Bezenby I suppose how horrible you think Doctor Hitchcock is depends on your own view of necrophilia. I mean, sure, the first time we see him he's bashed the head of a gravedigger so he can have a quick go on a corpse's paps, but then he did show his kinder side by also being the Doctor who stitched up the poor guy's head at the hospital later. And it's not necrophilia is his wife is still alive, and only looks dead because of the drugs he pumps her full of, is it? It's a complicated issue.This film also gives us a Double Scouse Lead Actor Line-up! (or D.S.L.A.L for short)! Not only do we have Birkenhead born Barbara Steele in the film, but playing Doctor Hitchcock is Liverpool born actor Roberyt Flemyng! Very little is known of this actor, except that he was an aristocratic-looking character actor, with a 60-year long theatrical career stretching back to 1931. The son of a Liverpool physician, he had a brief medical career, which he abandoned in preference to becoming a thespian. Rose to prominence as Keit Neilan in 'French Without Tears' in 1936. Thereafter, had leading roles on the London and Liverpool stages. Also appeared on Broadway and went on tour in 1952 opposite Katherine Cornell in 'The Constant Wife'. During World War II, he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps, reaching the rank of full colonel. He was awarded the MC (Military Cross) in 1941, mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the military OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1944 King's Honours List for his services to the Royal Army. On 21st March, 1995, he suffered a serious stroke and was for a time comatose. He eventually recovered consciousness, but was incapable of speech and was limited in his movements. He died as a patient in St. Thomas's Hospital in London in the early hours of May 22nd, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.Barbara by the way is Dr Hitchcock's second wife, because Hitchcock accidentally killed his first wife with those drugs while trying to turn her into a fake-corpse. Hitchcock, after twelve years, has now returned to his creepy old mansion with Barabararararara, who immediately takes a dislike to meddlesome ratbag housemaid Harriet White. After some screaming is heard, an alarmed Barararararbara is told that's just Harriet's crazy sister and that she's getting shipped off to some loony bin the next day. If that's the case, however, who's running around laughing, being spooky, and making use of the mansion's standard-issue secret passageways? And why is that creepy cat still alive after twelve years?Barbara Steele sure does a lot of fainting in this film! Someone leaves a skull in her bed = faint. She's out in the garden when a ghostly bridesmaid runs about = faint. She looks through a keyhole and sees someone preparing a noose = keels over. That last one doesn't work out too well for her either. Someone's up to something, and while all that's happening Dr Hitchcock is getting a hankering for some cold flesh, and constantly nearly keeps getting caught at the hospital morgue for this troubles (mainly by suspicious Silvano Tranquili, who has the hots for Barbara).I'm going to level with you here and say that this film isn't exactly a white knuckle ride. It's pure undiluted Gothic horror that takes it's sweet time getting to conclusion, but just like his other film The Ghost, Riccardo Freda makes good use of colour and throws in loads of mood (and thunderstorms, don't forget thunderstorms). There's one particularly weird scene where Barbara hallucinates Hitchcock's face swelling up while red light fills the screen. That said, I do prefer the Ghost if I had to compare the two.

