Dementia 13 3815899 219606861 2008-06-16T01:37:35Z Azumanga1 632987 Removed "Big Boy" from infobox -- field is used for sequels of the film, not the director's next film. {{Infobox Film | name = Dementia 13 | image = Dementia.jpg | caption = A promotional [[film poster]] for ''Dementia 13'' | director = [[Francis Ford Coppola]] | producer = [[Roger Corman]] | writer = Francis Ford Coppola | starring = [[William Campbell (film actor)|William Campbell]]<br>[[Luana Anders]]<br>[[Patrick Magee (actor)|Patrick Magee]] | music = [[Ronald Stein]] | cinematography = [[Charles Hannawalt]] | editing = [[Stuart O'Brien]]<br>[[Morton Tubor]] | distributor = [[American International Pictures]] | released = [[25 September]] [[1963]] | runtime = 80 min (w/prologue)<br>75 min (w/o prologue) | country = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|22px]] | awards = | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = $42,000 (estimated) | preceded_by = | followed_by = | amg_id = 1:13162 | imdb_id = 0056983 }} '''''Dementia 13''''' is a [[1963 in film|1963]] [[horror film|horror]] [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] released by [[American International Pictures]], starring [[William Campbell (film actor)|William Campbell]], [[Patrick Magee (actor)|Patrick Magee]], and [[Luana Anders]]. The film was written and directed by [[Francis Ford Coppola]] and produced by [[Roger Corman]]. Although Coppola had been involved in at least two [[nudie film]]s previously, ''Dementia 13'' served as his first mainstream, "legitimate" directorial effort. The plot follows a scheming young woman who, after having inadvertently caused the [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] death of her husband, attempts to have herself written into her rich [[mother-in-law]]'s [[will (law)|will]]. She pays a surprise visit to her late husband's family castle in [[Ireland]], but her plans become permanently interrupted by an axe-wielding lunatic who begins to stalk and murderously hack away at members of the family. Corman offered Coppola the chance to direct a [[low-budget film|low-budget]] horror movie in Ireland with funds left over from Corman's recently completed ''The Young Racers'', on which Coppola had worked as a sound technician. The producer wanted a cheap ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''-copy, complete with [[gothic fiction|gothic]] atmosphere and brutal killings, and Coppola quickly wrote a [[screenplay]] in accordance with Corman's requirements. Although he was given total directorial freedom during production, Coppola found himself fighting with Corman after the film was completed. The producer declared the movie unreleasable and demanded several changes be made. Corman eventually brought in another director, [[Jack Hill]], to film additional sequences. ==Plot== One night, while out [[watercraft rowing|row boating]] in the middle of a lake, John Haloran (Peter Read) and his young wife Louise (Luana Anders) argue about his rich mother's [[will (law)|will]]. Louise is upset that everything is currently designated to go to charity in the name of "a mysterious Kathleen." John tells Louise that if he dies before his mother does, she will be entitled to none of the [[inheritance]]. He then promptly drops dead from a massive [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. Thinking quickly, the scheming Louise throws the fresh corpse over the side of the boat, where it comes to rest at the bottom of the lake. Her plan is to pretend that he is still alive, in order to ingratiate her way back into the will. She types up a letter to Lady Haloran (Eithne Dunne), inviting herself to the family's Irish castle while her husband is "away on business". Upon arrival, she immediately notices that things are a little strange in the castle. She observes John's two brothers, Billy (Bart Patton) and Richard (William Campbell) taking part in a bizarre ceremony with their mother as part of a yearly ritualistic tribute to their youngest sister, Kathleen, who died many years before in a freak drowning accident. Lady Haloran still mourns for her, and during this year's ceremony, she faints dead away. As Louise helps her into the house, her mother-in-law tells her that she fainted because one of the flowers she had thrown had died as it touched Kathleen's grave. Louise, realizing that Lady Haloran is emotionally overwrought and superstitious, devises a plan intended to convince the old woman that Kathleen is trying to communicate with her from beyond the grave. This plan involves stealing some of the dead girl's old toys and placing them at the bottom of the estate's pond where they will float to the surface in the middle of the day in an ostensibly [[ghost]]ly way. At night, Louise swims into the pond and begins placing the toys as planned. However, she is shocked to see what appears to be Kathleen's perfectly preserved corpse at the bottom of the pond. Horrified, she swims to the surface...and is abruptly axed to death by an unknown assailant. The killer then drags Louise's bloody corpse away. [[Image:Dementia13.jpg|thumb|left|Patrick