Directed by:
I.M. (Isidoro M.) Ferry
William J. Hole Jr. (credited on English print)
Very little info is available for this title online but there are a number of things we can figure out from what is available. For starters, there are two distinctly different versions of this one floating around. The first is the Spanish-language version La cara del terror, which was theatrically released in its home country in 1962, runs a little over 85 minutes and has I.M. Ferry credited as the director. The second version is the U.S. and UK release, which was released theatrically in 1964 with a running time of 79 minutes and is solely credited to William Hole Jr. This English-language version was also part of a syndication package sold to TV by AIP in 1965. As you can likely gouge from the run time discrepancies, the original Spanish version naturally has additional footage. However, I skimmed through it and it doesn't appear that anything of real significance (as far as the plot is concerned) was cut. The opening credits in the Spanish version are different, much longer, much cooler and feature an original song not heard in the U.S. version, plus the very first major scene (a board meeting) goes on for several more minutes in the longer cut, but that's mostly it. Many sources claim that the English version had new / different scenes filmed by Hole specifically for the U.S. release but a side-by-side comparison shows that to not actually be the case. The "new" stuff is limited to credits, dubbing and editing cuts.
Another thing that seems likely (yet a bit odd at the same time!) is that this has an almost entirely Spanish-speaking cast (aside from the American leading lady), yet most of the primary actors appear to be speaking English. Credits match the theory that this was at least partially filmed in English as most of the actors have been dubbed in the Spanish version, while only a few (most noticeably the policemen) appear to have been dubbed in the English one. Also supporting this theory is the fact both versions of the film credit Monroe Manning (a U.S. TV writer) with the screenplay, which was almost certainly written in English. I'm just guessing here, but I'd say the main stars were all speaking English and the Spanish actors filling the less significant parts were not.
Dr. Charles Taylor (Fernando Rey) shows up at the Institute of Neuro-Science to discuss his "new approach to plastic surgery." Taylor has developed a process involving heat-impervious, moldable plastic that adheres perfectly to human flesh, which will not only result in a more complete and lifelike reconstruction but can also be done in a fraction of the time it would take to perform regular surgery. He hopes to use the institute's facilities (and one of their patients) to conduct his first transplant, but is rejected by Dr. Chambers (Gérard Tichy) and most the rest of the board on ethical grounds once he reveals he plans on patenting his technique in order to personally profit from it. Outside at an opening window, one of the patients is listening...
Norma Borden (Lisa Gaye), the asylum patient in question, sneaks into the back of Taylor's car and hides out until he arrives home. After his lab assistant / girlfriend Alma Woods (Concha Cuetos) leaves for the evening, Norma finally makes her presence and intent known. Four years earlier, an oil lamp exploded in her face, hideously scarring her. Norma conceals the fact she's a patient from the doctor, instead claiming she's simply too poor to afford plastic surgery. When Dr. Taylor tries to explain a series of tests must be performed before the operation and it will take some time, Norma threatens suicide if he doesn't work on her right then and there. Taylor relents. Norma heals amazing quickly and the operation is a success... or at least it appears that way at first.
Meanwhile, at the institution, Dr. Chambers and Dr. Reich (Carlos Casaravilla) discover that Norma has escaped and reveal that she's unstable, prone to violence and considered extremely dangerous. After being admitted by her own mother, Norma was diagnosed as a manic depressive with paranoid tendencies and a major persecution complex. Dr. Chambers calls up police detectives Mandel (Eduardo Sancho) and Alec (Pepe Martín) to help, but lies to them and tells them Norma is harmless and walked away from a minimum security wing of the hospital. They don't exactly buy his story, but they get a photo and start searching, soon joined in their investigation by Inspector Hopkins (Emilio Rodríguez).
After Dr. Taylor discovers who Norma really is and threatens to send her back to the hospital, Norma breaks a bottle over his head, steals some money, his car and a special moisturizer needed to keep her new plastic grafts from drying out and deteriorating and heads for the city. Her first stop is a boutique to buy clothes and make-up, and then a beauty parlor for a fashionable new hair cut. With her transformation now complete, she's a beauty that turns heads everywhere she goes. Knowing the police will be out looking for her, she answers a classified ad and takes a bus to a resort hotel twenty miles out of town, where she's able to easily secure work as a waitress.
Now going by the name "Nora Black," Norma quickly attracts the attention of several men, starting with her sleazebag boss, Mr. Polack (Jacinto San Emeterio), who comes on to her in none-too-subtle fashion and then tries to blackmail her into a friends-with-benefits type scenario. Much more useful to her is Matt Wilder (Virgilio Teixeira); a thrice-divorced playboy whose bad reputation proceeds him, but he also happens to be good looking, filthy rich and willing to marry her. When the cops show up at the resort and start snooping around, Norma takes Matt up on his offer of marriage, with hopes of running off to Paris with him. Things don't go quite as planned and several murders follow.
Interestingly, this was released the same year as Jess Franco's THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF; often considered the first pure Spanish horror film (which I suppose would make this the second pure Spanish horror film), and both obviously used the same source; Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960), as inspiration. While this is miles away from the quality of Eyes, it's also not the schlock-fest I was anticipating either. Spotty dubbing and a little time padding (namely a musical number and flamenco dancing) aside, this is fairly well-made for what it is.
While the story is entertaining and well-paced, and the make-up is surprisingly good, the real star here is the talented leading lady. Thanks to Gaye's excellent and emotive performance, and some thoughtful moments in the script, the Norma character never comes off as an over-the-top cartoon loon or a one-dimensional evil seductress. As both a victim of the medical community in her "monster" form and a victim of self-involved men who view her as little more than a disposable object of lust as the beauty underneath all the scarring, we're given an unexpectedly well-rounded and sympathetic anti-heroine in the central role.
This sat out much of the VHS era and has not been well-serviced on DVD either. The only legitimate English release I'm aware of is from Sinister Cinema. A decent-quality, widescreen version also exists, but the only one I could find was with Spanish audio.
★★1/2
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