TORTURE GARDEN (1967) – Episode 216 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“Did you know that there are ways to raise the dead?” Of course. Don’t you watch horror movies? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Doc Rotten, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they take a stroll through the Torture Garden (1967).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 216 – Torture Garden (1967)

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ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

Synopsis: An anthology of four short horror stories about people who visit Dr. Diabolo’s fairground torture show.

• Director: Freddie Francis
• Writer: Robert Bloch (written by)
• Producers: Max Rosenberg (as Max J. Rosenberg), Milton Subotsky
• Composers: Don Banks, James Bernard
• Cinematographer: Norman Warwick (director of photography)
• Segments & Selected Cast:
  • Prologue (Framework Story)
    • Synopsis: Five people visit a fairground sideshow run by showman Dr. Diabolo. Having shown them a handful of haunted house-style attractions, he promises them a genuinely scary experience if they will pay extra. Their curiosity gets the better of them, and the small crowd follows him behind a curtain, where they each view their fate through the shears of an effigy of the female deity Atropos.
    • Cast:
      • Burgess Meredith as Dr. Diabolo
      • Michael Ripper as Gordon Roberts
      • Clytie Jessop as Atropos – Goddess of Destiny
      • Timothy Bateson as Fairground Barker
  • 1. “Enoch” (story 1st appeared in 9/46 Weird Tales)
    • Synopsis: Michael Bryant, a greedy playboy, takes advantage of his dying uncle Roger and falls under the spell of a man-eating cat.
    • Cast:
      • Michael Bryant as Colin Williams
      • Catherine Finn as Nurse Parker
      • Maurice Denham as Uncle Roger
      • Niall MacGinnis as Dr. Silversmith
      • Roy Stevens as Constable
      • Norman Claridge as Police Sergeant
      • Barry Low as Tramp
  • 2. “Terror Over Hollywood” (story 1st appeared in 6/57 Fantastic Universe)
    • Synopsis: Carla Hayes, a Hollywood starlet, discovers her co-stars might not be who they seem to be.
    • Cast:
      • Beverly Adams as Carla Hayes
      • Robert Hutton as Bruce Benton
      • John Phillips as Eddie Storm
      • Bernard Kay as Dr. Heim
      • David Bauer as Mike Charles
      • Nicole Shelby as Millie
      • James Copeland as Fred
  • 3. “Mr. Steinway” (story first appeared in 4/54 Fantastic)
    • Synopsis: A possessed Bechstein grand piano by the name of Euterpe becomes jealous of its owner, Leo Winston’s new lover, Dorothy Endicott.
    • Cast:
      • John Standing as Leo Winston 
      • Ursula Howells as Miss Maxine Chambers
      • Barbara Ewing as Dorothy Endicott
  • 4. “The Man Who Collected Poe” (story 1st appeared in 10/51 Famous Fantastic Mysteries)
    • Synopsis: Ronald Wyatt, a Poe collector, murders Lancelot Canning, another collector, over a collectible he refuses to show him, only to find it is a very special item, indeed.
    • Cast:
      • Jack Palance as Ronald Wyatt
      • Peter Cushing as Lancelot Canning
      • Hedger Wallace as Edgar Allan Poe (credited as Geoffrey Wallace)
      • Roy Godfrey as Collector
  • Epilogue (Framework Story)
    • Synopsis: Gordon Roberts, the fifth patron, goes berserk and uses the shears of Atropos to “kill” Dr. Diabolo in front of the others, causing them to panic and flee. It is then shown that he is working for Diabolo, and the whole thing was faked. As they congratulate each other for their acting, it is then revealed that Ronald had not run off like the others, and he too commends their performance, sharing a brief exchange with Diabolo and lighting a cigarette for him before leaving (using the same lighter he borrowed in his vision, implying that the events actually happened). Diabolo puts the shears back into the hand of Atropos, and then breaks the fourth wall by addressing three words to the audience, thereby revealing himself actually to be the devil. 
    • Cast:
      • Burgess Meredith as Dr. Diabolo
      • Michael Ripper as Gordon Roberts
      • Clytie Jessop as Atropos – Goddess of Destiny

Torture Garden (1967) is the second portmanteau made by Amicus Productions and the last of the seven to be covered by Decades of Horror. Directed by Freddie Francis with a screenplay by Robert Bloch based on four of his stories, the Classic Era Grue-Crew have sort of an Amicus Bloch party… or maybe it was Daylight Savings Time that made them a little goofy. At any rate, they have a great time in this episode. The story features Burgess Meredith as Dr. Diabolo, the proprietor of the Torture Garden, and a fantastic cast led by Michael Ripper, Michael Bryant, Beverly Adams, Barbara Ewing, John Standing, and Maurice Denham. If that’s not enough, Peter Cushing and Jack Palance face off in the final segment for performances you won’t want to miss. This one is so much fun!

At the time of this writing, Torture Garden (1967) is available to stream from YouTube. The film is available on a standard Blu-ray disc from RM Films.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Next in their very flexible schedule – this one chosen by Bill – is Dinosaurus! (1960). Bill comes through again with some stop-motion animated dinosaur action. 

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To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”