LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR - 1969

Called in Spain, LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR (English translation: THE MONSTERS OF TERROR) and in Germany DRACULA JAGT FRANKENSTEIN, this film marked the second official return of Waldemar Daninsky, the cursed werewolf created by Paul Naschy for his first wolfman film, LA MARCA DEL HOMRE LOBO.

For this film, Paul Naschy was contacted by Ramon Planas, the assistant of Jamie Prades. Prades had been associated with the legendary Samuel Bronston, for whom Naschy, as an extra, had made a couple of films early in his career. Prades wanted Naschy to write a monster film that would outdo Naschy’s previous monster effort. Naschy locked himself in his office and wrote a script about an alien from the planet Ummo who comes down to earth and assembles all the classic monsters with the notion of ruling mankind with these monsters and their duplicates. At this point, the film was going to be called, THE MAN WHO CAME FROM UMMO.  Julio Coll (PYRO) was going to direct, but he presented absurd suggestions that went against Naschy’s idea, and so director Hugo Fregonese was chosen instead.

Fregonese was ideal as he spent not only time in Spain, but helmed various American actors, including Lex Barker and Robert Taylor.  Taylor, in fact, was interested in playing the role of the alien, and even had a meeting with Naschy, but Prades had already secured Michael Rennie. As one of the stars of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, Rennie would bring a special gravitas to the role and play an alien again. Yes, Rennie had health issues, like Taylor, but despite his asthma, he could work and complete the picture.

Things were looking very positive. But then the troubles began.  Naschy’s big-name actress, Maria Perschy, had  to exit the film before it started. Current boyfriend troubles, the rumors go.  She was replaced by Karin Dor, but the other actress in the film, Helga Geissler,  got jealous and verbally attacked Dor, claiming that she, Geissler, was going to be a big star while Dor was already a has-been.

Then there was the bane of many films: money.  The delay over funding and searching for more funds to complete the film lasted six months.

The flying saucers that were built in the courtyard of the Conde Duque barracks were maliciously destroyed by their workers when payment was not forthcoming. Unfortunately, no photos were taken of the space ships.

While Michael Rennie was waiting and waiting to get all the monies he was promised, the film’s director, Fregonese could wait no more and headed out of the country with his new love, leaving about 30% of the film still undone. At which point, director Tulio Demichelli completed the film. Like Fregonese, Demicheli had been born in Argentina, and had a long list of credits to his name, so the change was not unwelcome. The Spanish director Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi (THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL) was called in to assemble the final cut, which was finally called LOS MONSTROS DEL TERROR.

 Because Molina the screenwriter did not want to upset any copyright laws, the name of Dracula is not used in the film but rather Count Janos de Mialhoff, a character who had previously appeared in LA MARCA DEL HOBRE LOBO. This time he was not played by Julian Ugarte, but by Manuel de Blas, the husband of actress Patty Shepard, whom he had met on an earlier film.

 Born in South Carolina, Patty Shepard went to Spain with her military father and became rapidly sought by the Spanish film industry while pursuing a modeling career. Obviously, she spoke English, and her presence added extra American element to any film she appeared in.  A couple of years later, she played  Wandesa Darvula de Nadasdy, to become a Spanish horror legend thereafter. The film was WEREWOLF SHADOW and its major star was Paul Naschy.

For Naschy, the money problems of LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR influenced other areas.  As he wrote in his memoirs, translated into English by Mike Hodges: “I had many things in the script that we were not able to do for lack of money, for example, the appearance of the Golem. I also had the bad luck of having to count on the worst make-up man of my entire career, Rafael Ferrer, who defrauded us all. The only good make-ups were those done by the assistants.”

 Despite this, Gene Reyes’ make-up as the mummy is superlative and the battle between his mummy and Naschy’s wolfman is one of the highlights of the film. But certainly the film’s worst makeup goes to the Italian actor, Ferdinando Murolo, playing the Frankenstein Monster, called in some versions, Farancksalan.  And truthfully, Naschy himself looks diminutive and lost around all these monsters. His name as an actor is even left out of the Spanish credits. One would hope that this absence is just a mistake and nothing more.

Aside from Michael Rennie and the main German female leads, mention must be made of Craig Hill, who played Inspector Tobermann. His rugged, lean looks and amused expression were well suited for whatever B-film or TV show he appeared in. He was married to Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera and settled in Spain, dying in Barcelona in 2014.

Astute viewers may recognize an uncredited Barbara Capell,  who would have a major role in WEREWOLF SHADOW. In this film, however, she had a small scene as a prostitute who gets killed by Daninsky when he is the wolfman. But wait...  Capell is not mentioned by name but the mysterious Barbara Muller is.

“She confessed that she belonged to a sect of Devil worshipers who met in a secret place to make diabolical invocations,” Naschy wrote in his autobiography. The actress’ German apartment, hashish and marijuana, and one would assume some physical intimacy, presaged a meeting of the worshippers at a secret location, complete with a sacrifice and blood. The disturbing incident compelled Naschy to seek a priest to expiate his sins.

LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR is certainly wacky, but charming.  Its multiple monsters, its international actors, its Spanish and West German locales (including the San Martin castle where the first Daninsky film was partly helmed), make it uniquely interesting. The current Blu-Ray, certainly in the best quality that we have seen, assures us that, while not the epic envisioned in Naschy’s mind, the film is a heartfelt homage to the monsters we know and love. And about that “night of Satan” in West Germany with Barbara “Muller,” perhaps the less said, the better....

(The two Blu-Ray captures of ASSIGNMENT TERROR are courtesy of Don Cunningham. The new awesome Blu-Ray is available from RoninFlix)