Craze is a 1974 horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Jack Palance, Diana Dors, Julie Ege and Edith Evans.[2] A psychotic antiques dealer sacrifices women to the statue of Chuku, an African idol. It was the last film produced by Herman Cohen.[3]
| Craze | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Freddie Francis |
| Written by | Herman Cohen Aben Kandel |
| Based on | novel The Infernal Idol by Henry Seymour |
| Produced by | Herman Cohen |
| Starring | Jack Palance Diana Dors Julie Ege |
| Cinematography | John Wilcox |
| Edited by | Henry Richardson |
| Music by | John Scott |
Production company | Harbour Productions |
| Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
Cast
edit- Jack Palance as Neal Mottram
- Diana Dors as Dolly Newman
- Julie Ege as Helena
- Edith Evans as Aunt Louise
- Hugh Griffith as solicitor
- Trevor Howard as Bellamy
- Suzy Kendall as Sally
- Michael Jayston as Wall
- Martin Potter as Ronnie
- Percy Herbert as Detective Russet
- David Warbeck as Detective Wilson
- Kathleen Byron as Muriel Sharp
Production
editThe film was based on the 1967 novel The Infernal Idol by Henry Seymour. In 1972 it was reported Herman Cohen had the rights and a script was being written.[4]
In March 1972 it was announced Jack Palance would star in a film version, which would be a co production between Herman Cohen and Joe Solomon.[5]
Freddie Francis had made a number of horror movies for Amicus and other producers, including Herman Cohen for whom he directed Trog (1970).
Francis wrote in his memoir: "No sooner had I started it than I realised I was flogging a dead horse." He stated that there were "only four good things about" the movie – Palance, Trevor Howard, Edith Evans and Hugh Griffith – adding "Jack lost interest in it almost straight away, Hugh and Trevor were both heavily on the bottle and dear Edith thought we were making a 'proper' film and therefore had all the time in the world." Francis says because the cast included Howard and Griffith, Evans thought there was plenty of time to block scenes, when Francis only had a six week schedule.[6]
Palance arrived in London to make the film which began filming in March 1973.[7] Cohen says he got along with Palance but "everyone else was afraid of Jack – he has that aura about him. Freddie Francis was scared stiff of him."[8]
Francis later said, "Even Jack couldn’t help that one. I thought we could’ve made something of it with Jack, but once again Herman had this old Aben Kandel writing the scripts and I think Abe would do anything Herman told him.”[9]
Francis said the film was "not that good."[10]
Reception
editCohen says the film "did very well" financially but was hurt because the producer had sold the film to National General in the US, who were bought about by Warner Brothers; this caused a delay in the film's release in the US.[11]
Notes
edit- Weaver, Tom (2003). Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews. McFarland. ISBN 9780786482153.
References
edit- ^ a b "Craze (1974)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Craze". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Herman Cohen: [Final 1 Edition] The Times; London (UK) [London (UK)]11 June 2002: 31.
- ^ "Coming". Cinefantastique. Winter 1971. p. 42.
- ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Juliet Mills Set for 'Avanti' Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 4 Mar 1972: b8.
- ^ Francis, Freddie (2013). Freddie Francis: The Straight Story from Moby Dick to Glory, a Memoir. Scarecrow Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780810892064.
- ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Cicely to Portray Shirley Chisholm Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 24 Mar 1973: b8.
- ^ Weaver p 84
- ^ Koetting, Christopher (1995). "Tales from the Script". Hammer Horror. No. 6. p. 12.
- ^ "Interview with Freddie Francis". British Entertainment History Project. 1993–1994.
- ^ Weaver p 85