La cara del terror (1962)

... aka: Face of Terror

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

Scalpel (1977)

... aka: Bisturí (Scalpel)
... aka: False Face
... aka: Perintö veitsenterällä (Heritage on a Razor's Edge)
... aka: Skalpell - Blutiges Spiegelbild (Scalpel - Bloody Reflection)

Directed by:
John Grissmer

Dr. Phillip Reynolds (Robert Lansing) is an esteemed plastic surgeon and murderous sociopath whose greed and perversity seem to know no bounds. Not only responsible for his own wife's drowning, he also killed his piano prodigy daughter's boyfriend after angrily stumbling upon the two of them having sex. In both instances he successfully staged the killings to look like accidental drownings in their backyard pond. After having caught a brief glimpse of the death of her lover, the daughter - Heather (Judith Chapman) - ran off and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Problems arise a year later when Phillip's rich father-in-law croaks and not only shafts Phillip in the will but also his own drunkard ne'er-do-well son Bradley (Arlen Dean Snyder); leaving Heather every penny of his 5 million dollar estate. Heather cannot be located, but Phillip stumbles upon a possible solution to his predicament in the form of a topless stripper who's just had her face smashed to a bloody pulp against a wall and happens to wander out in the street in front of his car.

Phillip takes the woman (also played by Chapman) back to his clinic and discovers she has no identity, no family and no home to go along with her disfigured- beyond-recognition face. Realizing he has a clean slate to work with, the doctor strikes up a bargain with the "Jane Doe" in his care: He'll reconstruct her face to look exactly like his missing daughter's if she'll impersonate her to make appearances at a few family functions and then claim the inheritance. Things go off without a hitch, aside from the duo having to bump off the weak-hearted brother-in-law after he becomes suspicious because the new "Heather" cannot play piano like the other one. As they wait to collect their money, the two become a little better acquainted in a very Freudian manner, but their entire plan is threatened when the real Heather finally returns home.

This plays out sort of like a demented version of Pygmalion, with an older male trying to turn a young woman from the other side of the tracks into a classier, sophisticated Southern belle, with a dash of Frankenstein and EYES WITHOUT A FACE thrown in. Added to that is a pervasive incest theme with the surgeon clearly having sexual designs on his own daughter. He kills his wife for her and eliminates her potential suitor in a jealous rage just so he has her all to himself. Taking things one step further into the realm of the uncomfortable, "Jane Doe" then becomes his flesh-and-blood way of actually acting out his lustful, unnatural feelings. When Heather finally comes back into the picture, Dr. Reynolds finds the real thing more irresistible than his creation; an urge that aids in his eventual downfall.

This is not a flashy movie in terms of photography, direction or visual style. That said, I'd personally rather watch a low-budget, low-key movie like this that has intelligent writing and good acting than a stylish, slick big budget movie with safe, soulless writing. One's enjoyment hinges a lot on whether they can accept an admittedly absurd premise but, if you can, there's a macabre sense of humor and lots of interesting subtext bubbling underneath the surface to enjoy. The director is also able to get good work from the entire cast, with Lansing giving a great performance as the arrogant, disturbed doctor, which he plays with just the right amount of restraint. The biggest surprise though is Chapman, who manages to create two different characters in a very subtle, believable way. I thought she looked familiar and then discovered she's the younger sister of expatriate Euro exploitation actress Patty Shepard, who starred in over a dozen horror flicks in the 70s and 80s. The two look a LOT alike but I'm afraid Patty never got a role as good as this one to play.

This was reportedly first released to theaters under the title False Face by a small distributor called United International Pictures. That release was so small I couldn't even find a poster for the film under that title. A year later it was acquired and given a wider release by AVCO Embassy under the new title Scalpel. Two years later, it made its TV debut on CBS and then there were numerous VHS releases after, most notable from Charter Entertainment and Embassy Home Video. Since then, it's faded into obscurity. There's no DVD release as of this writing.

There's a definite possibility this has been edited / cut. All of the current copies floating around have been sourced from the PG-rated AVCO theatrical version, while the first cut is said to have been rated R. You'll notice abrupt cuts in the sound and picture at times, especially the scene where the topless stripper (who is seen only from behind in this version) is manhandled. The credits also list several strip club "dancers" who are not seen in the Scalpel version of the film.

The music is by Bob Cobert, who was best known for scoring Dark Shadows and most of Dan Curtis' other TV shows and movies. Director Grissmer also went on to make the slasher flick Blood Rage, who was filmed in 1983 but not released until four years later under the title Nightmare at Shadow Woods.

★★★