Das Folterhaus der Lady Morgan

Buxom beauty Barbara Nelli's ill-fated lady Susan is undeserving of her ghastly fate at the scheming hands of Vulpine vamp Erika Blank's hypnotically horrid governess, her evilly Gaslighting husband Harold (Paul Muller), and sizzlingly statuesque bad boy butler (George Mitchell). Massimo Pupillo's atmospheric, beautifully shot, crisply paced, seductively spooky melodrama has an especially tragic heroine, oodles of Machiavellian menace, and concludes bloodthirstily in a memorably macabre fashion! Ghostly Gothic terror treat La Vendetta Di Lady Morgan remains an absolute must for lovers of moody Italianate B-Movie baroque. With such a conspicuous flair for invention, it's a very great shame that maestro Pupillo never made another horror film. I must hereby happily confess that I had the greatest sympathy for lady Morgan's vengeance!

I sat to watch with expectations of a softer variety of genre film, and I wasn't entirely wrong. Even in Italy's rich cinematic history, the more robust sort of horror is rarely this beautiful to behold. Between the keen eyes of both director Massimo Pupillo and cinematographer Oberdan Troiani most every shot is plainly gorgeous if not outright brilliant; even the early sequence that includes the first instance of violence is a tiny feast for the eyes. This is to say nothing of the stupendous filming locations, the lavish, detailed production design and art direction, or the costume design, hair, and makeup that were all shaped with equal attentive care. Even the lighting and sound are deeply gratifying, nevermind those effects which are employed. Furthermore, from the start there's a measure of gracefulness and effortless, nuanced poise in the acting, not least from Barbara Nelli, and in the appropriate select instances such presentation deftly belies the understated severity of some characters. Then there's the tremendous, dynamic score of Piero Umiliani, in turn achingly lovely and bittersweet, and piercing and unnerving in its most dramatic chords. From top to bottom 'La vendetta di Lady Morgan,' or 'Lady Morgan's vengeance,' is utterly superb in its aesthetics, making it an experience not to be missed by this measure alone. How many of the most celebrated genre pieces can say the same?

Indeed, the picture begins gently, coming off more as a straight drama in its tone, its craftsmanship, and in the earliest story beats to greet us. Yet in its comparatively minute runtime of under one and one-half hours, it also doesn't take long for the tale to begin to take on a more sinister form. Between those dazzling aesthetics and the developing tenor of the narrative one can easily imagine how this may look had it been made in the United States, probably starring Vincent Price in a key role. There may not be any witches or monsters here, but there is a gothic darkness that lies thinly veiled beneath the outward prettiness, and the ominous gloom in Edward Duncan's story comes out as the plot progresses. We're given a saga of very human greed and cruelty, manifesting in not just murder but in scheming manipulation which adds a discrete psychological element to the proceedings, as the title character marries her suitor and comes home to a manor that drives her mad. None of this is secret; Gianni Grimaldi penned his screenplay in such a fashion that we can guess quite easily and early where the narrative is headed. Yet that narrative and each scene in turn are so wonderfully striking, compelling, and absorbing that the predictability is a non-issue - with truly masterful film-making and music bolstering a story that's already momentously, grimly flavorful, this becomes captivating in no time at all.

One might argue that some odds and ends are ill-fitting amidst the otherwise excellence: a curious flourish of a transition here, an overly exaggerated bit of acting there. Yet such minutiae are pointedly minor - rather negligible, really - when compared to the bountiful strength that 'La vendetta di Lady Morgan' otherwise boasts. Nelli may stand out the most, but her co-stars are just as terrific, including Erika Blanc, Paul Muller, and Michel Forain. By the time the feature reaches its third act, having moved from ordinary drama, to subtle wickedness, and at last to open spectacle and ugliness as the name comes to bear, we've been taken on such a magnificent journey by the powers of all facets combined that, by all reason, there's no meaningful fault to be found. The story adopts a wide arc from beginning to end, which makes it all the more impressive that it transpires in under ninety minutes in a manner that feels perfectly natural, with no pacing troubles in sight. Yes, to some extent it does represent a softer variety of horror, yet well before all is said and done, we get that more robust sort after all, and the sum total is immensely entertaining and satisfying. In fact, I dare say this is one of the best horror movies I've watched recently. As a matter of personal preference it won't appeal to all comers, but for my part I find 'La vendetta di Lady Morgan' to be an underappreciated treasure of a classic, and I'm pleased to give it my very high, hearty, and enthusiastic recommendation!

I first became aware of this rare example of Gothic Horror all' Italiana last Summer, via a late-night program dealing with Italian genre cinema in which Erika Blanc and Rosalba Neri were the guests of honor; in fact, the poor-quality copy I acquired was culled from a probably 30-year old TV broadcast on some obscure Sicilian channel! To be honest, I found the film's initial half to be merely average – but it was considerably redeemed by the latter stages (depicting the titular event), which were quite splendid. Interestingly, the premise of a group of schemers after an innocent young girl's legacy would see ample service within the giallo genre a few years on; with this in mind, the trio of villains (Paul Muller, Erika Blanc and Gordon Mitchell) are more interesting than the romantic leads (though, in all fairness, the male protagonist spends much of the running-time in a foreign country as a bed-ridden amnesiac!). In fact, not too long after he is pushed overboard during an ocean voyage, the heroine accepts the seemingly devoted Muller's proposal of marriage but, later still, is hypnotized(!) by sinister housekeeper Blanc into throwing herself off the family castle's walls; meanwhile, brawny groom Mitchell has imprisoned the girl's uncle in the dungeons below. Soon, however, the tables are turned as not only does the hero recover but, when he finally turns up at the estate, is met by the ghost of his loved one who brings him up to date. The couple then proceed to disrupt the villains' premature triumph – this is done via numerous tricks (a few of them supernatural) intended to bewilder but also cause dissent within the group. One unexpected touch towards the end sees the lot (who all turn up dead eventually) being able to materialize upon drinking the blood of the living i.e. the heroine's poor chained uncle! Despite the general low-key nature of THE VENGEANCE OF LADY MORGAN, it proves a surprisingly satisfactory entry within a prolific yet most popular genre.

While the modern, streaming copy of this old film is crystal clear and available in Italian with subtitles, that is probably the best thing I can say about it. Lady Morgans Vengeance is trite, boring and too much like a hundred other movies with the same themes.

This is some bizarre Italian attempt to combine Wuthering Heights with the 1940s classic film Gaslight. I was hoping that would be elegant and interesting but this flick is most notable for its sheer dull mediocrity. Scheming gold diggers drive a young heiress mad (I mean, I cannot understand for the life of me how she didn't figure out that they were whispering to her through the wall) and she comes back to haunt them with a series of unimpressive 1960s special effects.

If it were a better movie overall, I would complain about the spoon-feeding of the narrative in the last twenty minutes or so, but somehow it was unsurprising within the lame confines of this lazy attempt at gothic horror.

What a shame! Long lost 1965 film from Massimo Pupillo turns up with wonderful print with stunning b/w cinematography and is such a let down. Starts well enough as the tale is set up but then seems to take forever to inform us of the terrible tale that will eventually unfold. As it happens, very average though the main bulk of the film is, when we finally get to the actual 'vengeance' it is another drawn out sequence but more akin to US TV's 'Bewitched' with puffs of smoke, comedic falling about and appearances and disappearances. All the more shame because Barbara Nelli and Erica Blanc are stunning throughout (if a little over dressed) and there are some decent scenes that really should have been developed. As it is we have a film with great potential, just thrown away because nobody could decide if it was to be a Gothic horror, a tale of revenge, high drama or a comedy.