Die Nackte und der Satan

A mysterious new doctor arrives at Dr. Abel's laboratory. Abel is doing advanced surgical techniques, but he has an urgent problem. He needs a heart transplant or he will die shortly. When the doctor's heart begins to fail before the operation can take place, the new mysterious doctor takes an extreme step to save him.

What a fascinating and ambitious picture this is. It's a curious amalgam of styles and forms. It has the pace and luminosity of an old silent (little wonder; it's German); the stateliness of a Universal classic; the surrealism of a French art-horror film; the visceral draw and psychological depth of the Italian Giallo; the seedy glamor of a Roger Corman cheapie; and the liminal otherness of a Mexican horror flick. The set design and compositions are superb, making the most of limited resources; and the use of space and the fluid camera work help to lend some real style.

It's well acted too, and manages to generate genuine pathos (the 'head' of the title could be either doctor). The director keeps things moving and there are no boring lulls at any point, but it doesn't speed along and leave incomprehensible gaps in the plot either. Great use of mirrors and symmetry; and it has a fantastic score with a nightmarish quality that adds to the creepy atmosphere. It is an obvious inspiration for 1962's The Brain That Wouldn't Die, only this is much, much better.

"The Head" is a genuinely odd German horror film. Although it dealt with contemporary themes and had a contemporary cast and production design, the sound, cinematography and direction are more like a silent. A "mad scientist" protege uses his teacher's discovery to perform a head transplant. He grafts the head of a beautiful young hunchback onto the body of a stripper. That's pretty much the plot. The scenes in the strip club work all right, but in every other film location, there's an absence of "room tone". That's local sound a film sound recordist adds to create a consistent "atmosphere" in a movie scene. Otherwise, a scene comes across as flat and otherworldly. The photography also lends to this silent or early 30ish atmosphere. The editing contains many fades for no good reason that to cover bad continuity. The acting varies from contemporary to exaggerated theatrical. It's too bad writer/director Victor Trivas fails to establish a consistent style. It's also too bad, but only a minor quibble, that actress Karin Kernke, who plays the hunchback is a lot bustier than actress Christiane Maybach, who plays the stripper. At 63, director Trivas might not have noticed, but most younger guys would. With consistent storyline, fairly good music and fine sets, I think "The Head" is worth at least a "5".

It was fun to read other commentators concerning the actors in this film. Otherwise, the whole thing would have been a pretty disappointing effort. As it is, the premise is kind of dumb. We must suspend our disbelief and accept the fact that a head can be kept alive. I suppose I'm not supposed to ask why the guy can talk without lungs and other respiratory apparatus. The scientist is mad (why are they always so crazy?). A kindly hunchbacked nurse gets a new body from a stripper and has trouble dealing with it (as most of use would). There is this kind of German Aryan thing going on. I can't quite put my finger on it. The movie has an interesting atmosphere but it is pretty bleak and painful. Of course, the talking head thing has been done again, including by prime time news commentators. Still, once you buy into it, it's an OK presentation.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Victor Trivas; Produced by Wolf Hartwig, for Rapid Film; Released in America as "The Head" by Trans-Lux Film Distributing. Screenplay by Victor Trivas; Photography by Georg Krause; Edited by Friedel Buckow; Music by Willy Mattes. Starring: Horst Frank, Karin Kernke, Michel Simon, Helmut Schmid, Christiane Maybach and Dieter Eppler.

Gooey thriller featuring an hysterical sequence where a sentimental hunchbacked young lady receives a body transplant (involuntarily donated) from a stripper played by Christiane Maybach, who later was featured in films by the great Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

I saw this film at the Hippodrome theater in downtown Cleveland in 1961. As a promotion, a "shrunken head" trinket was handed out to patrons at the box office.

Made three years before "The Brain That Wouldn't Die", this atmospheric chiller about a madman/genius who steals the work of a great scientist and extends it to evil ends works better than you might expect. The sets are interesting and extensive, the characters have more depth and color than your average American B movie, and the soundtrack is interesting and different as well. In a couple of scenes, it reminded me of the B&W Julian Roffman movie "The Mask". Has this antique curiousity for only $5.99. It's worth it, IMHO.