Magee as Dr. Caleb and William Campbell as Richard Haloran]] Concerned family doctor Justin Caleb (Patrick Magee) arrives and becomes determined to solve the mystery. He questions the family in an intense, almost insane manner. Caleb has the pond drained, revealing a stone shrine for Kathleen, with the words "Forgive Me, Kathleen" on the monument. Meanwhile, the murderer strikes again, decapitating a man who is poaching on the estate. The following night, Lady Haloran is attacked by a shadowy figure, but she survives. Finally, Dr. Caleb utilizes an obscure [[nursery rhyme]] ("Little fishies in a brook, papa's hanged you on a hook") to help him discover Louise's corpse hidden in a meat freezer. Next to the body is a wax figure of Kathleen. Caleb places the figure in a public square to lure the killer. Taking the bait, a gibbering Billy attempts to kill Richard's [[Engagement|fiancée]] Kane (Mary Mitchel) with an axe; he has become insane with the guilt he has felt for years over having caused the death of his sister Kathleen. Dr. Caleb removes a gun from his coat pocket and shoots Billy to death. ==Production== Coppola worked as a [[audio engineering|sound man]] on Corman's ''The Young Racers'' (1963), a racing film which starred Campbell and Magee. That movie was shot in several different countries, and after production was completed in Ireland, Corman still had $22,000 of the film's allocated $165,000 budget remaining. Corman originally thought of using the funds to direct a "quickie" film himself, but his schedule made this impractical. Instead, Corman suggested that Coppola remain in Ireland with a small crew and direct a [[low-budget film|low-budget]] horror film, to be produced by Corman."<ref name="Lucas">Lucas, Tim. ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #4, pg. 48. From the article "The Trouble with TITIAN: Francis Ford Coppola's Lost Thriller"</ref> Coppola later recalled, "Roger wanted to make ''Dementia 13'' cheaply. He wanted it to be [[homicidal]], sort of a copy of ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''. You know, [[gothic fiction|gothic]] and [[psychological]], with some kind of terrible knife killing scene thrown in. So I wrote the script to order."<ref name="DiFranco">DiFranco, J. Philip. ''The Movie World of Roger Corman'', Chelsea House Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-87754-122-1 </ref> Coppola wrote a brief draft story idea in one night. The next morning, he described to Corman the most vividly detailed sequence: a half naked woman ties several dolls to the bottom of a lake, then surfaces to find herself at the feet of an axe murderer -"Axed to death!" Coppola exclaimed."<ref name="Lucas">Lucas, Tim. ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #4, pg. 48. From the article "The Trouble with TITIAN: Francis Ford Coppola's Lost Thriller"</ref> Corman was impressed enough to immediately provide Coppola with the $22,000 for the film. The young director was able to arrange an additional $20,000 in financing himself by pre-selling the European rights to a producer named Raymond Stross.<ref name="McGee">McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0137-0 </ref> Coppola did not inform Corman of the production's additional funding, and quickly moved the initial $22,000 into a bank account in case an angry Corman ever attempted to reclaim his original investment.<ref name="Goodwin">Goodwin, Michael and Wise, Naomi. ''On the Edge: The Life & Times of Francis Ford Coppola'', William Morrow & Co,, 1989. ISBN 068804767X </ref> Coppola’s friend Al Locatelli served as the film’s [[art director]] and helped Coppola write the final script in three days, uncredited. The speed in which the screenplay was completed resulted in unrealistic, “stilted” dialogue that Campbell recalled as being very difficult for the actors to speak.<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, William. ''Dementia 13 '' [[DVD]], The Roan Group/[[Troma Entertainment]], 2001, [[audio commentary]]. ISBN 8560420562 </ref> The majority of the American actors in the cast were friends of Coppola’s from [[UCLA]], and many of them paid their own way to Ireland for the opportunity to appear in a film. Most of the Irish cast members were from the [[Abbey Theatre]] and were paid strictly minimum wage salaries. Eithne Dunne received approximately $600 for her performance. Cast and crew lived together in a farm house located outside of [[Dublin]].<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, William. ''Dementia 13 '' [[DVD]], The Roan Group/[[Troma Entertainment]], 2001, [[audio commentary]]. ISBN 8560420562 </ref> During the filming, Coppola kept Corman updated on the status of the production in letters that promised lots of sex and violence would be in the movie, "enough to make people sick".