Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.
Lon Chaney, Jr. is credited only as Lon Chaney in this film.
In "The Spark of Life", reference is made to Baron Eric von Frankenstein.
Although the title of the fifth vignette is "Count Dracula", the character is actually named Alucard. Alucard is "Dracula" spelled backwards. The name has been used in several different media sources, the earliest of which was the 1943 film Son of Dracula featuring Lon Chaney, Jr.. The name has also been used in Dracula A.D. 1972, the Hellsing animated series and in the Castlevania series of video games.