The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963)

Christopher Lee stars in Antonio Margheriti's well directed, but plot hole laden gothic horror. US R1 Media Blasters DVD.

 

Mary Hunter is staying with her husband at his ancestral castle in Germany. One stormy night she awakens alone, hearing a woman's screams and following them deep into the house, finds the body of a woman in an Iron Maiden. The next morning she is convinced by her husband that it was just a bad dream, but she is suspicious - later she encouters the disfigured servant Erich (Christopher Lee) and suspects he might be involved. When another stormy night breaks, Mary finds herself being persued by a killer, but who is it...?

 
The 1960s were the best for gothic horror - spreading from England at the end of the 1950s, across to America and throughout Europe, both north and south. As usual the Italians were quick in on the game, and as well as the highly rated films from Mario Bava, there were dozens of lesser known, but equally sucessful gothic horror films released during the decade. Co-written by director Antonio Margheriti (credited as Anthony Dawson) The Virgin of Nuremberg takes a twist on the gothic horror genre by incorporating some murder mystery themes - unfortunately, while the gothic horror set-up is effective, allowing for some good, tense scenes, the mystery itself is very muddled, with the conclusion leaving more questions unresolved than answered. Characterisation is generally poor and although the climax is good for a horror film, the plot holes make it very poor in the mystery stakes.

Fortunately the production is good enough to keep the film interesting. Margheriti's use of shadow is very effective (although he works it even better in his later, black and white film Castle of Blood (1964)) and the sets look very impressive. Composer Riz Ortolani gives the film a very curious score - the tense scenes get some typical orchestral music, that frequently teases the audience with unexpected stings of events that never happen, however it is nearly ruined by some very out-of-place smooth jazz that completely destroys the atmosphere.


Christopher Lee is often top billed for this film in English speaking markets, and although he only gets a relatively minor role to play here he does so well, with some good physical acting, and a generally menacing atmosphere. The rest of the cast are relatively little known - Rossana Podestà as Mary does a good job in avoiding becoming a mere scream queen, while Georges Rivière as husband max gives a relatively plain performance.

All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 15th December 2006.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.

Please contact: