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As was the case with many baby boomers, my first encounter with South African-born Glynis Johns, the daughter of renowned Welsh character actor Mervyn Johns, was via her short-lived American TV show, "Glynis." On this 1/2-hour sitcom, which only ran from September-December 1963 on CBS, Glynis played a character named Glynis Granville, a mystery writer who helped her husband solve crimes, and who was absolutely--to my young mind--delightful. A recent viewing of one of Glynis' later films, 1973's "Vault of Horror," served to remind me of just how charming she has always been, with her pretty blonde looks and inimitable husky voice. So it was with great eagerness that I even more recently popped one of her films that I'd never seen, "The Cabinet of Caligari," into the DVD player at home. Released in May 1962, five months before Glynis' 39th birthday, this "remake" of the classic German silent "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919) jettisons most of the original's story line, salvaging only that famous twist ending. Scripted by Robert "Psycho" Bloch, the film introduces us to 27-year-old Jane Lindstrom (our Glynis), who seeks help at the ultramodern house of Dr. Caligari (Dan O'Herlihy) after her automobile suffers a blowout. The doctor is more than accommodating, but after she is unwittingly drugged, poor Jane realizes that she--and a good half dozen other residents under the doctor's roof--is a prisoner in this bizarre household, while Caligari's demands for highly personal information, as well as his peeping Tom proclivities, abuse of other "guests" and proffering of pornographic pictures, only add to Jane's distress....

Though lacking the surreal sets that made the original film an enduring and endearing classic of German Expressionism, the 1962 "Caligari" is still a fairly strange experience. Director Roger Kay utilizes interesting camera angles, freeze frames and occasionally non sequitur dialogue to engender an atmosphere of the macabre. Kay makes excellent use of space in his CinemaScope frame, and yes, DOES throw in some decidedly Expressionistic FX toward the film's conclusion. (I should perhaps add here that those viewers who choose to watch this DVD utilizing the "full-screen" option, rather than the "wide-screen," will be lacking almost 50% of the image, and will certainly be missing most of the picture's impact.) The director is ably abetted by the excellent camera work of John L. Russell, who had lensed "Psycho" for Hitchcock two years earlier (Jane Lindstrom, it might be added, has a bathtub experience in the film that is not QUITE as harrowing as Marion Crane's!), as well as by the lovely and memorable score provided here by Gerald Fried. But surely, this picture belongs to Glynis Johns, who perforce appears in every single scene in it. She is simply superb here, running the gamut from sweet to scared, haggard to Marilyn Monroe-type sexpot, suicidal and submissive to zesty and domineering; practically an Oscar-worthy performance! (And while I'm on the subject, hey, Academy: Glynis is 88 as of this writing. Howzabout an honorary Oscar for this wonderfully unique performer while she's still with us?) Perfectly cast here, she brings a combination of steely outrage and befuddled defenselessness to her role that is quite wonderful to behold, and makes the film--essentially a 100-minute-long red herring--a genuine must-see, and one that can stand independently of its famous forebear....

The were some very talented people involved with the making of this motion picture. However most of them, actors , production staff, and and the technicians,had a stronger background in television production than in the movies.Perhaps this why it has the look and feel of a padded TV movie. This was producer, director Roger Kay's only venture into a theater released production. All the rest of his work as a producer, director, and writer was in television.Credited screenplay writer Robert Bloch was so unhappy with many changes made in his script by Kay that he attempted to have his name removed from the screen credits. The writers guild did not permit it.Apparently the problem was that Bloch saw it as a true horror film and Kay directed it as a film about the nightmares of insanity.

Glynis Johns handles the staring role as best she can and gives a well rounded performance as the confused and terrified Jane Lindstrom. Dan O'Herlihy really hams it up as the the ruthless and emotionally brutal Caligari but given the circumstances of the character,his over the top performance was called for. Constance Ford played the cool , aloft, and bitchy Christine with her usual aplomb. She could due this kind of role in her sleep.

