The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962)
1h 28m | PG-13
In late 19th century London, a woman weds a necrophiliac doctor whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances - and who might be returning from the grave to torment her successor.
Director: Riccardo Freda
Studio: Panda - Società per l'Industria Cinematografica
Genre: Horror
Video: 720p
Cast
Barbara Steele
as Cynthia Hichcock
Robert Flemyng
as Prof. Bernard Hichcock
Silvano Tranquilli
as Dr. Kurt Lowe
Maria Teresa Vianello
as Margherita Hichcock
Harriet Medin
as Martha, the maid
Spencer Williams
as
Reviews
There are definitely shades of Daphne du Maurier in this slightly hysterical telling of a supernatural tale. Robert Flemyng is an eminent surgeon who has a penchant for necrophilia - he drugs them first then has his fun; they awaken none the wiser some hours later. However, when he overdoses his first wife and she dies he is bereft and departs for twelve years. When he returns to his home with a new wife (not entirely dissimilar to her predecessor) he picks up where he left off - not just with his wife, but with the cadavers in his hospital mortuary too. When wife No. 2 (Barbara Steele) starts hallucinating and gets suspicious, she confides in her husband's colleague (Silvano Tranquilli) and instead of finding a ghost, they find something altogether more sinister. It's certainly formulaic, but the film has a good look about it and the two stars keep it eerie and suspenseful for most of it.