<ref name="McGee">McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0137-0 </ref>Coppola was left entirely on his own while directing the film, without interference of any kind from Corman. But after the completed film was shown to him, Corman stormed out of the screening room and demanded that several changes be made to the film that Coppola did not agree with. According to Coppola, Corman "insisted on [[dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbing]] the picture the way he wanted it, adding [[voiceover]]s to simplify some of the scenes. Worse, he wanted some extra violence added, another axe murder at least..."<ref name="McGee">McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0137-0 </ref> [[Jack Hill]] was later hired by Corman to shoot some brief sequences featuring actor Karl Schanzer as a comical poacher who is beheaded by the murderer. Corman also complained the film was too short, and insisted that it be [[filler|padded]] by at least five minutes. [[Gary Kurtz]], one of Corman's assistants at the time, recalled, "So we shot this stupid [[prologue]] that had nothing to do with the rest of the movie. It was some guy who was supposed to be a psychiatrist, sitting in his office and giving the audience a test to see if they were mentally fit to see the picture. The movie was actually released with that prologue."<ref name="Naha">Naha, Ed. ''The Films of Roger Corman: Brilliance on a Budget'', Arco Publishing Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-668-05308-9 </ref> The prologue was directed by [[Monte Hellman]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/56/cormaniv.htm |title=Nearer My Corman to Thee: Interview with Monte Hellman|accessdate=2007-06-03|first=Damien|last=Love|publisher=Bright Lights Film Journal}}</ref> This cheap [[William Castle]]-style gimmick also included a "D-13 Test" handout given to theatre patrons that was ostensibly devised by a "medical expert" to weed out psychologically unfit people from viewing the film. The test consisted of such questions as "The most effective way of settling a dispute is with one quick stroke of an axe to your adversary's head?" and "Have you ever been hospitalized in a locked mental ward, sanitarium, rest home or other facility for the treatment of mental illness?", with Yes or No as the only possible answers. ==Cast== *'''[[William Campbell (film actor)|William Campbell]]''' as '''Richard Haloran'''. ''Dementia 13'' was one of several Roger Corman productions the veteran [[B-movie]] [[character actor]] appeared in,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=239309&mod=films|title=William Campbell Filmography|last=|first=|accessdate = 2007-03-03|publisher=New York Times}}</ref> but it was the first that was completed on such a small budget. Coppola had convinced Campbell, and his ''The Young Racers'' co-star Patrick Magee, to appear in the film. The actor originally felt it would turn out to be a strictly "amateur endeavor", but he soon became impressed by Coppola’s leadership abilities, talent, and energy on the set.<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, William. ''Dementia 13 '' [[DVD]], The Roan Group/[[Troma Entertainment]], 2001, [[audio commentary]]. ISBN 8560420562 </ref> Campbell recalled years later, "There were all kinds of promises as to what he [Coppola] would do for me later. It was one of those 'I-owe-you-one' things, but he never did ''anything''! I tried to get to him when he was doing ''[[The Godfather]]'', thinking that a cop or gangster part might be good for about 17 weeks, but after ''Dementia 13'' I was never able to get through to him again!"<ref name="Campbell2">Campbell, William. Interviewed by Tim Lucas in ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #4, pg. 48, from the article "The Trouble with TITIAN: Francis Ford Coppola's Lost Thriller"</ref> *'''[[Luana Anders]]''' as '''Louise Haloran'''. Anders's role as the scheming wife of a rich, but prematurely dead, heir to a fortune is one of the actress's most notable screen roles.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=79590 |title=Luana Anders|accessdate=2007-01-14|first=Hal|last=Erickson|publisher=New York Times.com}}</ref> ''Dementia 13'' was one of several appearances she made in AIP productions. Most of these films had been directed by Roger Corman, including a major role co-starring with [[Vincent Price]] in ''[[The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)|The Pit and the Pendulum]]'' (1961). Like Campbell and Patrick Magee, Anders had been borrowed by Coppola from the cast of Corman's just completed ''The Young Racers''. After ''Dementia 13'', Anders never had such a sizeable role again, appearing in numerous small parts in both television and film until her death from [[breast cancer]] in 1996. *'''[[Patrick Magee (actor)|Patrick Magee]]''' as '''Dr. Justin Caleb'''. Magee's role as the family doctor who manages to solve the mystery in ''Dementia 13'' was one of many horror film parts the [[Tony Award]]-winning actor accepted during the course of his distinguished career. He had just finished shooting Corman's ''The Young Racers'' when Coppola convinced him, along with his ''Racers'' co-stars Campbell and Anders, to appear in Coppola's debut feature. Years later, Campbell warmly remembered Magee as being a brilliant performer although a little prone to [[overacting]].