| The Gorgon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | The Gorgon |
| Directed by: | Terence Fisher |
| Written by: | John Gilling; J. Llewellyn Devine |
| Produced by: | Anthony Nelson Keys |
| Music by: | James Bernard |
| Cinematography: | Michael Reed |
| Edited by: | Eric Boyd Perkins James Needs |
| Production | |
| Distributors: | Hammer Film Productions; Columbia Pictures |
| Released: | August 21st, 1964 (UK) February 17th, 1965 (USA) |
| Rating: | Unrated |
| Running time: | 83 min. |
| Country: | UK |
| Language: | English |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
The Gorgon is a British horror film of the supernatural monster subgenre. It was directed by Terence Fisher with a script written by John Gilling based on a story treatment by J. Llewellyn Devine. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions and premiered in the United Kingdom on August 21st, 1964. In the United States, the film was distributed through Columbia Pictures and released on February 17th, 1965. The Gorgon brings together the horror power couple of the 1960s, Christopher Lee as Professor Karl Meister and Peter Cushing as Doctor Namaroff. Other stars include Richard Pasco as Paul Heitz, Barbara Shelley as Carla Hoffman, Michael Goodliffe as Professor Jules Heitz and Patrick Trought as Inspector Kanof.
Plot[]
While Bruno Heitz is painting a semi-nude portrait of his girlfriend, Sasha Cass, she tearfully announces she's pregnant with his baby and begs him to marry her immediately. He leaves the house to go and tell her father, and she chases after him. She follows him into the woods and screams in terror. The next day, Inspector Kanof and the constable bring Sascha's body to Vandorf Mental Institution for Dr. Namaroff to perform an autopsy, but Namaroff cannot do an autopsy as Sascha's body has been turned to stone. Kanof and the constable search the woods with dogs and find Bruno's body hanging from a tree. At the coroner's inquest at the courthouse, Bruno is found guilty of Sascha's murder and his father, Professor Jules Heitz, vows to clear his name. Heitz later visits Namaroff and recounts the myth of the Gorgons, snake-headed creatures who turn anyone who sees their face to stone.
Heitz, staying at Bruno's house, is attacked by angry villagers, but Kanof and the constable arrive and chase them away. Heitz sends a telegram to his other son, Paul , who is a student at Leipzig university, asking him to come to Vandorf. He hears a voice and follows it to the castle where he is petrified by an ugly face. The dying Heitz makes it back home and manages to write a final letter to Paul before turning to stone. Paul arrives the next day but is not allowed to see his father's body. Namaroff has attributed his death to heart failure but Paul does not believe him, having read the last letter. Paul goes to his father's house and finds Carla Hoffman, Namaroff's assistant, reading the letter. Carla tells Paul that Megaera the Gorgon does exist. At the hospital, Carla tells Namaroff what she has learned about the Gorgon from Heitz' letter to Paul. Namaroff tells Carla that Megaera has taken on human form. Ratoff, an orderly, tells Namaroff that Martha, a mental patient, has died.
Prudence Hyman as The Gorgon.
Paul, staying at his father's house, hears the voice and goes outside where he sees a reflection of the ugly face in the fountain and passes out. Paul wakes up in hospital days later. When he's discharged, Paul tells Namaroff that he's staying in Vandorf to destroy the creature. As he leaves, Namaroff sees that Carla and Paul are holding hands. Namaroff tells Ratoff to watch Carla every night, fearing she is in danger. Paul digs up his father's grave and finds his body turned to stone. Carla appears and tells Paul she is afraid of Namaroff and that he is jealous of them. Paul offers to take her away with him but she refuses. Back at the house, Professor Karl Meister, Paul's friend and tutor, arrives, having heard the news.
Namaroff performs an autopsy on Martha, and Carla asks him if she is Megaera, but he denies. Meister and Paul discuss Megaera and discover that Paul survived because he only saw her reflection. At the station, Kanof shows Meister and Paul details of all the women who have come to live in Vandorf; Carla is one of them. Carla demands to know why Namaroff and Ratoff spy on her, and he tells her he is trying to protect her. Carla tells Namaroff she's had enough of his jealousy and leaves him. She telephones Paul and asks him to meet her at the castle the next morning. Carla meets Paul and agrees to come away with him but says it must be immediately. When he says he must find Megaera first, she says it will be too late then. After Carla leaves, Ratoff appears and attempts to kill Paul with a knife, but Meister arrives and chases him away.