In a 1981 interview Glynis Johns talked about her cute and sweet persona in film ans television. She briefly mentioned Caligari, She said that she was 39 years old at the time the movie was made and didn't feel comfortable with the seduction scene so a body double was used for the leg and pantie shots

Dick Davalos said the final script was much different than the one he originally read for, particularly the ending. But that is not unusual in movies.If the movie is a hit then no one gripes if not then everyone blames the screenplay.

Cabinet of Caligari is an okay movie that could have been a great deal better. It's worth a look but it is not a memorable film.

There's one little moment that stood out for me when I watched this movie years ago on the USA network:

Glynis Johns spends most of the movie in some sort of conflict with Dan O'Herlihy playing Dr. Caligari...it's the sort of psych-out contest seen in every episode of The Prisoner and other war-of-wills dramas. Up to this point Ms. Johns is rather prim and after a while this can become irritating to viewers who are used to seeing female protagonists stand up for themselves more vigorously. After a frustrating argument with Dr. C, she runs upstairs, throws herself on the bed and (instead of sobbing or sulking, as her uptight character has behaved so far) lets out a huge WAAAAAA-HAAAAAAH! My girlfriend and I both collapsed with laughter ...but after that moment found ourselves much more in sympathy with her, and that is precisely the effect intended by Robert Bloch.

Overall the movie was worth the time it took to watch, but didn't stand out as a favorite for either of us. But when we encountered something frustrating after that, we'd look at each other and shout, "Waaaa-Hahhh!"

What was Robert Bloch thinking when he wrote this? As weird as the character's interactions are (no understandable motivations), the dialogue is full of dramatic clichés out of any context, like clips from a soap opera. Not a very thrilling blend for a horror movie. The original 1920 movie involved mesmerism and somnambulism: this film does both - it will hypnotise you into sleep immediately, even in the light of day. However, if you can stay awake, the story does have some dramatic impact, and the acting is fine throughout. The twist ending was done one better in a very similar 1950's EC comics (ie Tales from the Crypt) where the woman is cured but starts to have a relapse that cycles her back to the beginning of the story (a la "Dead of night").

Jane Lindstrom is on vacation when her car gets a flat tire and she walks a long way before ending up at the house of Caligari who welcomes her in. After a strange night in the house, Jane feels uneasy around Caligari, as well as other people living in the house, so she asks to leave but she finds out that no one can help her to leave and she is unable to escape by herself. She finds a friend in Mark, a young man, as well as Paul, an intellectual man with a medical background. As Jane tries to break Caligari, she finds out that her attempts to free herself from the house and the spell of Caligari is becoming hopeless. This is not a remake of the 1919 classic, but does have the expressionistic elements of the original, as well as have its own feel with Jane's descent into madness. Johns gives one of her best and more complex performances and O'Herlihy is very spooky as the title character. Fried's musical score is used brilliantly in the film and is probably the best aspect of the movie. Bloch's script does have nice twists at the end, but is seems to go nowhere for the first hour of the film. Rating, 6.

About as rum a film as you'd expect to find Glynis Johns (here billed as 'Miss Glynis Johns'). If director Roger Kay didn't have his own Wikipedia page you'd detect the hand of William Castle in this roaring piece of hokum; although Castle would have been rather out of his depth as the film gets raunchier.

From the pen of Robert Bloch, who after he made his name authoring 'Psycho was swiftly in demand to write more psychological thrillers of which this was the first, shares the director of photography and had the effrontery to call itself 'The Cabinet of Caligari; since its resemblance to the original is superficial at best, apart from (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING:) the very ending.

This has plainly cast its net wide as Constance Ford's role strikingly resembles Alida Valli in 'Eyes Without a Face'. It isn't exactly good, but it's certainly memorable; while it's sadism and sex talk are pretty strong meat for the period.

Suffering a car accident, a woman comes to the home of a strange doctor entertaining guests who are staying at the house, but realizing that she's a prisoner in the house she tries every possible way to get away from the asylum.

