Tormented

The first thing to notice is the photography of Ernest Laszlo, a veteran of film noir who shot the classic "D.O.A.", "Kiss Me Deadly" and Fritz Lang's "While the City Sleeps." (And the same year "Tormented" came out, he did "Inherit the Wind"!) He elevates this little ghost tale no end, with nice compositions such as the shots through broken lighthouse windows.

Classical ghost stories usually don't have very far to go, and that's probably why there aren't too many of them in American cinema. Someone's haunted, that's it. Such tales are atmosphere-heavy instead of plot-heavy, since motive and outcome are usually obvious. In this case, the atmosphere is a combination of spookiness (with some clumsy effects, and some smooth ones, like the pan shot across the room to reveal the missing LP which has somehow moved to the record player) and the neurotic paranoia of the hero, who reveals himself as trapped a sap as many a noir fool who blames his troubles on a dame. The plot delays and prolongs, but the last act juggles several nice twists. By the end, this cynical little flick has shown more style and imagination than several recent special-effects ghost movies.

Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) is about to marry sweet Meg Hubbard (Legene Sanders). So, a week before the wedding he decides to break it off with big-breasted girlfriend Vi (Juli Reding). A WEEK BEFORE the wedding??!!!??? Hey, why so soon Tom? Why not do it on your honeymoon? She threatens to blackmail him with love letters. She tells him this while they're on top of a deserted lighthouse on a remote island. Great timing Vi. She falls to her death--Tom could have saved her, but doesn't. Next thing you know her ghost is tormenting him--parts of her body appear to him (but no one else), he hears her voice, sees her in pictures and begins going crazy. But is she really come back from the dead or is he out of his mind?

Silly, but I enjoyed it. I was never really bored and the story throws every ghost story cliché at you with blaring music and amusing special effects. There were even a few very creepy moments in there and Richard Carlson gives an excellent performance.

Even the crappy video transfer I saw didn't hurt--it was also 5 minutes shorter than it's reported running time and there were obvious bits missing and scratches all throughout the print. Purportedly, Something Weird Video said this was a new transfer. Oh really? I find that hard to believe.

Still, it's a cheesy, fun, little horror film. Take it for what it is--don't go in expecting some classic.

If you're looking for first-class or even second-class acting, this is not your movie. However, if you're familiar with and like other Allied Artists B-movie horror entries circa 1960, this one fits the bill. It's somewhat like a Beatnik version of the tell-tale heart.

Tom is a rising jazz pianist about to marry a girl from a prominent family. Unfortunately his ex-lover, buxom nightclub singer Vi, refuses to let go and threatens to show Tom's fianceé the letters he wrote her. Tom is afraid of exposure - I suppose his sheltered fiancé would be shocked! shocked I say! to find out that a 35 year old man is not a virgin! Vi leans against the railing of the old lighthouse they are arguing in and the railing breaks. Tom has a few seconds to save her as she clings to the railing screaming for help. However Tom was against saving her before he was for it and he lets her drop to her death. Now technically he has done nothing wrong - she did fall on her own - and if he went to the police now and said she fell he might get away with it. But he just walks away, leaves the lighthouse, leaves the body in the sea, and figures nobody will ever know... but his conscience knows.

So suddenly what should be a happy time in his life is filled with visions of his dead lover. Sometimes it's her hand trying on his fiancée's engagement ring, sometimes it's her head rebuking him, sometimes it's her whole body in a ghostly apparition popping up in engagement party photographs. However, only he sees these things - for awhile. As someone else said, at first you can somewhat sympathize with Tom, but as Vi's "head" predicts, he goes from bad to worse to cover up his crime, until at the end he is contemplating the most horrific act imaginable.

The acting here, except for Richard Carlson as Tom and Juli Redding as Vi, is so wooden you could build a bonfire out of the performances, but it all just fits in so well to the spartan Allied Artists early 60's horror atmosphere that I didn't mind. Even Ms. Redding has some weird Marilyn Monroe vibe going, but it's all part of the fun. The really weird part is the large section of the film dedicated to Tom's future sister-in-law - all of nine - doing her prepubescent best to win Tom away from her sister.

If you like films like "The Hypnotic Eye" and "Macabre" give this one a try, just realize it's much more camp and cheese than horror.

That Bert I. Gordon made some wacky flicks!

This film definitely has a dark, somber mood and rightly so. Is it really happening too Tom or is guilty conscience and insanity taking over? Despite the hindering of special effects at the time, the apparition scenes are pretty funny. Sandy really did grow up a lot during this movie. Was it a message of how the best laid plans end up crumbling like dust in the wind? Hey, can you blame Tom for falling for Vi? Oh, was there unintended humor when Tom asks the blind housekeeper if she saw something, and when she reminds him of her handicap, he says, "Sorry, I forgot.?" I always crack up at that one scene and anytime the beatnik shows up.

"No habla beatnik!"

I saw this movie a few weeks ago for the first time. I don't expected much, but after watching this, I was very surprised. It's one of those old films which are quiet good and not boring.

OK it is not a Blockbuster but it is very moody for a B-Movie. Even the Special Effects are okay for a film from the early 60's. The actors are quiet good, especially Juli Reding (Vi Mason), she is great. I think she imparts a bit of gallows humor (characteristic with her big breasts) to this Film :-)

The only deficit in this picture is the little Girl Sandy, she is very annoying. But generally speaking it is a nice movie for boring evenings.