Witchfinder General 666 Riccardo Freda's L'ORRIBILE SEGRETO DELL DR. HICHCOCK aka. THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK(1962) was only the third Gothic Horror film starring the wonderful genre-goddess Barbara Steele, the first two being two masterpieces, Mario Bava's LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO (BLACK Sunday/THE MASK OF Satan) of 1960 and Roger Corman's PIT AND THE PENDULUM in which she starred alongside fellow Horror-deity Vincent Price. While this is not one of the most notable among the nine Italian Horror films starring the divine Miss Steele it is yet another creepy must-see for fans of Italian Gothic Horror and Barbara Steele in particular.In 1885, Doctor Hichcock (Robert Flemyng) leaves London after accidentally killing his wife with an overdose of an anesthetic. He returns several years later with his new wife Cynthia (Barbara Steele). It soon becomes clear that the Doctor has necrophiliac tendencies and that his weakness for anesthetics has to do with his own perverted desires...Director Riccardo Freda was one of the pioneers of Italian Horror cinema, having directed the first post-WW2 Italian Gothic Horror film I VAMPIRI (1956), which was, in fact, finished by the ultimate Italian Horror director Mario Bava (my personal choice for the greatest Horror director of all-time). While Freda's Gothic Horror films are very good they don't quite reach the quality of those by the incomparable Mario Bava and Antonio Margheriti, in my opinion.The most convincing reason to watch the film is, of course, Barbara Steele, who simply is the greatest Horror actress of all time in the humble opinion of yours truly. It is regrettable, however, that her role is restricted to that of the damsel in distress here. She played double-roles in many of her Italian Horror films (LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO, I LUNGHI CAPPELLI DELLA MORTE, AMANTI D'OLTRETOMBA, UN ANGELO PER SATANA) in which she combined the innocent and pure evil, and was always brilliant in doing so. In some other Italian Horror films her characters always had something mysterious and eerie about them. Not so in L'ORRIBILE DR. HICHCOCK, in which she has the role of a pure scream-queen. Personally I would have rather seen her as the villainess. However, she is still great and stunningly beautiful and her performance alone makes the film worthwhile.Another great aspect is the thick Gothic atmosphere which is created by the typically great use of camera-angles, darkness and shadows, the superbly creepy set pieces in an eerie old mansion and a nice, eerie score. Cinema does not get more elegant than Italian Gothic Horror from the 60s, and this film is yet another example for that. The film's theme of perversion and necrophilia is typical for early 60s Italian Gothic Horror, which wasn't yet quite as explicit as the Gialli and Horror films of the late 60s and 70s but was already thematically exploring the perverse and controversial.For quite some time, DR. HICHCOCK was the last Italian Horror film with Barbara Steele that I had yet to see. Freda made a sort-of sequel to this film one year later with LO SPETTRO (1963), which easily surpasses this one as it is even more atmospheric and Barbara Steele's role is way more sinister and macabre. Overall L'ORRIBILE SEGRETO DEL DR. HICHCOCK is not one of the highlights of Italian Gothic Horror but it is definitely a must-see for my fellow fans of the Genre and the wonderful Barbara Steele. For absolutely essential Italian Gothic Horror masterpieces starring Barbara Steele, watch Bava's LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO and Antonio Margheriti's DANZA MACABRA (CASTLE OF BLOOD, 1964).

dbdumonteil Riccardo Freda's film is another variant of Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca" updated as a horror and fantasy film: everything is on the menu: the widower who gets married again,the gloomy -but desirable- castle,the sinister-looking servant ,the wife who may or may not be dead and of course the new lady played by famous Barbara Steele (the actress is the main reason to watch this movie).Even the final is borrowed from "Rebecca" .The glass of milk directly comes from "suspicion" and "notorious" .There's also a dash of "psycho" thrown in for good measure.Thanks to Barbara Steele ,this slow-moving flick sustains interest and attention till the end.The long walks at night through the dark corridors and subterranean passages are well filmed.But if you want to see Barbara Steele in a really good work,try " La Maschera del Demonio" by Mario Bava instead.

IAmTheMessageCenter This is an average horror movie with some creepy moments and good atmosphere but a shaky plot that will leave the viewer befuddled. SpoilersIt starts off with Dr Hichcock injecting something into his smiling and willing wife. It's later revealed that it's an anaesthesia that can slow down the heart. Apparently he's a necrophiliac (though, being an old movie that element isn't made too clear) and his wife doesn't have a problem with it (and considering they sleep in separate rooms they are obviously a strange couple). When he injects too much she dies, or so we think. He returns 12 years later with a new wife Cynthia (Barbara Steele) but his first wife is still alive, as the Doctor knows. Why is she still alive? The movie doesn't elaborate. He wants to use Cynthia's blood to return his first wife's beauty (according to the back cover synopses anyway, there was only an obscure reference to this at the end of the movie). Why does he need to use her blood? Why couldn't he just use anyone's blood? He obviously has no problems with killing people so that's not a factor. Plus, he's a doctor and deals with blood and death for a living, why couldn't he just take the blood from one of his patients. It would be much more inconspicuous. But no, he takes some long, haphazard route of leaving for 12 years, getting married again and using Cynthia's blood. There is no reason given for this. And that's the main problem with this movie - It has too many plot holes and unanswered questions. It's easy to get absorbed in the creepy atmosphere but when you're left shaking your head at the end the movie proves more disappointing then appealing. It's too bad really because these problems could have been solved easily. The script is probably the easiest thing to do in a movie and considering this movie was a straight-forward horror there should not be room for such glaring errors. They nailed the directing, set design, costumes, acting and cinematography (somewhat anyway, for the last two) but they fail on the simplest element of the script.I should note however this is the 76 minute version so perhaps the fault lies in this edited version.One more thing to add, while I have seen Barbara Steele in a few Fellini films this is the first horror movie I have seen her in and from this movie alone I can understand why she became a horror cult icon.