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Director: Terence Fisher, Producer: Anthony Nelson-Keys,
Screenplay: John Gilling, John Elder based on a story by J.
Llewellyn Devine, Music: James Bernard, Music Supervised and
Conducted by: Marcus Dods, Director of Photography: Michael Reed,
Supervising Editor: James Needs, Camera: Cece Cooney,
Production Manager: Don Weeks, Production Design: Bernard
Robinson, Art Director: Don Mingaye, Sound: Roy Hyde,
Makeup: Roy Ashton: Special Effects: Syd Pearson,
Wardrobe: Rosemary Burrows, Hairstyles: Frieda Steiger,
Fight Arranger: Peter Diamond, Assistant Director: Bert Batt,
Continuity: Pauline Harlow, Editor: Eric Boyd-Perkins,
Sound Recordist: Ken Rawkins, Production Manager: Don Weeks,
Stills Photographer: Tom Edwards, Wardrobe Supervisor: Molly
Arbuthnot
Cast: Peter Cushing (Dr. Namaroff), Christopher Lee (Prof.
Meister), Barbara Shelley (Carla), Richard Pasco (Paul), Michael Goodliffe
(Prof. Heitz), Patrick Troughton (Kanof), Jack Watson (Ratoff), Jeremy Longhurst
(Bruno), Sally Nesbitt (Nurse), Prudence Hyman (The Gorgon), Toni Gilpin
(Sascha), Redmond Philips (Hans), Joseph O’Connor (Coroner), Alister Williamson
(Cass), Joyce Hemson (Martha), Michael Peake (Policeman)
Review by Ade Salmon
Ade is an illustrator for the Dr Who
Magazine and runs a discussion board dedicated to Classic Horror Comics.
In Greek myth there were three sisters -
TISIPHONE, MEGAERA and ALECTO, who had living snakes as hair and blood dripping
from their eyes.
Collectively known as THE FURIES or DAUGHTERS OF THE NIGHT. They were spirits who punished evildoers for their crimes.
Sound familiar? It should - for when Hammer Films decided to delve into myth and add a new monster to their catalogue, they decided on THE GORGONS and their petrifying stare as an ideal choice. MEDUSA, STHENO and EURAYLE however didn't make it to Castle Borski - instead with a bit of creative wordplay - MEGAERA became the fourth Gorgon and brought along her evil spirit attributes, too.
Hammer's top gothic director Terence Fisher was brought in to helm the film that starred both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and the lovely Barbara Shelley. So how did things not quite go to plan? The re-dressed sets from the previous production Evil of Frankenstein add a tremendous gothic feel and particularly impressive is the desolate Castle Borski. The scene where Paul Heitz first visits the crumbling building and catches the merest glimpse of MAGAERA after pigeons scatter from the ruin, is a magically frightening moment, but one of the few I'm afraid.
The film opens spendidly
enough, as a semi nude girl is posing for Bruno Heitz, an artist. We learn she
is pregnant with his child and no sooner has he gone off to *do the right thing*
and talk to her father, than the girl is *gorgonized* and ends up stone dead.
Bruno is accused and ends up committing suicide - hanging bloodily from a rope,
leaving the open-ended question - where did those scars on his face come
from?
At this point Doctor Namaroff (Cushing) enters the story. He is deliberately covering up the deaths caused by the Gorgon and the story now sets up its central mystery. Who has MAGAERA's spirit entered? With Carla (Shelley) being the only woman around town .. it doesn't take long to figure out who is having a bad hair day !
Mix in a doomed love story straight out of Curse of the Werewolf, with obligatory deaths by the full moon and it's plain to see that what started out as an original idea, soon got swallowed up by the gothic machine. Gilling's script was in fact a rewrite and even then Hind's messed about with it. However if this wasn't enough - the final coffin nail in The Gorgon comes from the Gorgon herself. There is no disguising the fact that the effects used are the wrong side of appalling. The plastic snakes nestle in a huge black wig whilst the makeup on Prue Hyman's face was applied by trowel from the looks, giving her a decidedly painted *Madame* look. Incredibly there was huge amount of remote controlled devices involved with three long cables practically pulling Prue out of her shoes! The cameramen in fact had problems hiding the shadow that trailed behind her.
The choice of using a different actress for the monster was supposedly because Barbara Shelley couldn't convincingly be made up - but that doesn't really ring true. The more likely reason is because Hammer could film Shelley and Hyman at the same time on different sets and save time.
In the end The Gorgon fails because we see too much of the monster and it just isn't good enough to be seen.
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Further Reading:
Metamovie's Review
A wealth of reference material about the movie.
Buy:
The Gorgon is currently not available on DVD. There have been both PAL and NTSC VHS versions of the movie, but they are no longer available and have become collectors' items.