This is a dismally dreadful film that has little to like about it. Most of the film's problems result from the fact that it never once feels like a true horror film, for while it has a potentially creepy premise this one stays so low-going and the same way throughout it plays out as a drama. Nothing happens in it, and the fact that it continually uses the cliché of having her try to get out and get caught only for no punishments to be dealt out gets too ridiculous at times and only hastens the plot's completely dull nature. The fact that it takes so long to even do anything is a huge problem, taking a near eternity to even get to the point of the film. It starts off creepy as the continual denials at finding out what's going on, but then after a while it soon becomes aggravating when it refuses to do anything, and it seems as though all it does is simply run through the same lame psychological torments time after time which results in nothing more than aggravation and irritation at keeping the cycle going hoping that the strange behavior of the other inmates is enough to work this out. There's also a big flaw in that she's captured at the beginning, but is given the reasoning behind her imprisonment at the end which in itself is such a lame motive more should've been done with it as this manages to make the others out there even more noticeable. However, there's some good stuff here at times as one of the main ones is that it goes to great lengths to set up a creepy atmosphere. There's a tremendous effort to keep her at the sanitarium, and after awhile these can be somewhat creepy. The fact that not a straight answer is given until late in the film, despite knowing what happens to them at the sanitarium, helps this have a real air of dread to the scenes. The only other factor that works is the twisted ending, which actually has several things going for it. It's the only thing that feels mildly threatening, with the sequence where it feels like a series of photographs on display being especially impressive. It has a great look to it that seems really freaky, and the twist involved with it is a pretty nice surprise. These, though, are all the film has going for it as all of that pales to its complete inability to feel like a horror film.

Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence.

Despite it's title and loose connection with the German silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), this is more of a psychological thriller/mystery. The lovely (and sadly recently departed) Glynis Johns plays a woman, Jane, whose car gets a flat tyre and who seeks assistance at a sinister looking mansion (will these people never learn?!). There she meets the owner, a man who goes by the name of Caligari. He offers to have his staff attend her car, fix it if possible, and if it's not possible to put her up for the night. Of course, when the staff attend they find the problem is more than just a flat tyre; there's also a problem with the steering. Initially grateful of the offer to stay the night, Jane becomes worried the next day when Caligari won't let her leave.

Glynis Johns is great as usual, making the most of that wonderfully breathy, husky voice. Co-star Dan O'Herlihy is just as good, and the supporting cast are solid. It's intriguing rather than gripping, and you might guess both twists, but it's an enjoyable ride getting there. 6.5/10.

Black & white thriller with a nod to the Classic German Expressionist silent from the 1920's. Jane has a tyre blow out and walks to a very big mansion with electronic gates where she is let in by a mysterious bearded man who can only be described as creepy.

For me, Glynis Johns, who passed away in January 2024 at the age of 100, was one of the most appealing British actresses of the 20th century. With her ultra pretty face, slim figure and soft husky voice, she could charm the birds off the trees as I believe she did in Mary Poppins. Here, playing Jane, she is held captive by the mysterious Caligari played by Robinson Crusoe actor Dan O'Herlihy. Various other characters seem to be held under Caligari's control also and Jane has her time cut out trying to persuade them to help her escape from the mansion. I quickly worked out one of the twists revealed at the end but the big one completely eluded me until it almost ended. I try not to reveal spoilers so I'll leave any plot secrets alone. Filmed in black and white much in a film noir style, this is really worth seeing for the splendid performance by Glynis Johns.

The original 1920 film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is a classic. It has a great horror story, a great twist, as well as strange but interesting German Expressionist sensibilities. Although this movie is called "The Cabinet of Caligari", it's not really a remake as the story is that different and writing credits go to Robert Bloch of "Psycho" fame. Had I known it wasn't just a remake, I would have likely watched it much sooner.

Jane (Glynnis Johns) is in her car when it breaks down. She walks to a nearby mansion and they let her come in...but like a roach motel, they don't let her leave. While in this lovely modern mansion, she sees how the guy who owns the place (Dan O'Herlihy) is evil and sadistic...and a pervert. She hates him...but cannot leave somehow...though oddly, you never see her go to the door and just walk away for good. What is REALLY going on here?

