Autopsia de un fantasma

Autopsy of a Ghost (1968)

* (out of 4)

This is a real oddity in the Mexican-horror genre as even with Basil Rathbone, John Carradine and Cameron Mitchell no one in the past forty-plus years has bothered to add an English dub track or even subtitles. Since I don't speak Spanish I obviously missed the dialogue the story deals with Rathbone playing a ghost who is trapped inside a basement with his tag along skeleton. Satan (Carradine) finally shows up to give the ghost his day in court and says that he can enter Hell if he can get one of four women to fall in love with him. This movie has one of the worst reputations of any Mexican movie and it's sad to say that this turned out to be the final film in Rathbone's terrific career, which is just another case where a great actor goes out with something pretty bad. With that said, fans of bad cinema will still want to check this out and I can only hope at some point a fan (or someone crazy enough) adds some subtitles for people like me. With that said, I must admit that even though the film is pretty bad the director at least keeps things happening. There's all sorts of weirdness here starting with the talking skeleton and a laughing spider who is also living in this basement. All of Rathbone's scenes are filmed in this basement but I give the actor credit for still giving it his all. You can tell that he's at least trying to give some sort of performance even with all the camp going on around him. Carradine, who made a string of Mexican films during this period, plays Satan with a wink in his eye and just check out the sequence where he keeps stepping on his own tail. Mitchell appears quickly as a mad scientist and was obviously just picking up a check. I'm sure this movie could be released to fans but I think it would take some major editing as the 107-minute running time is just deadly. Camp is good but not at that length. AUTOPSY OF A GHOST is a film that most people have either forgotten or never heard of. Yes, it's really bad but fans of Carradine and Rathbone will still want to check it out.

"Autopsy of a Ghost" (Autopsia de un Fantasma) was not released until November 1968 (filming from Dec. 10, 1966 into Jan. '67), over a year after the death of its top billed star, Basil Rathbone, who journeyed to Mexico City to join fellow genre favorites John Carradine and Cameron Mitchell in this Spanish-language non classic. All three seem to be hugely enjoying themselves, but the incredibly bizarre lineup of crazy characters quickly grows tiresome. Author Tom Weaver cast his vote for 'Worst John Carradine Film' for this picture, and there is certainly much to justify that, as his role as Satan requires him to wear horns, a bearded goatee, and spiked tail, manipulating the events and generally behaving no differently than any of the other morons. Even worse, once everything is established after the first half hour, he begins to recede into the background, the observer rather than the observed, popping up briefly throughout the remainder of this 106 minute fiasco. Rathbone is cast as Canuto Perez, the forlorn ghost, who had committed suicide 400 years before, only now receiving a chance to redeem himself by getting a living woman to fall in love with him, and willingly give up her life on his behalf (Satan actually allows him four chances, for each time he stabbed himself!). Who could have thought that this script would make for a pelicula that anyone wanted to see? (calls to question the filmmakers' sanity). Director Ismael Rodriguez at least was known to American audiences for a pair of 1956 releases, "Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer" (Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney) and "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" (Guy Madison). Cameron Mitchell's guest star role as Moleculo, El Inventor Loco, while fairly sizable, simply doesn't allow him much to do, just making endless proclamations about his creations (in Spanish dialogue only). My print is a recently subtitled one, so even after watching all three imported actors performing without using their voices, it's hard to tell if they're speaking their lines in phonetic Spanish, or simply in English. Carradine returned to Mexico to do a quartet of horror titles for producer Luis Enrique Vergara, who duplicated the deal a year later with Boris Karloff, but none of the Carradines used his voice, or were ever dubbed into English (all four at least have English subtitles). Rathbone and Carradine went back quite a few years together, from 1936's "The Garden of Allah," 1939's "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "Casanova's Big Night" (1954), "The Court Jester" (1955), "The Black Sleep" (1956), and John Ford's "The Last Hurrah" (1958). By 1967, there was only "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" and this final film, the death of poor Basil, working at Mexico City's high altitude (the reason why Boris Karloff's doctor required his scenes to be shot in Hollywood rather than Mexico).

Stupid, not Fun at all, the movie who these actors will never made. Please. After a Golden age this is a decadent sample of Mexican cinema. I see at TV in one minute you change the channel because it's so stupid, an not smart comedy, actually NOT COMEDY, feel sorry to see those actors in this movie, it's a waste of film. Please Mexico have excellent movies these is a shame for us, and these movie don't represent our sense of humor, you have golden peaces of comedy, Cantinflas, Tintan, Etc. we don't need to show this kind of movies, all copies of this film should be destroyed, but better we have to remember what kind of movies have don't be exist.

In 1968 Mexico City hosted the Olympic Games, Gustavo Diaz Ordaz was President of Mexico, and color TV was introduced to those who could afford it. This year also marks the death of the Mexican Film. "Autopsia de un Fantasma" is a clear example of what a bad film is. Its timing is terrible, acting is virtually non existent. This would no be remarkable and certainly not atypical of what is called deceptively a "Mexican churro" (a Mexican blunder) if not for the fact that so many good comic actors took place in it. One cannot help but wonder why 10 or 20 years Mexico had produced some of the best comedy in Black and White film, with most of the same actors! Its special effects are "fair" considering some animation techniques and frame by frame photography were already available. A classic already, but a classic that marked the beginning of the end of an industry that once was considered among the best in the world. Now released for public consumption is available trough the dish network Spanish channels.

Well this movie is set up in Mexico City on the 50's 60's The special effects are so good for that era, and for the Mexican cinema, this is the story of a mad doctor an his weird crazy family,a very skinny woman two dumb detectives, a ghost, and a female robot,among other characters.

The ghost is looking for final rest and peace for his soul, but in order to get that he has to make a woman fall in love with him and she has to die for him....

That's all I can tell because if you want to see this movie you will have to put pressure on someone to put it on the market, is too bad that at this time is nowhere to be found neater on VHS or DVD is a classic