La casa de las mil muñecas

At the beginning of "La casa de las mil munecas" (called "The House of 1,000 Dolls" in English), we get told that this is a tale of white slavery. I must ask: aren't people concerned when non-whites get enslaved? It just seems to me that they should have concentrated on black slavery, or shown white people and other races getting enslaved. And although I really like Vincent Price, it's sort of distracting to have him as the man running the brothel; you keep expecting to quote Edgar Allan Poe or something.

So, this movie isn't awful, it just takes a weird approach to everything. There are much better movies out there, and if they wanted to show a bunch of hot young women, they could have done it differently.

To begin with, this was yet another "Movies 4 Men" screening hampered by the usual garbled sound problems! It is also an example of a maligned Vincent Price film (Leonard Maltin says he "walks through it in a daze"!) which is actually not too bad. That said, the actor was not well served by "Euro-Cult" (this is a Spanish-German production, despite the British involvement of the writer-producer and director), as can also be gleaned from his sole Mario Bava collaboration DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS (1966)!

Price and co-star Martha Hyer are a couple engaged in a magic act (called Manderville, so that he is later mockingly dubbed "Mandrake"!) who are involved in the trafficking of women for the purposes of prostitution (they purposefully choose lonely girls to make them disappear both on stage and in real life but, of course, they are bound to slip sometime...because otherwise there would be no film!). Considering the subject matter and Towers' resume', this is remarkably chaste; in any case, the very first victim we see here (being transported in a coffin!) is none other than Maria Rohm aka Mrs. Towers. Her boyfriend sets on her trail, which leads him to Tangier, where he seeks the help of criminal pathologist George Nader (the hero inevitably played by an ageing Hollywood presence). Hindering their progress is local photographer Herbert Fux, while the proper Police investigation is carried out by Wolfgang Kieling (who had just been a villain, served with a memorable death scene, in Alfred Hitchcock's TORN CURTAIN {1966}).

Typically, the identity of the organization's head is a mystery to all; hence, the ultimate revelation proves quite a surprise...and, though it then transpires that Price was not as villainous as had been inferred, he still gets a melodramatic demise. By the way, I was surprised to notice the Maltese name of Charles Camilleri as the film's composer; actually, I had already heard his (only other film) work on Jess Franco's THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1968) and, interestingly enough, he died a couple of years back right in my home-town!

Dear Mr. Price, Vincent,

You are my favorite actor of all times. I was only 8 years old when I spotted you for the first time in "Edward Scissorhands". Back then, I didn't yet know that writer/director Tim Burton created the role of The Inventor especially for you as a tribute and to honor your entire life in the field of horror movies. By the time I was old enough to realize what a magnificent career you had throughout five full decades, you already passed away, but I spent the next 20 years seeking out and discovering your film classics one by one. Thank you for all the horror greatness! So many titles on your repertoire rank among my personal favorite films, like "The Witchfinder General", "House of Wax", "Laura", "The Abominable Dr. Phibes", "The Fly", "Tower of London", "The Mad Magician", "Last Man on Earth", "The House of Seven Gables" and every single installment in the Edgar Allan Poe cycle that you made with director Roger Corman. Some films were less amazing, like "The Monster Club" or "Madhouse", but I had never really encountered a terrible Vincent Price film... until now!

"House of a 1.000 Dolls" was truly an ordeal to struggle through! I sincerely cannot fathom how the producers managed to pull you aboard for this one. The basic premise, with you as a low-keyed magician in Tangiers operating a vicious network that kidnaps young women and trades them as white slaves, is potentially fascinating enough, but you must have noticed immediately - with all your intellect and experience - that the screenplay was horribly boring and inept? The pacing never properly picks up, and for each remotely interesting sequence (like when the random stranger menaces you outside of the theater) there is seemingly endless footage of people randomly talking. The mystery plot surrounding the "King of Hearts" is lame and predictable, none of your other colleagues gives a likable performance and there's zilch atmosphere or tension. I had to battle sleep during "House of 1.000 Dolls", which is something I never thought would happen during a Vincent Price movie. The finale is pitiable too, by the way. Evil geniuses aren't supposed to be defeated as stupidly as in this film. Still, even though you obviously perform on automatic pilot, you still are the best asset of this poor film, by far.

It was most interesting to find out that even geniuses like yourself occasionally made wrong starring choices, possibly driven by contractual obligations or attractive paychecks. I only still have a handful of your films to see, and it's quite comforting to know that none of them will be as dire and lifeless as this one. May you forever rest in peace!

i think vincent price was one of the greatest actors to ever live, but i have to admit that i don't understand why he degraded himself by starring in this boring, dull, and ultimately pointless bore. the only reason i can think of that they made it at all is that the idea of a whorehouse or female slaves must have been hot stuff on the screen in 1967. was it supposed to be scandalous or something? because otherwise this one is about as exciting and involving as reading a periodical on the cause of varicose veins. it doesn't even work as a goofy camp movie, because it's too solemn and dull. as always price gives an above average performance, but it does nothing for this clunker because the movie as a whole is so fundamentally bad and uninteresting. even if you're a price completist like myself, don't bother watching it, just buy it to fill the whole in your collection.

If you like Price, this is an offbeat roll for him as this is not straight classic horror, but a mystery thriller with some sexed up 60's kittens and a brothel.. The film takes place in Tangiers and it is basically a clever and tame way to present a plot involving the white slavery trade. The films promo makes one think this is a very prevalent and serious issue, and perhaps it ws then? who knows? Price is a magician of sorts who gets beautiful women to get into his live stage act and then they disappear to the house of 1000 dolls. No one close to them ever sees them again, until a couple gets curious about this phenomena. The ending is a twist that you would not expect.. Perhaps the most memorable thing about this film is the theme song which gets cut off in the VHS version but exemplifies 60's groove with some cheesy pop rifts.. I mean when my ex husband an I saw this in like 1990, we laughed and sang this song for years! Then we recently turned on a few friends to it who were equally amused! don't take it so seriously, get a Pizza on a rainy weekend night and cuddle up for some excitement and intrigue with House Of 1000 DollS!