dbergendorf Another of those creeping b&w snooze fests from the golden age of schlock. Creeping as "does anything except the fat husband dying of a heart attack" (five seconds after he predicts it) happen? Oh, wasn't it brilliant casting Luana Anders and Mary Mitchell (nearly twins) in the same film? Of course any fool can tell the difference because Mary (or is it Luana) has a slight curl in her hair. But the director went on to real movies, didn't he? Learned a bit from these early efforts.

SnoopyStyle John and his wife Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) have an unpleasant time together rowing a boat. He dies of a heart attack and she dumps his body in the water. She stands to lose everything because of his and his mother's Wills. So she tells everybody that he's away on a business trip. She must take care of his mother-in-law before she dies leaving everything to a charity for her daughter Kathleen dead for 7 years. Louise fakes an invite to the annual family remembrance for Kathleen.The plot is confusing. The motivation of Louise is barely decipherable. The movie is a bit of a mess. It's disappointing considering that it is both written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in one of his earlier efforts. Although one must remember that this is a Roger Corman production. He's even copying Psycho in killing off the blonde female lead halfway through the movie. There is an attempt at spooky atmosphere with filming in and around an English manor. It never builds anything close to that. It's mostly a low-budget boring ax-murdering slasher horror. The kills aren't scary but there is some blood-splattering head-rolling fun.

Scott LeBrun While this viewer won't make this film out to be more than it is, it's still noteworthy as a solid and atmospheric shocker that showed signs of things to come for the young Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola, a recent UCLA graduate, had found employment with legendary independent filmmaker Roger Corman. Corman had brought in his own directorial effort, "The Young Racers", under budget, and decided to use the leftover cash to make a "Psycho" inspired thriller. Coppola brought him a script that he liked, and got the green light to make the film.Coppola succeeds quite well here at working with an obviously very low budget; this is professionally made (if understandably not as slick as his later efforts), and can boast fine visuals and a moody, creepy feel. The stark cinematography is by Charles Hannawalt, the excellent music by Ronald Stein.Set (and filmed) in Ireland, it tells of Louise (the under-rated Luana Anders), whose husband John (Peter Read) dies of a heart attack. Now, she's been told that if he should die before his mother, she gets nothing in the old lady's will. So she creates a cover story that he's gone to NYC on business, while hanging around his family and their castle, hoping that she can still come away with some sort of payday.The acting is generally good, with William Campbell and Bart Patton as Johns' brothers Richard and Billy, Mary Mitchel as Richards' fiancée Kane, Eithne Dunne as the family matriarch, Karl Schanzer as amiable poacher Simon, and the always amusing Patrick Magee as the inquisitive family doctor Justin Caleb.Coppolas' tale is reasonably absorbing from scene to scene, with especially effective scenes set on and in a pond (it gets off to a pretty good start); second unit scenes were written and directed by Jack Hill, who utilized Mitchel and Schanzer for his classic film "Spider Baby". Coppola includes such elements as titillation and (mild) gore to spice things up a bit."Dementia 13" has a wonderful "late show" sort of feel that makes it worth a viewing, for fans of the genre and/or people who want to check out Coppolas' humble beginnings.Seven out of 10.

PrometheusTree64 DEMENTIA 13, the first film from Francis Ford Coppola and a low-budget job he did for producer Roger Corman.It's one of those early-'60s nursery-rhyme-and-child-trauma-drowning things you just can't look from, shuddery and bottomlessly macabre... Although also kind of bad and mostly stupid.And why, if they all live in an Irish castle, does the matriarch appear to be Italian (the actress, Ethne Dunne, actually is Irish, but comes off more like Mama Pasta) and everybody else sound American? Only the grounds-keeper, the doctor, and the swampy poacher seem to actually be Irish. But not the family who lives in the castle.It's a long way to Tipperary. Or, in this case, to THE GODFATHER.But it's worth a peek.