While I think the original film is a lot better, as I pointed out above, the stories are so different they're like two different movies in nearly every way. Now this is NOT to say the 1962 film is bad...it actually has a lot going for it. The camerawork is great...with some nice film noir style lighting and camera angles. Additionally, while you MIGHT think Glynnis Johns terribly overacts at times, when you see the whole picture you realize she is quite good as well. In fact, because of this, reserve your judgment...just keep watching to the end. My only real problem with the film is that it's difficult for the movie to maintain the story after a while and making it 15-30 minutes shorter actually would have improved it. It also would have made the surprise twist at the end more surprising.

Still, there's no movie quite like it and it's worth seeing.

When 27 year old Jane gets a flat tyre on her car she seeks help at a large house owned by a well educated man called Caligari. He comes across as suave yet creepy and has a strange accent, sounded slightly Scottish to me but I'm not sure. She soon finds herself trapped there and suffers several frightening experiences such as witnessing a brutal murder and being spied upon when she takes a bath. This is not a remake of the 1920 German silent classic but rather an homage. The screenplay was written by Robert Bloch, perhaps best known as being the author of "Psycho". The lovely Glynis Johns is delightful as poor Jane and Dan O'Herily gives a memorable performance as Caligari. The movie looks exquisite in black and white. One of the best scenes has Jane trying to escape at night but she gets lost in a maze on the grounds, quite tense. There are a couple of very good plot twists at the end and as a first time viewer I was impressed with them, however the movie is as much a drama as it is a horror movie and with a run time of 103 minutes some viewers looking for a traditional horror film may be disappointed.

Not to be confused with the masterpiece of German expressionism, THE CABINET OF CALIGARI is an odd little mix of psychological horror and drama, akin to the likes of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? And the psycho-thrillers that Hammer were putting out in the early 1960s. This one was scripted by Robert Bloch, right between the success of PSYCHO and his later work with Amicus, and follows a woman whose flat tyre leads her to spend the night at an old mansion inhabited by a mysterious man called Caligari. This is a talky beast enlivened by good performances from Glynis Johns and Dan O'Herlihy, but it's very restrained for modern audiences and builds to a twist I found rather obvious.

I was an impressionable 17-year-old back in 1962 when CALIGARI shocked the living daylights out of me. And to this day -- though, naturally, to a far lesser (suspenseful) degree (and despite some of its obvious flaws) -- I can still sit through a performance of this haunting film in nearly rapt attention.

The main reasons for this are twofold: (1) The ever present youth in me can be easily summoned, so that contextually I am back in the early '60s, eager to reimmerse myself in the intensity of the dark psychodrama about to be played out, and blithely unencumbered by the need for (or expectation of) today's technologically superior special effects; and (2) Gerald Fried's ubiquitous, compelling film score music (especially the bittersweet main theme, played repeatedly in a multitude of beguiling variations) adds an immeasurable degree of enjoyment to this sadly underrated film.

Fortunately, the commercial-free Fox Movie Channel has featured THE CABINET OF CALIGARI, which has been, for the most part, unavailable for purchase by the general public.

I had originally seen this movie at the age of fifteen; it continues to make a deep impression upon me. Though the plot does seem to move rather slowly by today's standards, it remains an amazing story of a young girl who has decided to come into touch with herself. Jane's validity depends upon her own understanding of reality versus fantasy. I am fortunate to have explored, through the DVD, the pleasures and horrors, as she leads the path that ultimately forces her to confront her inner fears. This "remake" may go beyond the original, but still exemplifies the importance of the caring and needs that we need to provide to our own. We are their caregivers. I was especially impressed by Constance Ford's role.

Something just that little bit different here and something really rather good. The slightly odd or seeming unlikely happenings, including the casting of Glynis Johns all make sense by the end, at least as far as I am concerned. Great sets help create a 'modern' but nevertheless creepy feel and Gerald Fried's score is most effective. A very simple idea is admirably sustained and every now and then when we feel things cannot go on like this for much longer we are jolted, either by the outrageousness of Caligari or by the sudden appearance of another guest. I had never even heard of this film before the appearance of the DVD and wonder if indeed it ever opened in the UK. The sexual references and physical violence certainly surprised me for a film of the early 60's. Well worth seeing.