Celui qui n'existait pas

One of the last of the great William Castle's horror/schlock masterpieces from the 60s. This one doesn't have quite the tongue-in-cheek humor of some of his earlier efforts like "The Tingler", or even "Homicidal", but it's still worth looking into. Barbara Stanwyck's acting is solid in this film, although her screaming-hacking cough borders on the ridiculous after awhile.

There are, however, two excellent sequences in this film that are not to be missed. One is the expressionistic prolouge, narrated by Paul Frees in his recognizably sinister voice, and the other is the late-night marriage ceremony, which is also eerie and well done.

Another great facet of this movie is the music score by Vic Mizzy. Mizzy did many excellent scores to minor films during the 60s, but this one is perhaps his very best one. It adds greatly to the film's atmosphere and suspense.

I watched this film so many times in my youth that I lost the count. Maybe it was because William Castle produced it, or the handsome "dream lover", the music by Vic Mizzy, its surprise ending (which I should have known from reel 1), or the happy time I was having when it was released: I was 13 years old, The Supremes had their first hits, and many stars of the past were back in action. Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tallulah Bankhead, and real-life sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, all starred in black-and-white horror and suspense vehicles in which grand guignol reigned. In this film (written by "Psycho" author, Robert Bloch), Barbara Stanwyck is rather restrained compared to her peers, as a widow having strange dreams (in which Lloyd Bochner seduces her), with ex-husband Robert Taylor lending a hand to solve the mystery. Even knowing the ending, I still enjoyed it again and again.

I remember watching it when I was a kid and it scared me badly. Revisiting it so many years later, not so much. Maybe it was the Watergate era in the intervening years that makes everybody suspect anybody and everybody else. But I digress.

Barbara Stanwyck, still a handsome woman at 57, plays Irene Trent. She's married to a wealthy maimed blind ....scientist???...Howard Trent, who is over the top jealous and thinks because his wife talks in her sleep about some dream lover she is actually having an affair. They have a confrontation about his suspicions, he tries to strike her with his cane, and she runs into the street. At about that time there is smoke coming from Howard's lab. And yet blind, he goes up into that lab to handle this himself, there is a fiery explosion, and no more Howard.

And I mean literally no more Howard as in no body. The arson squad guy thinks this is not odd and says there was such extreme heat that the body disintegrated, while he stands next to all kinds of electrical equipment that is undamaged. And the fireproof door saved the rest of the house, and yet there is a hole in the floor. Is there a physicist in the house?

So the thing is, Irene starts having vivid dreams, as in a young man who comes to her, even marries her, with each dream ending with a burned Howard appearing. She feels like these "dreams" are actually happening, not just her imagination. What is going on here? Watch and find out.

So many questions and issues. How did Howard and Irene meet and why would she marry him? She seems to completely loathe every aspect of the guy. She had/has her own business that is doing well, was it just his money? This is never explained. The creepy organ music seems to be "Food Glorious Food" from Oliver, four years before the fact. And there are some very large plot holes - I'll let you find them - I still can't explain. And finally a warning - the film's prologue about dreams goes on forever.

And yet, in spite of all of this, I still like it. It is very much an example of "last gasp of the production code" horror. No gore, no "blood feasts", no hippies. Everybody is always dressed like they are going to work. It uses actual suspense - and mannequins! - to scare you. I'd recommend it.

This is an highly imaginative and entertaining spookfest with a focus on nightmares and dreams. It lacks William Castle's usual gimmicks to attract an audience yet stands out as a fine film effort.

When a blind man - suspicious of his wife's loyalty to him due to her dreams of another lover - dies in a bizarre laboratory explosion, his wife begins to have nightmares about him and begins to suspect she may be going crazy.

There's a good creepy atmosphere here and to think it's achieved without many of the expected gimmicks and thrills - the chapel-wedding sequence with the mannequins, spinning chandelier, candles being particularly effective.

Barbara Stanwyck is quite good in this but they do have her just stand still and scream too much in this movie. The ending too is not without its problems but still this film makes for enjoyable late-night viewing.

Perhaps the key to enjoying this movie is to come to it with no expectations, as I did--or to be a fan of William Castle (as I am becoming!). If you know William Castle's work, you know to expect low-budget chills that don't take themselves very seriously. What's surprising about this film is that it's actually fairly sophisticated. The plot has some excellent twists; the chills are more psychological and less gore-dependent than in other Castle films I can think of; and it's just fun to see two great (albeit aging) stars get their teeth into a horror script. Barbara Stanwyck is excellent, and Robert Taylor comes a close second.

Why this little gem isn't available on DVD with (what I consider to be) lesser Castle works baffles me. It's definitely worth seeking out for your next cheesy horror fest.