Confessioni di un fumatore d'oppio

While I have always been interested in watching this one because of its potential campy wretchedness (courtesy of exploitationer Zugsmith's involvement and Leonard Maltin's unflattering *1/2 rating), I only actively sought to acquire it once I learned of its surprising inclusion in celebrated film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's iconoclastic "Alternative Top 100 list" counterpart to the AFI's official list! As if that was not recommendation enough, a movie-buff friend of mine recently alerted me to the fact that, on the film's entry on Joe Dante's "Trailers From Hell" website, the genial American director names CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM EATER one of his all-time favorites!

Some years ago I had read Thomas DeQuincey's literary classic "Confessions Of An English Opium Eater" (for the record, Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA {1977} derives its title from the author's "Suspiria De Profundis") – along with Aleister Crowley's "Diary Of A Drug Fiend" (another such book I acquired but which I have yet to go through is Aldous Huxley's "The Doors Of Perception") – while preparing to embark on my third screenplay…but its semi-autobiographical fantasia nature has, so far, largely proved hard to pin down! Having said that, despite the fact that Vincent Price's central character in the movie was named Gilbert DeQuincey and it does feature a series of hallucinatory sequences, the film under review is no adaptation of the book. For one thing, it is set in San Francisco against the original's London and, as if to emphasize that difference, it was distributed also under the alternative monikers of SOULS FOR SALE (which is the title sported by the thankfully good-looking TV print I watched that does justice to Eugene Lourie''s remarkable production design - after an earlier one I had come by proved very fuzzy!) and EVILS OF CHINATOWN. For what it is worth, the film is said to have inspired John Carpenter's BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986), a guilty pleasure from my childhood days!

Actually, this is the first example I have watched from Zugsmith's tawdry directorial efforts and, by all accounts, it is the only one worth seeing. Conversely, his credits as producer were pretty impressive and versatile: Douglas Sirk's WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956) and THE TARNISHED ANGELS (1957); a clutch of Jack Arnold films, including his best i.e. THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957); and, finally, Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) which, given its drug-addiction subplot, is the most pertinent to CONFESSIONS. Discriminating viewers might well find this one of the most inept things they had ever witnessed but, for those able to accept its uniqueness, the sheer oddity on display exerts an undeniable fascination. Right from the opening sequence showing a horse galloping on a deserted beach, followed by a curiously silent pirate crew manhandling their captive female cargo around (sometimes being literally thrown overboard into a descending net and falling, comically speeded-up, into place and in unison on a waiting barge!) and, when a scuffle erupts on the beach between Tong factions, the horse makes a sudden reappearance to save one of the girls (who later has an active part in the narrative) by pushing her assailant off of a cliff! The 'abduction of women for pleasure' theme links this to Price's later vehicle, the Harry Alan Towers production HOUSE OF A THOUSAND DOLLS (1967; where the star's role was more ambiguous yet less adventurous than here), a viewing of which actually preceded this one!

The hallucination sequences are truly weird here, with a proliferation of predictably nightmarish images and slow-motion chases that are suddenly speeded-up, like Price's fall from a rooftop; incidentally, it is a rare sight to have Vincent Price as the action hero…but, then, the entire film feels like it did not belong in the early 1960s! The underground slave trading sequence is one of the most striking in the film, even if this includes a succession of protracted dance routines that are meant to show off the attractive qualities of the 'merchandise' on display to the gathering of prospective buyers! Price, who is forever spouting poetically-defiant lines at his captors (even while embarrassingly hanging off-the-ground on a meat-hook!), finds an improbable ally in a spirited female midget who eventually gets a knife in the back just as they are about to make their escape down a manhole. Curiously enough for a movie of which he is the intermittent narrator, Price himself is presumed dead at the very end as he and the villainess (the actress playing her bears the unfortunately appropriate name of Linda Ho!) are whisked away by the flowing underground currents.

Confessions Of An Opium Eater (1962) DVD 7/10

An adventurer (Vincent Price) in 19th century San Francisco becomes involved with Tong wars, slave auctions of Chinese girls and opium dens.

