Coverdale
04-14-2003, 03:50 AM
Don't think I've seen a review of this on this site, so here goes...
Anyone vaguely interested in the career of Jess Franco--or only familiar with his "classic period" (late 60s-mid 70s) would be well advised to check out this little gem from 1964, the prolific Spanish sleazemeister's first bona fide horror movie.
In 2000 Image Entertainment put out The Awful Dr. Orloff on DVD as part of their Euroshock Collection (or as I like to call it, "The Howard Vernon Collection," since it seems 90% of the titles feature Mr. Vernon in a starring role).
Story: Around the turn of the century in old Europe, beautiful women--all of them prostitutes or dancers--are disappearing left and right. Inspector Tanner is hard-pressed to solve the crime, and the trail eventually leads to a suave middle-aged man by the name of Dr. Orloff (played by Howard Vernon), who, with the help of his blind and mute assistant Morpho, is kidnapping these women to steal their skins! Why? To graft their perfect skin onto the face of his disfigured sister. Along the way, Tanner gets some unexpected help from his voluptuous girlfriend, who puts herself in harm's way to stop the madness of Dr. Orloff!
Comments: Many of the motifs found in later Jess Franco films had their genesis here--not only has Franco remade this film several times, he has used character names (like Morpho and Inspector Tanner) time and again. The sleaze factor so prevalent in later films is kept to a minimum here (hey, it was still the early '60s), but there are a couple o' tittie shots here and there. Graphic violence is also mostly implied, but Morpho's face is fairly horrifying enough. The acting and dubbing are the usual disgrace for this type of film, but obviously, that can be half the fun.
Transfer--Decent given the source material. Presented in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the black and white photography reminded me a bit of Black Sunday's (but with less skill than a Mario Bava could render). Still, the cinematography is adept enough, considering how Franco later became too "arty" for his own good at times.
Sound--Okay. Mono available either in English or French. I really liked the clanking, quasi-industrial soundtrack which may have been a distant precursor to some of the msuic in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre!
Extras--None to speak of on the disc itself, not even a trailer. However, the case (a snapper :cry: ) does feature excellent liner notes by film historian Tim Lucas. It's a shame he didn't do an audio commentary (anyone who's ever listened to one of his Bava commentaries will know what I mean).
Bottom line--The Awful Dr. Orlof is definitely worth owning if you are a fan of Jess Franco or the Eurohorror of the early '60s in general.
Anyone vaguely interested in the career of Jess Franco--or only familiar with his "classic period" (late 60s-mid 70s) would be well advised to check out this little gem from 1964, the prolific Spanish sleazemeister's first bona fide horror movie.
In 2000 Image Entertainment put out The Awful Dr. Orloff on DVD as part of their Euroshock Collection (or as I like to call it, "The Howard Vernon Collection," since it seems 90% of the titles feature Mr. Vernon in a starring role).
Story: Around the turn of the century in old Europe, beautiful women--all of them prostitutes or dancers--are disappearing left and right. Inspector Tanner is hard-pressed to solve the crime, and the trail eventually leads to a suave middle-aged man by the name of Dr. Orloff (played by Howard Vernon), who, with the help of his blind and mute assistant Morpho, is kidnapping these women to steal their skins! Why? To graft their perfect skin onto the face of his disfigured sister. Along the way, Tanner gets some unexpected help from his voluptuous girlfriend, who puts herself in harm's way to stop the madness of Dr. Orloff!
Comments: Many of the motifs found in later Jess Franco films had their genesis here--not only has Franco remade this film several times, he has used character names (like Morpho and Inspector Tanner) time and again. The sleaze factor so prevalent in later films is kept to a minimum here (hey, it was still the early '60s), but there are a couple o' tittie shots here and there. Graphic violence is also mostly implied, but Morpho's face is fairly horrifying enough. The acting and dubbing are the usual disgrace for this type of film, but obviously, that can be half the fun.
Transfer--Decent given the source material. Presented in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the black and white photography reminded me a bit of Black Sunday's (but with less skill than a Mario Bava could render). Still, the cinematography is adept enough, considering how Franco later became too "arty" for his own good at times.
Sound--Okay. Mono available either in English or French. I really liked the clanking, quasi-industrial soundtrack which may have been a distant precursor to some of the msuic in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre!
Extras--None to speak of on the disc itself, not even a trailer. However, the case (a snapper :cry: ) does feature excellent liner notes by film historian Tim Lucas. It's a shame he didn't do an audio commentary (anyone who's ever listened to one of his Bava commentaries will know what I mean).
Bottom line--The Awful Dr. Orlof is definitely worth owning if you are a fan of Jess Franco or the Eurohorror of the early '60s in general.