The Terror
A promotional film poster for "The Terror."
Directed by	Roger Corman Francis Ford Coppola Monte Hellman Jack Hill Jack Nicholson
Produced by	Roger Corman Harvey Jacobson Francis Ford Coppola
Written by	Leo Gordon Jack Hill Roger Corman
Starring	Boris Karloff Jack Nicholson Sandra Knight
Music by	Ronald Stein Les Baxter
Cinematography	John M. Nickolaus Jr.
Editing by	Stuart O'Brien
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date(s)	17 June 1963
Running time	81 min
Country
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Terror is a 1963 American horror film produced by Roger Corman. The film is known for having a number of directors, including Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson, and Jack Hill. Today, the film is in the public domain. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 387 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (525 × 813 pixel, file size: 339 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A promotional film poster for The Terror. ... Roger Corman. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... Monte Hellman (born in 1932 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, and film editor. ... Jack Hill (born 1933) is an American film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Roger Corman. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... Leo Gordon (1922-2000) was an American movie and television actor and screenplay writer noted for his size and apparent strength. ... Jack Hill (born 1933) is an American film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. ... Roger Corman. ... Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) (East Dulwich, November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969) was an English actor, who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s, best known for his roles in horror films and the creation of the Monster in 1931s Frankenstein. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Phantom Lady #17 (April, 1948), Fox Feature Syndicate. ... Ronald Stein (April 12, 1930 – August 15, 1988) was an American film composer. ... Les Baxter (March 14, 1922 - January 15, 1996) studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. ... Stuart OBrien (27 May 1906 – 10 January 2004) was an American film editor. ... The early AIP logo. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1922s Nosferatu Films from the horror genre are designed to elicit fright, fear, terror, disgust or horror from viewers. ... Roger Corman. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... Monte Hellman (born in 1932 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, and film editor. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Jack Hill (born 1933) is an American film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

Set in 1806, it features the story of a lost French soldier (Nicholson) who stumbles across a strange young woman (Sandra Knight) who is possessed by a dead woman. Also an old man (Karloff) who was responsible for killing the woman who possesses her, a woman once loved by Karloff who he found in the arms of another man. It is a story of revenge where the possession is caused by an old woman with a reputation for being a witch, who also has a predatory bird also under her control. The film is rather too dark and now quite dated now but having said this, it has some surprises late in the film where all is not as it seems. There is also some excitement where the three main characters struggle in a cellar rapidly filling with sea water and also an unexpected ending to the film. It has been released on DVD under it's proper title (GMVS 1209). 79 minutes.

Trivia

• Clips from the film were used years later in the 1968 Karloff movie, Targets.
• The film was reportedly largely improvised by the cast, during a weekend left over from shooting The Raven. The Terror was ultimately shot over four days and used the same sets before they were taken down.
• Leftover sets from other AIP films were also used, notably those from The Haunted Palace, a Vincent Price horror film made the same year. The tree against which Sandra Knight expires was the same one Price was tied to and burned in Palace. The dungeon sets are the same as well.
• Although credited to Corman, Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill and Jack Nicholson all shot parts of the film. Corman shot footage of Karloff and other actors walking across the sets and down stairs with the belief that he would be able to make sense of them later. In the next three days Coppola, Helman and Hill all tried to do something. Nicholson, who was keen to get directing experience himself, also took a turn behind the camera.
• The film was also released as Lady of the Shadows, The Castle of Terror, and The Haunting.
• Actor Dick Miller, who plays Karloff's major domo, was called back to shoot some new scenes in the early 1990s to use as wraparound scenes for an overseas version of The Terror. Under this scheme, the main action of the film is presented as a flashback reminiscence.

Targets (1968) is a film written, produced and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. ... The Raven is a 1963 American motion picture produced and directed by Roger Corman. ... For the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, see The Haunted Palace (poem) The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film directed by Roger Corman and featuring Vincent Price. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... Monte Hellman (born in 1932 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, and film editor. ... Jack Hill (born 1933) is an American film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... The Terror could refer to: The Terror, a 1963 comedy-horror film starring Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman. ...

External links

• The Terror at the Internet Movie Database
• Free Download from Internet Archive