The Cabinet of Caligari ** (1962, Glynis Johns, Dan O’Herlihy, Constance Ford, Dick Davalos, Lawrence Dobkin, Estelle Winwood) – Classic Movie Review 12,907

Roger Kay’s 1962 horror film remake The Cabinet of Caligari stars Glynis Johns, Dan O’Herlihy, Constance Ford and Dick Davalos. It is ambitious, even pretentious, but its troubled history more or less sinks it.

Producer/ director Roger Kay’s 1962 American horror film remake The Cabinet of Caligari stars Glynis Johns, Dan O’Herlihy, Constance Ford, Dick Davalos [Richard Davalos], Lawrence Dobkin, Estelle Winwood, and J Pat O’Malley. The 1920 German silent horror film original surely did not need a remake, but 1962 film’s troubled history went a long way more or less to sink it, though not quite.

It is ambitious, even pretentious. The script is by Robert Bloch, author of the novel Psycho, and the cinematographer is John L Russell, the cinematographer for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

The Cabinet of Caligari is an interesting but uncomfortable remake of the 1920 classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari in which distraught young Jane Lindstrom (Glynis Johns) seeks the help of creepy mansion owner Dr Caligari (Dan O’Herlihy) – both mansion and owner are creepy! – when her automobile malfunctions next to his home. But her problems immediately go from bad worse as she is now a virtual prisoner of the estate, with its strange, unhelpful inhabitants.

Neither the story nor the imaginative quality bear much resemblance to the silent version, though the capable, if slightly miscast, actors do their best, especially Glynis Johns and Dan O’Herlihy, and screen-writer Robert Bloch (Psycho) has fashioned a workable script with an inherent eerie atmosphere that is developed nicely by director Roger Kay.

It is made by Lippert Pictures, whose boss was Robert Lippert (March 31, 1909 – November 16, 1976). Lippert’s movies around this time normally cost $500,000, but he allocated $1 million for this one. Lippert was the only one in the studio who thought making the film was a good idea. In the year of this film, 1962, Lippert said: ‘The word around Hollywood is: Lippert makes a lot of cheap pictures but he’s never made a stinker.’

Roger Kay persuaded Robert Bloch ‘to drop the “Dr” from the original title but do a story with enough similarity to be recognisable as an homage.’

On set and behind the scenes, there was a lot of arguing and shouting, recriminations and regrets. Roger Kay hired Robert Bloch to write the script, but they fell out and apparently Kay re-wrote the script.

Maury Dexter, head of Lippert’s company, said he hated how different the script was from the original, and advised Lippert to fire Kay, but Lippert backed the director. He also said Kay yelled at Glynis Johns on set and Johns ran off, so Lippert had to force Kay to apologise to Johns for filming to resume.

Bloch’s autobiography tells the way Roger Kay tried to rob Bloch of his writing credit. But Bloch also says he regretted his credit as his screenplay was rewritten, and he claimed was ruined, he said by one of the producers, who was refused credit by the Screenwriter’s Guild.

In 1963  French-born Roger Kay said he disowned the film, blaming distributors Fox for turning it into a lurid, sex-charged picture considerably different from his version. He said his original cut was at the Museum of Modern Art.

It was shot over 25 days and premiered on 25 May 1962 in New York City.

The film was re titled The Cabinet of Caligari for its UK release on 3 September 1962.

Adverts at the time said no one would be allowed to leave the cinema during the last 13 minutes.

The cast are Glynis Johns as Jane, Dan O’Herlihy as Paul/ Caligari, Dick Davalos [Richard Davalos] as Mark, Lawrence Dobkin as David, Constance Ford as Christine, Estelle Winwood as Ruth, J Pat O’Malley as Perkins, Vicki Trickett, Doreen Lang, Charles Fredericks, and Phyllis Teagardin.

The Cabinet of Caligari is directed by Roger Kay, runs 104 minutes, is made by Lippert, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Robert Bloch, is shot by John Russell, is produced by Roger Kay, and scored by Gerald Fried.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,907

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