''The City of the Dead'' (also titled ''Horror Hotel'' in the United States) is a 1960 British

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of supernatural film and horror film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

directed by

John Llewellyn Moxey John Llewellyn Moxey (26 February 1925 – 29 April 2019) was an Argentine-born British film and television director. He was known for directing the horror film '' The City of the Dead'' (also known as ''Horror Hotel'', 1960) and directing episod ...

and starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

Venetia Stevenson Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson (10 March 1938 – 26 September 2022) was an English actress. Early life Born in 1938 in London, England, as Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson, she was the daughter of film director Robert Stevenson and actress ...

, Betta St. John,

Patricia Jessel Patricia Helen Mary Jessel (15 October 1920 – 8 June 1968) was an English actress of stage, film and television. Biography Jessel was born in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, only child of army captain Clement Edward Jessel an ...

and

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

. The film marks the

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

of Moxey. It was produced in the United Kingdom but set in America, and the British actors were required to speak with North American accents throughout.

Plot

In 1692 in fictional Whitewood,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, a witch named Elizabeth Selwyn is burned at the stake. Before her death, Selwyn and her accomplice, Jethrow Keane, sold their souls to

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

for eternal life and revenge on Whitewood in return for providing the Devil with two yearly

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...

s on the Hour of Thirteen during

Candlemas Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...

Eve and the

Witches' Sabbath A Witches' Sabbath is a purported gathering of those believed to practice witchcraft and other rituals. The phrase became especially popular in the 20th century. Origin of the phrase The most infamous and influential work of witch-hunting lor ...

. In the present day, following his lecture on

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

, a university history professor, Alan Driscoll, advises an interested student named Nan Barlow to visit Whitewood during her vacation to slake her interest in witchcraft by studying Whitewood's history. Nan settles in The Raven's Inn, a hotel owned by eccentric Mrs. Newless, becoming acquainted with the only normal-seeming local resident Patricia Russell, who loans her a book on witchcraft. Reading the book, Nan learns that this night is Candlemas Eve. She is lured down to the basement and is restrained on a satanic

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

by Mrs. Newless and members of her coven. Mrs. Newless reveals herself to be Elizabeth Selwyn before proceeding to sacrifice Nan. Two weeks later, Nan's concerned fiancé, Bill Maitland, and her brother, Richard, learn The Raven's Inn does not exist in any phone directory. They are visited by Patricia, who is also concerned with Nan's disappearance. The men travel separately to Whitewood, and Bill barely survives a car crash caused by an apparition of Selwyn. Richard reaches Whitewood and meets up with Patricia before visiting her grandfather, Reverend Russell, who reveals that Whitewood is under the control of Selwyn's coven. Soon after, Patricia is kidnapped as the coven's sacrifice, and Richard attempts to save her before they are cornered in the graveyard. Professor Driscoll is revealed to be a coven member. A severely-injured Bill arrives at the last minute and succeeds in extricating a large wooden cross from the ground. After being gravely wounded by Selwyn, Bill uses the last of his strength to burn the coven members alive under the cross's shadow. Selwyn escapes during the chaos. Her pact with the Devil has been undone by the intervention, and Richard and Patricia find her charred corpse in the hotel which was earlier revealed to have been built on the site of her burning.

Cast

as Alan Driscoll - history professor and secret member of Whitewood's coven *

Dennis Lotis Dennis Lotis (8 March 1925 – 8 February 2023) was a South African-born British singer, actor, and entertainer, whose popularity was greatest in the 1950s. He was described as having "a sophisticated style that was particularly attractive to t ...

as Richard 'Dick' Barlow - Nan's sceptical brother and intellectual opponent to Driscoll; he searches for Nan following her disappearance *

as Elizabeth Selwyn / Mrs. Newless - the witch who cursed Whitewood and supposed leader of Whitewood's coven; she is later reincarnated as an innkeeper * Tom Naylor as Bill Maitland - Nan's loyal fiancé * Betta St. John as Patricia Russell - an antiques dealer and granddaughter of Whitewood's pastor *

as Nan Barlow - a curious history student researching witchcraft *

as Jethrow Keane - Elizabeth's lover and fellow witch, he plays a pivotal role in selecting human sacrifices *

