There are not that many British films from the 1930s and 1940s about ghosts and haunted houses and the ones that do stand out are primarily comedies like The Ghost Goes West (1935), The Ghost Train (1941), Blithe Spirit (1945) and Things Happen at Night (1948). Still, there have been a few U.K. features that took a more serious approach to the genre and A Place of One’s Own (1945) is a good example, even though it is largely overlooked and forgotten today.
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What scares you? Circus clowns, graveyards at night, enclosed spaces, bats ? For me, ventriloquist dummies are the stuff of nightmares and some of my favorite spine-tinglers are Dead of Night, the 1945 British horror anthology film featuring the “Ventriloquist’s Dummy” segment with Michael Redgrave, and “The Dummy,” a 1962 episode from The Twilight Zone starring Cliff Robertson as an unhinged ventriloquist…or is he? Lesser known but just as potent is a creepy little British B-movie entitled Devil Doll (1964), which is ideal viewing for Halloween or anytime.
The Mexican film poster for Curse of the Doll People (1961).
Some phobias, often triggered by movies, develop in childhood and stick with you for life like an overwhelming fear of circus clowns or anxiety about being alone in the dark. For me, ventriloquist dummies or anything similar to that like oversized human dolls still gives me the creeps and the horror film that best visualizes this is 1961’s Curse of the Doll People (Mexican title: Munecos Infernales, which translates roughly as “Infernal Dolls”), directed by Benito Alazraki. Continue reading
Cinema Sojourns 