CARNIVAL OF SOULS

Candace Hilligoss

CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962). Director: Herk Harvey.

Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) is one of three young women whose car goes over a bridge and sinks deep into a river, but she is the only one who survives. Mary is a blunt, direct person whose reaction to the tragedy is to have no reaction at all. Traveling to a new town, she gets a room in a boarding house and a new job as church organist. But everywhere she goes Mary is followed by a gaunt, creepy fellow (played by director Harvey), and on other occasions no one can see or hear her, as if she has stepped out of existence. She becomes obsessed by the idea that she will learn the truth about herself at a huge abandoned dance hall near the water. But she may have preferred that she remained in blissful ignorance.

Stan Levitt and Candace Hilligoss

The low-budget but creatively filmed Carnival of Souls was undoubtedly influenced by the 1960 Twilight Zone episode "The Hitch-hiker," or by its source, Lucille Fletcher's famous radio play. But this variation on a theme has its own pleasures, not the least of which is the location filming, especially in that real abandoned dance hall on the beach. The performances are better than you might expect in a 99 cent item, although Hilligoss -- who clearly felt she was superior to the material -- comes off like a talented amateur who needs some seasoning. In fact the film itself seems in many ways like an admirable but amateur movie that might have amounted to much more (especially given those locations) had a more experienced director been at the helm --most of Harvey's films were documentaries -- but for what it is, Carnival of Souls is not bad.

Dance of the Dead

Some of the other cast members make a positive impression. Sidney Berger is excellent as the slimy John Linden, who lives in the boarding house with Mary and has an obvious and vulgar yen for her. Frances Feist, who plays the landlady and appeared on Broadway in Harvey, gets across her general uneasiness when in the presence of Mary, and there is also some good work from Art Ellison as a sympathetic minister and Stan Levitt as a doctor who tries to help Mary deal with her problems. Carnival of Souls has silly aspects -- with the creepy man turning up all over the place for an almost comical effect, and its quasi-religious aspects aren't well-handled --  but it is also undeniably eerie and compelling. The sequences when no one can see or hear Mary and she feels as if she has simply ceased to exist are disturbing, as is the not unexpected denouement. Maurice Prather's cinematography is a decided asset; most of his work was on documentaries. Sidney Berger was an acting coach; his only other film credit was a bit in the 1999 remake.

Verdict: Highly interesting low-budget spook fest. ***. 

THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE

Robert Milli, Candace Hilligoss, and Hugh Franklin 

THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE (1964). Produced, written and directed by Del Tenney.

In New England in 1892, old Mr. Sinclair passes away and his family learns that his will has strange provisions, mostly having to do with his terror of being buried alive. If these provisions aren't carried out, there will be dire consequences, with family members dying according to their greatest fears. Oddly, the first person to die is the maid, Letty (Linda Donovan), who is beheaded. You would think knowing that someone is running around cutting the heads off of the staff would be enough to make everyone move out of the old house, but no, these people almost act as if it's, like, no big problem. Then there are more murders, with one person being dragged behind a horse, another burned to death in her bedroom, and so on ... Is old Mr. Sinclair really dead or not?

Helen Waren and Roy Scheider

The Curse of the Living Corpse has an interesting cast, many of whom came from the theater. Robert Milli, who gets right into the 19th century tone of the piece as vain Bruce Sinclair, worked with Richard Burton in Hamlet around the same time.  Roy Scheider [Sorcerer] is acceptable as drunken Philip Sinclair, and later gained fame when he starred in Jaws, although one wouldn't have imagined he was necessarily destined for great things. Margot Hartman, who plays Philip's wife, Vivian, and is quite good, was married to the writer and director of the film, Del Tenney. One of the best performances in the film is given by Helen Waren, who plays the widow Abigail in very convincing fashion. Hugh Franklin is notable as family lawyer Benson, as is Jane Bruce as the cook and housekeeper. George Cotton makes an amusing Constable Winters, and Candace Hilligoss pops in from her more famous feature, Carnival of Souls, to make a modest contribution in a supporting role.

Roy Scheider in a dramatic moment

The Curse of the Living Corpse doesn't suffer from any great logic, but it it is enthusiastically presented and Tenney directs some of the sequences with a small degree of flair. The picture has atmosphere as well, and with all its scenes of a cloaked figure sneaking about reminds one of silent flicks like The Cat and the Canary or later films such as The Bat.  One suspects that no one took the film very seriously, but it manages to be modestly entertaining in spite of it. This was released on a double-bill with Tenney's rock horror "classic," The Horror of Party Beach.

Verdict: Watch out for that head on a platter! **1/2.