This is one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen. Even more jaw dropping that it got made in 1962. It is exploitation madness at it's best. Price however brings his great talent and class to make this a cut above other strange films made in the 1960s. All the Asian roles are played by real Asians such as busy character actors like Richard Loo and Philip Ahn. Linda Ho plays an evil "Mata Hari" type. She is deliciously nasty and smolderingly sexy in this part, probably the best role she ever had in her short film career. When Price settles down with a pipe in an opium den, there is a incredible druggy fight sequence all done in slow motion, it has to be seen to be believed. Another highlight is a wisecracking female Chinese dwarf (Alicia Li) who provides some wickedly funny quips. It ends with an auction scene where girls are sold for opium. They do some suggestive dances which most have seemed scandalous at the time. Price fans and anyone interested in something weird should seek this out.

Enter a world of hidden rooms, sliding panels, secret passages, narrow sewers and opium dens; a world where, at the Hour of the Rat, pretty Chinese girls are auctioned off to the highest bidder. When Gilbert De Quincey (Vincent Price) arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1902, he is quickly embroiled in a viscous Tong war between two rival factions. The seductive Ruby Low and her followers organize the picture bride auctions on behalf of ancient Ling Tan. The supporters of the Chinese Gazette's murdered editor, George Wah, oppose them. De Quincey bears the moon serpent tattoo, aligning him with Ruby Low, but his actions suggest he may have other motives.

Albert Zugsmith, better known as the producer of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil", produced and directed "Opium Eater", a black and white b-grader hastily dismissed by reviewers. It has genuine merit to those who like offbeat cinema. Although it uses Thomas De Quincey's 1821 book title, (actually called "Confessions of an English Opium Eater") it conjures up its own story of deception and murder. Price as Gilbert De Quincey, who also narrates the film, suggests he is an ancestor. "Opium Eater" actually has more in common with the Fu Manchu mysteries or the yellow peril pulps popular in the 1930s. Add to this its fortune cookie dialogue and ramblings about dreams, reality, death and destiny and you have one very strange movie indeed. There is no doubt "Opium Eater" is bizarre, but it is also literate and genuinely mysterious.

Albert Glasser's spooky soundtrack is one of the films great strengths. His eerie electronic score endows it with an ambience of unease and dislocation. In one scene, after Price awakens from his opium-induced nightmare, axe-wielding henchmen chase him across rooftops. Here the music drops right off the soundtrack and we are left with only an unnerving silence. Zugsmith's direction is clumsy at times but many intriguing moments make up for this, including his creative use of slow motion and the nightmare montage in the joss house. This drug scene must have been quite controversial in 1962 and I wonder if it was snipped from certain prints or caused the film to be banned in some areas.

The love/hate relationship between De Quincey and Ruby Low suggests their fate is predetermined and leads to a quite unexpected, but oddly satisfying outcome.

It's a flawed film, but remains a curious, haunting experience deserving of a cult following. >

Vincent Price is one of my favourite actors, always delivering no matter the material. Confessions of an Opium Eater is no exception, it is not his best film or performance by a long shot, but it is an interesting film and Price commands the film wonderfully in the way few people do. Confessions of an Opium Eater is a long way from flawless, some of the direction is uninspiring, the dialogue does have a tendency to ramble on too much and the dance numbers are very dreary. However, while the story is on the silly side, what does elevate it to a significant degree is the startling atmosphere that is evoked. When it comes to the film's highlights, they are most certainly the trippy dream sequence and the slow-motion escape scene. I did like the look of the film, slow-motion technique is not a favourite of mine but due to the subject it actually worked to give some realism. The costumes and scenery are quite nice too, as is the eerie score. Price is great, and the supporting performances are good(though few stand out as really, really impressive) especially from Linda Ho. So overall, it was an interesting and decent movie. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Seaman Vincent Price arrives in San Francisco from the Far East. He gets involved with Linda Ho, a picture bride who is to be auctioned off in the underground maze beneath Chinatown.

Nominally based on Thomas De Quincy's CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER, it seems a mildly incoherent, sloppily composed movie. On the other hand, there is the implication that this is all an opium dream, which would go a ways towards explaining the lack of sense. Given that the producer-director, Albert Zugsmith, was a hard-working man who had produced movies like Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL and directed SAPPHO DARLIng, I'll come down in the middle. I think he intended this to be an opium dream, but given the script by Robert Hill, the remnants of the Production Code, and his own less than stellar talents, it's not a great success. Still, it provides a chance to see a lot of Studio Era actors like ichard Loo, Phillip Ahn, and Victor Sen Yung.