Meister finds a file on Carla which shows that she suffered from amnesia attacks during the full moon; he thinks she is Megaera but Paul refuses to believe it. They find Carla outside struggling with Ratoff, but he is again chased away by Meister. Carla tells Paul it's too late to go away. Namaroff, Kanof and the constable search the house for Carla but Paul has sent her to catch the train to Leipzig and will join her later. After Namaroff, Kanof and the constable leave, Paul telephones the hotel in Leipzig where he sent Carla to stay, but discovers she didn't arrive. Paul attempts to go out and look for Carla, but Meister tells him he won't find her. Meister locks Paul in his room but he climbs out of the window and heads to the castle to find Carla. At the hospital, Namaroff reads Carla's file and tearfully discovers that she is Megaera.
Kanof and the constable return to arrest Paul for Carla's abduction, but Meister discovers that Paul is not in his room. Kanof and the constable attempt to arrest Meister instead, but he knocks out the constable and heads to the castle to find Paul. Paul arrives at the castle and finds Namaroff, armed with a sword and waiting for Carla. The two fight, leaving Namaroff unconscious. Megaera appears and petrifies Paul, but he beheads her with Namaroff's sword. Meister arrives as Megaera's severed head reverts back into Carla's form. Meister assures Paul that Carla is now free. Paul begins turning to stone, but continues to live.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Christopher Lee | Professor Karl Meister |
| Peter Cushing | Dr. Namaroff |
| Richard Pasco | Paul Heitz |
| Barbara Shelley | Carla Hoffman |
| Michael Goodliffe | Professor Jules Heitz |
| Patrick Troughton | Inspector Kanof |
| Joseph O'Conor | Coroner |
| Prudence Hyman | The Gorgon |
| Jack Watson | Ratoff |
| Redmond Phillips | Hans |
| Jeremy Longhurst | Bruno Heitz |
| Toni Gilpin | Sascha Cass |
| Joyce Hemson | Martha |
| Alister Williamson | Janus Cass |
| Michael Peake | Constable |
| Sally Nesbitt | Nurse |
Notes & Trivia[]
- The tagline for this film is, "A monster with the power to turn living screaming flesh into stone!"
- Principal shooting on The Gorgon began on December 9th, 1963. [1]
- The Gorgon was filmed at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. Most of the classic "Hammer Horror" films were shot here. [2]
- This film is included on the Icons of Horror Collection: Hammer Films DVD collection along with The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Scream of Fear and The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll. The collection was released by Sony Pictures on October 14th, 2008.
- The Gorgon is Terence Fisher's ninth horror film as a director, as well as his ninth film for Hammer Film Productions.
Allusions[]
- A gorgon is a creature of mythological Greek legend and is a described as a female creature with venomous snakes for hair, whose gaze was so horrifying that one look from a gorgon could turn any person into stone. In the classic Greek tradition, there are three known gorgons, all of whom were sisters: Stheno and Euryale, and Medusa. Thanks to popular culture and films such as Clash of the Titans, Medusa has become the most well-known of the gorgon sisters. This film refers to the gorgon sisters as Tisiphone, Megaera, and Medusa. It is posited that Megaera is the name of the gorgon who haunts the castle of Vandorf.
- The setting for this film is a village called Vandorf in Germany. Vandorf is a fictional location, but the name may have been taken from Vandorf hamlet, which is in the municipality of Whitchurch–Stouffville in Ontario, Canada.
Recommendations[]
1960s Horror
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ IMDB; The Gorgon (1964); Box office & business.
- ↑ IMDB; The Gorgon (1964); Filming locations.
| Hammer Horror This article relates to the films produced under the "Hammer Horror" banner of Hammer Film Productions. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Hammer Film Productions category. Dracula
Frankenstein
The Mummy
Others
X the Unknown (1956) • The Abominable Snowman (1957) • The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) • Curse of the Werewolf (1961) • Scream of Fear (1961) • Phantom of the Opera (1962) • Kiss of the Vampire (1963) • Paranoiac (1963) • Nightmare (1964) • The Old Dark House (1963) • The Gorgon (1964) • Plague of the Zombies (1966) • The Reptile (1966) • The Devil Rides Out (1968) • The Vampire Lovers (1970) • Lust for a Vampire (1971) • Hands of the Ripper (1971) • Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) • Countess Dracula (1971) • Twins of Evil (1972) • Demons of the Mind (1972) • Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) • To the Devil a Daughter (1976) |