Back from the Dead

1957's "Back from the Dead" paired Arthur Franz and Peggie Castle as husband and wife Dick and Mandy Anthony, accompanied by her sister Kate (Marsha Hunt) to his California seaside home because of Mandy's pregnancy. The raging sea offers little comfort to the apprehensive Mandy, something calling out to her before an epileptic seizure that causes an unfortunate miscarriage. She awakens to call her husband 'Dicken' and does not recognize her own sister, but when she refers to herself as 'Felicia' Dick recognizes her as his first wife, who was believed to have drowned six years earlier. Since he never once mentioned Felicia to his new wife it's a mystery as to what has occurred, and when she goes to see the dead woman's parents there can be no doubt that Felicia is indeed 'back from the dead.' The real star of the film is Marsha Hunt, easily out acting Franz and Castle, doggedly determined to free Mandy from the evil spell cast by local cult leader Maitre Renault (Otto Reichow), whose powers appear to be woefully inadequate if he's unable to dispatch the only person who's on to him. Virtually nothing is made of the Satanic cult, so it's less a case of "The Exorcist" than another run of the mill Bridey Murphy clone, reincarnation being such a hot topic at the time that author Catherine Turney only now was allowed to adapt her own 1952 novel into a sadly muddled script. Hunt herself correctly felt that it wasn't a good film but a solid premise that makes one stay tuned to see what happens; the main problem is that we never get to know the real Mandy before she's possessed by 'Felicia,' growing more predictable until the underwhelming climax. Double billed theatrically with "The Unknown Terror," another less than sturdy effort from Western specialist Charles Marquis Warren, both films quickly forgotten once TV residuals subsided.

This movie managed to pack a lot into its short length, was well acted and didn't go over-the-top, as too many horror/thriller movies tend to do, especially when part of the plot is about Satanism/devil worship/alternative religion, whatever you want to call it. That so often leads to a lot of melodrama, with black hoods and chanting, and a lot of anti-GOD remarks, but thankfully, that doesn't happen here. Instead, you get quiet remarks like, "You have your religion, I have mine", and while there are a few of those sacrificial scenes, they're part of the story, not thrown in for effect.

Peggy Castle did a great job in her dual role, never overacting, and very convincing as she transformed from one woman to the other. In fact, all the acting was good, and it makes you feel (despite the subject matter) that you're watching something from real life, happening to real people and how they deal with it.

The music was perfect, setting the tone and blending with the story, rather than overpowering it.

My only complaint is the fate of that dog, who was too wise for his own good. There was no fooling him, but why couldn't they just have had him run away??? I might have given the movie another star if they had.

I recommend this for anyone who likes the supernatural but doesn't like it overdone.

The first and most important thing I want to say is that this movie is directed by a great western specialist for whom it is one of the TWO horror films - with also THE UNKNOWN TERROR - besides westerns, westerns and westerns. So this is maybe not a great horror film, but because and only because it is from this western maker Charles Marquis Warren, I was so curious to see it. And I think that's not bad at all. This kind of intrigue is not my cup of tea at all, I am a bit bored, but let's be fair, there have been far worse in this scheme. It is a small budget and that's even better to work hard on a good script. But this plot would have been better made by a director such as Lewis Allen for instance, for whom it was more his stuff - THE UNINVITED, THE UNSEEN -, more than westerns.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Charles Marquis Warren; Produced by Robert Stabler for Regal Films; Released by 20th Century-Fox. Screenplay by Catherine Turney from her novel; Photography by Ernest Haller; Edited by Leslie Vidor; Music by Raoul Kraushaar. Starring Peggy Castle, Arthur Franz, Marsha Hunt, Evelyn Scott, Marianne Stewart and Don Haggerty.

Supernatural terror outing concerning a second wife who is haunted by the lingering presence of her predecessor. The film benefits from the extensive use of the "lady in a white nightgown" and the "waves pounding against the rocks" bits of Gothic schtick.

Dick (Arthur Franz) is puzzled. While his first wife, Felicia, died long ago, suddenly after listening to a weird record, his second wife becomes possessed with the soul of the first wife! Oh, and the first wife just happens to be evil and will do ANYTHING to keep this new body. Can Dick or his nice sister-in-law (Marsha Hunt) manage to put things right and bring back the second wife once and for all? Or, is this simply a case where it's too late...and she's been repossesed?

In some ways, the plot to "Back from the Dead" is like taking Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and injecting it with EVIL and the supernatural...or perhaps a bit of LSD! Either way, it makes for a strange yet watchable horror/supernatural film...one worth seeing IF you like the genre and have a high tolerance for the silly.