21st May 1971, ‘Banned Movie’, ‘Kensington Post’ page 54
IN THE MID-40’s Hollywood suddenly discovered psychology as a possibly interesting basis for some of its output.
Characters with sick minds gradually becoming aware of their subconscious pasts obviously had great dramatic possibilities. Hitchcock’s SPELLBOUND (complete with dream sequences by Salvador Dali is the supreme example of this. On a different level, DREAMS THAT MONEY CAN BUY was an independently made exploration on a more aesthetic level.
DEMENTIA, which commences its run at the Electric Cinema, Portobello Road, on Sunday. falls somewhere between the two.
Made with all the resources of a Hollywood “B” picture, it is the story of a woman bereft of love or hope who delves back into “the bed of evil she sprang from” to escape the holocausm of the situation in which she finds herself.
It has always been banned from public showing in this country, and elsewhere it was released in a shortened version complete with explanatory commentary under the title DAUGHTER OF HORROR. The Electric will be showing for the first time the full original version, complete with frenetic ending, and without the commentary. The film’s director has always preferred to remain anonymous.
[‘Dementia’ was directed by John Parker. ‘Dementia’ aka ‘Daughter of Horror’ is best known as the film playing in the theater when ‘The Blob’ (1958) strikes. It’s billed as a “midnight spook show” with Bela Lugosi on the marquee, a direct reference to Elim Umann’s 1938 Dracula/Frankenstein pairing at the Regina Theatre in Beverly Hills, which restarted Lugosi’s career and the Universal horror cycle.]
21st May 1971, ‘Inside’ page 54
The support film is PAUL BOWLES IN MOROCCO, a 55-minute American film made by Gary Conklin in 1970.
The American writer Paul Bowles has lived in Morocco for over 20 years. His expertise as story teller is used to the full as he observes the country, its people and its customs in an entertaining way not usually associated with the phrase “documentary film.”
The story of the very English Mr. Jones and the bottles of blood he used to keep in the fridge is unforgettable and the inside account of the rise to popularity of Morocco as a hippie haven and the first reaction of the authorities to the invasion is particularly pungent.
This will be the film’s first showing in this country.
21st May 1971, ‘Bed of Evil’ page 38
BED OF EVIL
The week at the Electric
DEMENTIA, which continues its run at the Electric Cinema, Portobello Road, is the story of a woman bereft of love or hope who delves back into “the bed of evil she sprang from” to escape the holocausm of the situation in which she finds herself.
This movie has always been banned from public showing in this country, and elsewhere it was released in a shortened version complete with explanatory commentary under the title DAUGHTER OF HORROR.
The Electric is showing for the first time the full original version, complete with frenetic ending, and without the commentary. The film’s director has always preferred to remain anonymous.
* The support film is PAUL BOWLES IN MOROCCO, a 55-minute American film made by Gary Conklin in 1970. The American writer Paul Bowles has lived in Morocco for over 20 years. His expertise as story teller is used to the full as he observes the country, its people and its customs in an entertaining way not usually associated with the phrase “documentary film.”
The story of the very English Mr. Jones and the bottles of blood he used to keep in the fridge is unforgettable and the inside account of the rise to popularity of Morocco as a hippie haven and, the first reaction of the authorities to the invasion is particularly pungent.
This is the film’s first showing in this country.
DEMENTIA plus PAUL BOWLES: Today (Thursday) at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.; Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2.45 and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 9 p.m.
Other attractions at the Sunday Electric this week:
* ONE EYED JACKS (USA 1960, colour, 141 mins. Directed by Marlon Brando, with Marlon Brando and Karl Malden).
Brando’s first attempt at screen direction was this unique Western about the conflict between two men in Old California, which utilises the rugged Pacific coastline as its background.
Brando plays Rio, a bank robber who is deserted by his partner Dad Longworth when one of their horses is killed. Rio is imprisoned by the Mexicans, but escapes. Meanwhile, Longworth has become a respected sheriff … (Monday at 7 p.m.; Tuesday at 9; Wednesday at 7 and 11.15 p.m.
* DON QUIXOTE (USSR 1957, Colour Scope 107 mins). Directed by Grigory Kozintsev, with Nikolai Cherkasov.
Cervantes’ classic novel of the noble Spaniard who decides to become a knight errant, arms himself with his ancestral sword and lance and sallies forth with his faithful squire Sancho Panza in search of heroic exploits in the name of honour and justice.
Monday and Wednesday at 9.30 p.m.; Tuesday at 7 p.m.
* From the novel by Ira Lewin, ROSEMARY’S BABY (USA 1968, colour, 137 mins). Directed by Roman Polanski, with Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes.
ROSEMARY’S BABY is not merely a sophisticated horror film. The horror is only one aspect of a complex statement, frightening in its relevance.
The film remains extraordinarily faithful to its literary source, but Polanski deserves the credit for re-creating the meaning in visual terms.
Today (Thursday) at 7 p.m.; Friday at 9 p.m.; Saturday at 4.45 and 9 p.m.; Sunday at 7 and 11 p.m.
