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The Awful Dr. Orlof
[Image Entertainment]
1962; b&w
Directed by Jess Franco
Starring: Howard Vernon, Diana Lorys, Perla Cristal, Conrado SanMartin, Maria Silva, Riccardo Valle & Felix Defauce
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Originally released as Gritos En La Noche (rough translation: Screams In The Night), this is one of Jess Franco's first films and probably the first to garner him any real acclaim. Apparently, it is also in someway a reworking of a French film from the '50s, Les Yeux Sans Visage; which, if I remember the chorus to that Billy Idol song from the '80s correctly, translates to Eyes Without A Face. I've never seen the film, nor can I recall many of the lyrics to that song (I'm more of a Rebel Yell kinda girl), so I don't know how much of the basis of this movie or that song is borrowed from the French film and how much was dreamed up by the director / writer but if Franco's body of work as a whole is any indication, I feel safe in saying he found a way to make the story his own. Those looking for a kitschy, psychedelic freak-out along the lines of Vampyros Lesbos will be disappointed however, as this is more of a straight up horror film a la England's Hammer Studios. As you may have guessed from the title, the plot revolves around one Dr. Orlof, played by Howard Vernon, star of countless Eurotrash films and frequent Franco co-conspirator. (Most recently seen on the BMB as the creepy butler in Seven Women For Satan.) And, yes, the good doctor is indeed somewhat awful. Not to everyone though, mainly he's only awful towards the poor young women he stalks - with the intent to bring them back to his castle, remove their flesh in order to graft it onto the disfigured face of his young daughter, and then let them die. (Cause, you know, who needs a bunch of skinless women hangin around, bringin the party down.) Orlof has some help, as all good evil doctors do, in the form of his standardly disfigured assistant, Morpho; a rather tall menacing fellow with bulgy eyes - perfect for scaring young showgirls! As the diabolical duo continues working it's way through the local watering hole's female cabaret staff, the local police catch wind of what's going on and start trying to unravel the mystery of the missing girls. They make very little headway at first, as the Inspector is only slightly more advanced than a Chief Wiggum level of policework; fortunately the Inspector's lady friend is pretty savvy and, once she spots the menacing figure of Dr. Orlof lurking around the bar, she immediately determines that he is the cause of said missing girls and devises a plot to catch him using herself as bait. I don't want to spoil the ending for you, so I won't say who lives and who dies (on the other hand there are at least four sequels to this film - so one can assume Dr. Orlof's legend lives on even if he doesn't) but rest assured there is closure to this anecdote. The Awful Dr. Orlof was definitely more atmospheric and moody than many of the other Franco films I've seen thus far but there are roots of his later work evidenced here, such as the lingering on seemingly inconsequential objects, the use of the zoom lens and his ability to choose a perfectly appropriate musical accompaniment for just about any situation.
—Bunny
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