House Of 1000 Dolls (1967/Umbrella Entertainment/PAL Region Free/Zero/0/DVD
Import/Pan & Scan edition)
Picture:
C- Sound: C Extras: D Film: C+
PLEASE
NOTE: This DVD set can only be operated on machines capable of playing back
DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0/Free PAL format software and can be ordered
from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at
the end of the review.
One of
the less-discussed and seen Vincent Price films, Jeremy Summers’ House Of 1000 Dolls (1967) is an uneven
tale of a couple (George Nader and Ann Smyrner) visiting Tangiers for a fun,
pleasant vacation, only to run into a frantic old friend whose girlfriend (Maria
Rohm) has been abducted. Turns out she
is being added to a brothel of forced labor and stage magician Price may know
more about it that he lets on.
I had not
seen this film for decades and was curious to see it again and some parts work,
but what is a glaring problem is that it looked more familiar that expected
because this is a pan and scan TV print with only the opening and closing
credits letterboxed! Where is a good
print? Summers directed genre films on
and off like Vengeance Of Fu Manchu,
but is bets known for his run of directing ITC action shows like Man Of The World, Danger Man, The Saint, The Baron, Randal & Hopkirk (Deceased), Jason King, U.F.O., The Protectors and Return Of The Saint, so he has a grasp of the material and does his
best with it. This film deserves a
better edition and maybe with extras. Martha
Hyer, Sancho Gracia and Wolfgang Kieling also star.
Originally
shot in Techniscope with a 2.35 X 1 aspect ratio, the 1.33 X 1 pan and scan
image looks bad with softness, flaws and stretching all over the place. This was meant to be a decent-looking film originally
issued in three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor. Genre Director of Photography Manuel Merino
delivered its distinct look. This is
hard to watch and too old a transfer. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is about a generation down throughout and can be more
distorted or worn than necessary. As
noted above, there are no extras.
Also as
noted above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo