La bara del Dottor Sangue

Dr. Peter Blood (Kieron Moore) shows up in a small Cornish village to move in with his father (Ian Hunter) to carry on with the old man's experiments. Maddened by his ambition and arrogance, Peter paralyzes unwilling victims with curare (African arrow poison) until their still-beating hearts can be removed and transplanted into other bodies. Will his new widowed nurse girlfriend Linda Parker (Hazel Court, as always, a strong female lead) catch on before it's too late? Saddled with a very implausible plot and pretty minor compared to some concurrent Corman and Hammer films, this still has good acting, nice location filming, atmosphere and a decent surprise ending.

Saw this one (again) on (Chicago's own) "Svengoolie" this weekend, and was amazed how interesting and well-done it was, considering the preposterously bizarre and grotesque underlying story. Also, how they make sympathetic, and almost get you to root for, the main character -- a guy who makes Dr. Mengele look like Hippocrates.

Meanwhile, it's striking how appealing Hazel Court is. Definitely a woman with a quality, she's developed nicely since "Devil Girl from Mars" (1953).

So, if you're up for a movie about a warped physician performing hellish experiments on (unwilling) human subjects, this is definitely the one to see. Mellow and affectionate.

The title has more punch than the story ultimately delivers in this mild shocker, yet another variation on the old "Frankenstein" theme. Kieron Moore ("Crack in the World") stars as Dr. Peter Blood, an intense scientist determined that his experiments in extending life will be successful. Unfortunately for him, he's not very good at what he does, either getting caught in the act or leaving critical evidence in his wake.

"Doctor Blood's Coffin" is mainly noteworthy as one of the horror pictures made in England by under-rated, Canadian-born filmmaker Sidney J. Furie before he hit his stride with "The Ipcress File". The story & screenplay are the work of Nathan Juran (credited as Jerry Juran), himself a famed director of such things as "20 Million Miles to Earth". But, alas, this yarn is lacking in truly interesting features, although the tunnel settings are somewhat unusual. (Said underground tunnels, originally used as tin mines, run throughout much of the locations.)

These locations are quite picturesque, and the film does look lovely in colour, although one can't help but think that it would have had even more atmosphere had it been filmed in black & white.

The picture also offers its audience an opportunity to watch gorgeous Brit scream queen Hazel Court in a contemporary-set tale, unlike the period pieces from the 50s and 60s for which one might already know her. She's quite a formidable leading lady, obliged to scream at one point, but indignant enough that she and Moore pontificate back and forth on what constitutes the "right" thing to do. The excellent supporting cast also includes Ian Hunter as Dr. Blood Sr., Kenneth J. Warren as the police sergeant faced with baffling deaths, the colourful Gerald Lawson as local funeral director Mr. Morton, Fred Johnson as amiable miner Tregaye, and Andy Alston as one of our demented antagonists' intended victims. You have to give this guy credit for his extended, arduous escape.

Overall, this is short on suspense and originality, and spends too much time with Moore as he aggressively pursues Court (not that you can blame him, of course); this doesn't stay on track all that well. Even the finale is underwhelming.

Five out of 10.

Set in a "Cornish village" (high marks for any film of this vintage set in "a cornish village" - those cornish villages went through the mill in the middle years of horror), Dr. Blood's Coffin checks in as a Frankenstein -ish offering. Got your mad scientist tinkering with humans, more lurid and atmospheric lab scenes than the graphic and in your face stuff current movie viewers are used to.

Creepy scenes. In the old days, I loved movies that gave me one creepy scene that made closing my eyes to go to sleep a challenge.

Old horse, corny now but from that impossible to resist title to the whopper denouement, one of the knighted efforts to keep horror alive when 99% of cinema thought horror undignified and unworthy. If you like Freddy, Scream and Jason, you owe a nod of thanks (though not necessarily a viewing) to films like Dr. Blood. If you're a fan of creepier things like "The Ring" and remakes of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "Dawn of the Dead", you also owe a nod of thanks to films like this one. You guys, might even find the "loyalty to the cause" in a viewing of this film.

Kieron Moore plays Peter Blood (I had that same temporary condition after a biopsy). He returns to his hometown where his father (Ian Hunter) is the town doctor. Peter is also a doctor, but his specialty is taking hearts from the living and transplanting them into dead people - a procedure not covered by Blue Cross. Peter does his experiments in an abandoned mine, so apparently even the clowns at the Wuhan Lab wouldn't give this guy space. About the only thing normal about Peter is his attraction to his father's nurse Linda (Hazel Court). She finally realizes he not only has a screw loose, but also several nuts and bolts. Of course, we are treated to Peter's obligatory "so what if I kill a few people as long as science is advanced" soliloquy. He then proceeds to show off his method by bringing Linda's dead husband back to life - sort of.

If you watch the trailer, you've pretty much seen enough. Hunter brings a little respectability to the proceedings, but that's not saying much. Court is gorgeous as ever, with her tight white nursing outfit. She also wears a tight blue number highlighting the stuff that the tight white number covers up. Also, the coastal scenery is nice to look at.