Ann Beach Ann Beach (7 June 1938 – 9 March 2017) was a British actress. She is perhaps best remembered for her supporting role as Sonia Barrett, the quirky next-door neighbour on the comedy ''Fresh Fields'', starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. ...

as Lottie - the mute housekeeper at Raven's Inn, who discreetly tries to work against the coven * Norman MacOwan as Reverend Russell - the blind pastor of Whitewood * Fred Johnson as The Elder *

James Dyrenforth James Dyrenforth (January 31, 1895–December 26, 1973) was an American actor and songwriter. Dyrenforth appeared in '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), '' Fiend Without a Face'' (1958), and ''Lolita'' (1962), and co-wrote " A Garden in the Rain", a ...

as Garage Attendant * Maxine Holden as Sue - Friend * William Abney as Policeman

Production

The script was originally written by

George Baxt George Baxt (June 11, 1923 – June 28, 2003) was an American screenwriter and author of crime fiction, best remembered for creating the gay black detective, Pharaoh Love. Four of his novels were finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay My ...

as a pilot for a television series starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

. The producer Milton Subotsky rewrote it to be longer, including a romantic subplot about the boyfriend who goes looking for Nan after she goes missing. Financing was obtained from television producer Hannah Weinstein, along with money from the Nottingham Forest Football Club. Production began on 12 October 1959 at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...

with a budget of £45,000.

Milton Subotsky Milton Subotsky (September 27, 1921 – June 27, 1991) was an American film and television writer and producer. In 1964, he founded Amicus Productions with Max J. Rosenberg. Amicus means "friend" in Latin. The partnership produced low-budget ...

was credited as the film's executive producer. The film was produced by Vulcan Productions, although because it was made by Subotsky and producing partner Max Rosenberg it has been considered the first of their

Amicus Productions Amicus Productions was a Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. ...

Deleted lines

Some dialogue was removed from the American version of the film, including the following lines in the opening sequence which clarify the plot. They are retained in the original British version, which has been shown on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

: * "I have made my pact with thee, O Lucifer! Hear me, hear me! I will do thy bidding for all eternity. For all eternity shall I practice the ritual of Black Mass. For all eternity shall I sacrifice unto thee. I give thee my soul, take me into thy service." * "O Lucifer, listen to thy servant, grant her this pact for all eternity and I with her, and if we fail thee but once, you may do with our souls what you will." * "Make this city an example of thy vengeance. Curse it, curse it for all eternity! Let me be the instrument of thy curse. Hear me, O Lucifer, hear me!"

Release

''The City of the Dead'' was released in September 1960 in the United Kingdom. It was a

box-office disappointment A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, although it did make a small profit. It was not released in the United States until 1961 under the title ''Horror Hotel''.

Legacy

Heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

used scenes from the film in the music video for their 1990 song " Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter".

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

also used clips in his "Sleepless Nights" video, as did punk band

UFX UFX are an English alternative rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, in 2000. History Dunk Rock (Duncan Lewis Jowitt) In 1977, Vi Brator (Stephen Rosser) and Duncan Disorderly (Jowitt) formed short-lived punk rock band Urban Voi ...

in the video to "Bitch", while

Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...

used Christopher Lee's opening words to similarly preface his track " Dragula" from ''

Hellbilly Deluxe ''Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International'' is the debut solo studio album by American musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. The album serves as his first release outside of the band White Zombie, with ...

''. In addition, the punk band

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

wrote a song called "Horror Hotel" (the American release title). In 2017, heavy metal band

In This Moment In This Moment is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direc ...

also used the opening lines by Christopher Lee in their song "Witching Hour", from their album ''Ritual''. Uncredited footage from the opening scene is used in ''Evil Calls: The Raven '' to represent the death of Lenore Selwyn (Elizabeth Selwyn in the original).

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:City of the Dead 1960 horror films 1960 films 1960s supernatural horror films Amicus Productions films British black-and-white films 1960s English-language films Films directed by John Llewellyn Moxey Films scored by Douglas Gamley Films scored by Ken Jones Films set in hotels Films set in Massachusetts British gothic horror films British supernatural horror films Films about human sacrifice Films about immortality Films about witchcraft Films about Satanism 1960 directorial debut films Films set in 1692 Films shot at Shepperton Studios 1960s British films British religious horror films English-language horror films Witches' Sabbath