<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, William. ''Dementia 13 '' [[DVD]], The Roan Group/[[Troma Entertainment]], 2001, [[audio commentary]]. ISBN 8560420562 </ref> *Other cast: '''Bart Patton''' as Billy Haloran, '''Mary Mitchel''' as Kane, '''Eithne Dunne''' as Lady Haloran, '''Peter Read''' as John Haloran, '''Karl Schanzer''' as Simon, the poacher, '''Ron Perry''' as Arthur, '''Derry O'Donavan''' as Lillian, the maid, '''Barbara Dowling''' as Kathleen Haloran. ==Response== The film was released in the fall of 1963 as the supporting feature of a [[double feature|double bill]] with Corman's ''[[X (1963 film)|X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes]]''. Because of its rushed production and a somewhat incomprehensible screenplay, ''Dementia 13'' has managed to receive a considerably mixed critical response over the years. ''[[The New York Times]]'' dismissed the film: "Under the stolid direction of Francis Coppola, who also wrote the script, the picture stresses gore rather than atmosphere, and all but buries a fairly workable plot."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D03E3DC113DE63BBC4C51DFB6678388679EDE|last=|first=|title= Screen: Ray Milland in 'X':Movie About Surgeon Opens in Double Bill |publisher=New York Times, review dated October 14, 1963|accessdate=2008-06-14}}</ref> Michael Weldon, in ''[[Psychotronic Video|The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film]]'', noted it had "[A] great trick ending, some truly shocking gory axe murders, and lots of inventive photography."<ref name="Weldon">Weldon, Michael. ''[[Psychotronic Video|The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film]]'', Ballantine Books, 1983. ISBN 0-345-30381-4 </ref> Tom Raynes, in the ''[[Time Out]] Film Guide'', said "The location (an Irish castle) is used imaginatively, the Gothic atmosphere is suitably potent, and there's a wonderfully sharp cameo from Patrick Magee..."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/65254.html|last=Raynes|first=Tom|title=Dementia 13|publisher=Time Out|accessdate=2006-07-09}}</ref> [[Danny Peary]], in his ''Guide for the Film Fanatic'', stated that despite the "hopelessly confusing" storyline, "...the horror sequences are very exciting."<ref name="Peary">Peary, Danny. ''Guide for the Film Fanatic'', Simon & Schuster, 1986. ISBN 0-671-61081-3 </ref> [[Phil Hardy (journalist)|Phil Hardy]]'s ''[[The Aurum Film Encyclopedia]]: Horror'' opined, "[O]ne senses the presence of a director right from the moody opening sequence...a piece of high gothic melodrama...The weakness of the film is in the script, which gives every indication of having been bundled together at the last minute..."<ref name="Hardy">Hardy, Phil (editor). ''The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror'', Aurum Press, 1984. Reprinted as ''The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror'', Overlook Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87951-518-X</ref> John Charles, in ''[[Video Watchdog]]'', wrote that the film was "a remarkably confident and proficient thriller. Several of its components hint at the creativity that was still to come from Coppola, and the finished product is a testament to his ingenuity..."<ref name="Charles">Charles, John. ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #37, pgs. 54 - 56. Review of ''Dementia 13'' laserdisc </ref> [[Kim Newman]] has opined "Coppola...works fast and creative in ''Dementia 13'', making memorable, shocking little sequences out of the killings and the implied haunting, using his locations well and highlighting unexpected eeriness like a transistor radio burbling distorted pop music as it sinks into a lake along with a just-murdered corpse."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irishgothichorrorjournal.homestead.com/kim.html|last=Newman|first=Kim|title=Irish Horror Cinema|publisher=Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies|accessdate=2007-03-15}}</ref> ''Dementia 13'' has a 50% favorable rating on the "Tomatoemeter" at [[Rotten Tomatoes]], out of eight reviewers surveyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dementia_13/|last=|first=|title=Dementia 13|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=2007-02-20}}</ref> When the Roan Group released a [[laserdisc]] and [[DVD]] of the film, it included an amusing and informative [[audio commentary]] by Campbell. The DVD also featured the written version of the "D-13 Test" in digital form as an extra. However, the filmed five-minute prologue featuring the test has not been included on any of the numerous available [[home video]] versions of the title. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0056983|title=Dementia 13}} *{{google video|3243477980721415635|Dementia 13}} {{Francis Ford Coppola's films}} [[Category:1963 films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:1960s horror films]] [[Category:Independent films]] [[Category:American International Pictures films]] [[Category:Films directed by Francis Ford Coppola]] [[Category:Public domain films]] [[de:Dementia 13]] [[fr:Dementia 13]] [[ru:Безумие-13 (фильм)]]