Black Sabbath (1964)
99 mins | Horror | 6 May 1964
Director:
Mario BavaWriter:
Marcello FondatoCinematographer:
Ubaldo TerzanoEditor:
Mario SerandreiProduction Designer:
Giorgio GiovanniniProduction Companies:
Emmepi Cinematografica, Société Cinématographique Lyre, GalateaPrincipal photography began 27 Feb 1963, according to an 8 Mar 1963 DV production chart. A news brief in the 17 Apr 1963 Var noted that filming was recently completed in Italy.
The picture opened in Rome in Sep 1963 as I Tre Volti Della Paura (The Three Faces of Fear), with episodes titled "I wurdalak," "La goccia d'acqua," and "Il telefono." The running time was 100 minutes. One Italian source credits Ugo Guerra as screenwriter.
In the U.S., Black Sabbath opened 6 May 1964 in Detroit, MI, and Louisville, KY, followed by Los Angeles, CA, on 17 May 1964, and New York City on 10 Jul 1964. A review in the 11 Jul 1964 NYT dismissed the film, saying it was “about as horrible as an elephant joke.” However, the 26 May 1964 DV reported earnings of $162,000 during the opening week at twenty-seven Los Angeles theaters. According to the 4 Nov 1964 Var, the picture closed the previous week in Chicago, IL.
The Paris, France, opening followed in Nov 1965 with the title, Les trois visages de la peur. The running time of 95 minutes.
The 13 Oct 1964 DV reported that distributor American International Pictures (AIP) was threatening to sue an unidentified theater chain for allegedly plagiarizing Black Sabbath advertising artwork for use in the promotion of other studios’ product. Reacting to this and other such incidents, AIP executives announced that the company would “copyright pressbooks and contents” from that point forward. The lawsuit was abandoned ...
Principal photography began 27 Feb 1963, according to an 8 Mar 1963 DV production chart. A news brief in the 17 Apr 1963 Var noted that filming was recently completed in Italy.
The picture opened in Rome in Sep 1963 as I Tre Volti Della Paura (The Three Faces of Fear), with episodes titled "I wurdalak," "La goccia d'acqua," and "Il telefono." The running time was 100 minutes. One Italian source credits Ugo Guerra as screenwriter.
In the U.S., Black Sabbath opened 6 May 1964 in Detroit, MI, and Louisville, KY, followed by Los Angeles, CA, on 17 May 1964, and New York City on 10 Jul 1964. A review in the 11 Jul 1964 NYT dismissed the film, saying it was “about as horrible as an elephant joke.” However, the 26 May 1964 DV reported earnings of $162,000 during the opening week at twenty-seven Los Angeles theaters. According to the 4 Nov 1964 Var, the picture closed the previous week in Chicago, IL.
The Paris, France, opening followed in Nov 1965 with the title, Les trois visages de la peur. The running time of 95 minutes.
The 13 Oct 1964 DV reported that distributor American International Pictures (AIP) was threatening to sue an unidentified theater chain for allegedly plagiarizing Black Sabbath advertising artwork for use in the promotion of other studios’ product. Reacting to this and other such incidents, AIP executives announced that the company would “copyright pressbooks and contents” from that point forward. The lawsuit was abandoned after management for the theater chain issued a formal apology.
Jacqueline Pierreux is a pseudonym of Jacqueline Soussard.
Copyright length: 96 minutes; copyright claimant: Alta Vista Productions.
Les Trois visages de la peur
The Drop Of Water : Nurse Helen Corey is called to the home of Madame Perkins, a clairvoyant, but finds the woman dead when she arrives. The nurse steals a diamond ring from the hand of the corpse and puts it on when she gets home. That night she becomes terrified at the sound of dripping water; finally Madame Perkins' ghost appears and forces her to strangle herself. The next day the police find Helen dead of an apparent heart attack, her finger bruised as if a ring had been wrenched from it.
The Telephone : Rosy, a prostitute, receives threatening phone calls from a man she once betrayed and who is now dead. Terrified, she asks a friend, Mary, to stay with her, but the caller enters the house and kills Mary by mistake. Rosy then stabs the man, but the telephone rings again and his voice tells her that she can never kill him.
The Wurdalak : Vladimir, a young nobleman traveling in Eastern Europe, spends the night with a family who fear that their father, Gorca, has become a wurdalak, a species of vampire that thirsts for the blood of its loved ones. Gorca has killed Alibeck, a bandit and vampire, but neglected to drive a stake through his heart. Gorca kills his relatives one by one, and they, in turn, become vampires. Meanwhile, Vladimir and Gorca's daughter, Sdenka, fall in love; they escape to a convent but Gorca finds them and, unknown to Vladimir, transforms Sdenka into a wurdalak. When Vladimir kisses her, she kills him, turning him into a ...
The Drop Of Water : Nurse Helen Corey is called to the home of Madame Perkins, a clairvoyant, but finds the woman dead when she arrives. The nurse steals a diamond ring from the hand of the corpse and puts it on when she gets home. That night she becomes terrified at the sound of dripping water; finally Madame Perkins' ghost appears and forces her to strangle herself. The next day the police find Helen dead of an apparent heart attack, her finger bruised as if a ring had been wrenched from it.
The Telephone : Rosy, a prostitute, receives threatening phone calls from a man she once betrayed and who is now dead. Terrified, she asks a friend, Mary, to stay with her, but the caller enters the house and kills Mary by mistake. Rosy then stabs the man, but the telephone rings again and his voice tells her that she can never kill him.
The Wurdalak : Vladimir, a young nobleman traveling in Eastern Europe, spends the night with a family who fear that their father, Gorca, has become a wurdalak, a species of vampire that thirsts for the blood of its loved ones. Gorca has killed Alibeck, a bandit and vampire, but neglected to drive a stake through his heart. Gorca kills his relatives one by one, and they, in turn, become vampires. Meanwhile, Vladimir and Gorca's daughter, Sdenka, fall in love; they escape to a convent but Gorca finds them and, unknown to Vladimir, transforms Sdenka into a wurdalak. When Vladimir kisses her, she kills him, turning him into a vampire.
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement AwardTOP SEARCHES
Casablanca
In the onscreen credits, actor S. Z. Sakall's name is incorrectly spelled "S. K. Sakall." HR news items add the following information about the production: ... >>
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
According to HR news items, "The Gentleman from Montana" (an unpublished story by Lewis R. Foster, alternately called "The Gentleman from Wyoming" by both contemporary and modern ... >>
Gone with the Wind
[Note from the Editors : the following information is based on contemporary news items, feature articles, reviews, interviews, memoranda and corporate records. Information obtained from modern sources is ... >>
Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights opens and closes with a framing story featuring an elderly guardian relating the story of two rival brothers, Haroum-al-Raschid and Kamar al Zaman, to six ... >>
