Classic Horrors Club

Curse of the Crimson Altar (or The Crimson Cult in the United States) is not usually recognized as a “good” movie. Watching it, there were times I’d call it, “bad.” However, I read that Christopher Lee, who plays  the owner of an old dark house, regarded it as one of the worst films in his entire career. I don’t think it’s that bad.

Lee supposedly accepted the role only after learning that Boris Karloff, who plays Professor John Marsh, was suffering from health issues and it might be his last opportunity to work with him. (They had previously worked together a decade earlier in Corridors of Blood, 1958.) The reunion almost didn’t happen…

In a story that contradicts the previous paragraph, Karloff was supposedly deemed “uninsurable,” so Lee was recast is his role. Then, producer Louis M. Heward and director Vernon Sewell learned that Karloff had to be paid whether he appeared in the movie or not, so they re-wrote the entire screenplay to accommodate him.

Neither star approaches the screen time of Mark Eden, who plays the lead, Robert Manning. Manning travels to the remote Craxted Lodge at Greymarsh, his ancestral town, in search of his brother, who has disappeared. None of the locals admit to him being there… until they learn he was using an alias.

Peter Manning (Denys Peek) was indeed there, and succumbed to the evil forces of a coven surviving from 1652, when witch Lavinia Morley (Barbara Steele) was burned at the stake. Lavinia lives on in 1968, whether she’s a ghost or an inhabitant of nightmares. She has blue skin, garish makeup, and a fabulous headdress.

The story’s not bad, even if more than a little familiar, and although it’s not credited, it’s based on the H.P. Lovecraft story, “The Dreams in the Witch House.” The screenplay was written by Doctor Who veterans, Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln. That’s not a quality indicator for me, but let’s assume they did good work…

…which means that Sewell, who also directed The Blood Beast Terror the same year (a movie that makes this one look like a masterpiece), must be responsible for any flaws. The normal low budget of Tigon British Film Productions doesn’t seem to be a contributing factor; the sets and costumes, especially the headdress, look great.

I can’t pinpoint why I didn’t like Curse of the Crimson Altar more than I did. It’s not overlong. The pacing is fine, but I guess it’s that not much happens. The one surprise — spoiler alert — is that Karloff is the good guy. Marsh’s shiftiness during discussions of witchcraft and hostile attitude toward Manning led me to believe otherwise.

Then again, there’s an inconsistency that might be due to the rewrite of the screenplay. Karloff isn’t always shifty. In one scene, he appears to loathe Manning but in another, he welcomes him with glee. Another disappointment, I suppose, is that Steele is speechless. But, man, can she wear a headdress!