#Francisco Lara Polop

[weirdlookindog]

La mansion de la niebla (1972) - Spanish Poster

AKA The Murder Mansion, Maniac Mansion, The Scream

[moviemosaics]

The Murder Mansion

directed by Francisco Lara Polop, 1972

[moviesandmania]

THE MURDER MANSION (1972) Reviews and free to watch online in 4K Ultra HD!

The Murder Mansion is a 1972 Spanish-Italian horror film about a group of people stranded at an old house by a heavy fog. Directed by Francisco Lara Polop (The Monk, 1990) from a screenplay co-written by Luis G. de Blain and Antonio Troiso [as Antonio Troisio], based on de Blain’s story. The Mundial Film-Tritone Cinematografica co-production stars Evelyn Stewart, Analía Gadé, Lisa Leonardi,…

[blacksnake3]

Ornella Muti in "Cebo para una adolescente" dir. Francisco Lara Polop (1974).

[angelariasdominguez]

§ 3.157. La patria del rata (Francisco Lara Polop, 1980)

Otra de cine 'quinqui' con pretensiones. No tiene en enganche de las de De La Loma, pero sí pretende tener un aspecto más social, más evolucionado. Una crítica más profunda, más social. 

La exposición del Madrid de la época, las gentes, los cafés, las conversaciones, etc. están bien narrados. La crítica a la violencia política es descomunal. Vista desde hoy tiene mucha vitalidad. Tiempos de amnistía que sirvieron para lo que sirvieron. La falta de oportunidades laborales, y la crisis permanente en la que se vivieron aquellos años es el caldo de cultivo en el que vivieron penas parecidas a éstas.

Las escenas de las colas del paro, a las puertas del Inem es verídico. Refleja una gran realidad que vivió este país, y que, de alguna manera sigue viviendo.

La crítica a la política es brutal. Un descreimiento total. El protagonista va de partido en partido buscando empleo, pero no encuentra nada, claro.

Aunque la hipótesis no es excesivamente verosímil -pasar del terrorismo a la delincuencia general- sí refleja una sensación que tiene la gente normal. Se dedicaron al terrorismo como medio de vida.

Es la segunda película que veo suya y me gustó más la otra, La mujer del juez, que tiene más fondo que ésta. 

[koma-kino]

The Murder Mansion - Francisco Lara Polop

[giallofever2]

1972 (Rare Movie co/production Italy/Spain) Quando Marta urlò dalla tomba Also Known As (AKA) (original title) La mansión de la niebla Egypt (English title) Exorcism Mansion Spain (working title) El asesino de la niebla Spain (working title) El grito Italy Quando Marta urlò dalla tomba USA Maniac Mansion USA (TV title) The Murder Mansion West Germany (video title) Das Haus im Nebel Directed by Francisco Lara Polop Music by Marcello Giombini Writing Credits Luis G. de Blain... (screenplay) (story) Antonio Troiso ... (as Antonio Troisio) Release Dates Italy 5 August 1972 Spain 18 September 1972 USA 1 November 1973 technical specifications Runtime 1hr 28 (Italian Vhs) 1 hr 23 min (83 min) International Filming Locations Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain Madrid, Spain Cast Evelyn Stewart as Ida Galli... Martha Clinton Franco Fantasia ... Mr. Porter Analía Gadé ... Elsa (as Analia Gade) Lisa Leonardi as Anna Lisa Nardi... Laura Eduardo Fajardo ... Mr. Tremont George Rigaud ... Elsa's Father (as Jorge Rigaud) Andres Resino ... Fred (as Andres Resino) Alberto Dalbés ... Ernest (as Alberto Dalbes) Yelena Samarina ... Mrs. Tremont (as Ylena Samarina) Ingrid Garbo ... Ellen José Luis Velasco ... Chofer / Ghost Saturno Cerra ... Man in the Road José Félix Montoya ... Hotel Guest Magoya Montenegro ... Female Hotel Guest 2 María Reniu ... Female Hotel Guest 1 Susan Spafford ... Martha Clinton (voice) (uncredited)

[peter-ash]

[roserosette]

The Murder Mansion, 1972,  Francisco Lara Polop, Pedro Lazaga

[weirdlookindog]

The Murder Mansion aka La mansión de la niebla (1972)

[nachtwandeling]

Thank you dearest @amongmydove for tagging me! 💓💞💘

top 5 favorite movies:

Lolita (1997; dir. Adrian Lyne) 

Come and See (1985; dir. Elem Klimov)

Ms. 45 (1981; dir. Abel Ferrara)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (both 1974; dir. Tobe Hooper and 2003; dir. Marcus Nispel)

Cebo Para Una Adolescente (1974; dir. Francisco Lara Polop)

top 4 favorite songs: 

The Bones of Baby Dolls - Acid Bath 

Шум - GO_A

Lounge Act  - Nirvana 

Hate To Feel - Alice In Chains 

top 3 favorite essentials:

earphones

lip balm 

gladskin moisturizer 

top 2 favorite books:

The Time: Night by Lyudmilla Petrushevskaya 

The Unabridged Journals by Sylvia Plath

favorite quote of all time: 

“Я любил... Не стоит в старом рыться. Больно? Пусть... Живёшь и болью дорожась.”  -- V. V. Mayakovsky

I tag  @mkashleyultra @winterdryad @numberoneblind @eyes-like-a-pisces @pradasilje @emmsgea @sweet-voiced  @miumiukisses @forsythiaaa @morguegirl @russianquirk @avelona @iberiangirl @belladonnaa @kittenorgans @mielle @engel222  @aiglantine @florid-fragments @selkieqveen @roseverie @rosehaunt @mybloodiedvalentine @slavicaangel @angel-onlyfor1u @valfreyia💋

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: Forgotten Gialli: Volume 3

Vinegar Syndrome launched its first Forgotten Gialli Blu-ray box set less than a year ago, but the powerhouse distributor is already on the third volume of obscure giallo (European murder-mystery) films. The latest installment features 1972's Murder Mansion (also known as The Mansion in the Fog), 1975's Autopsy (also known as The Victim), and 1977's Crazy Desires of a Murderer (also known as The Morbid Vices of a Housekeeper).

Murder Mansion is a Spanish-Italian co-production that only classifies as a giallo by a rather liberal definition. It starts out slow; the first line of dialogue isn't spoken until six minutes in, after the opening title sequence and a lengthy driving scene. When the night is consumed by fog, a group of strangers from different backgrounds seek refuge in an old mansion next to an abandoned village where local legends say vampires once resided. It's not long before they suspect that ghosts have risen from the nearby graveyard.

Written by Luis G. de Blain and Antonio Troiso (Beyond the Door), the murder-mystery aspects are more Agatha Christie - or even Scooby-Doo, given the cartoonish reveal - than giallo, lacking many of the subgenre's hallmarks; but even more so director Francisco Lara Polop seems to be drawing influence from gothic horror in both approach and execution. The chilling atmosphere is palpable as soon as the fog rolls in, but the first body doesn't pop up until nearly an hour into the 86-minute film. The last act makes admirable attempts to compensate with scares and shocks.

Murder Mansion has been newly restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative. It includes the original Spanish language audio with newly translated English subtitles as well as the English and Italian dubs. The disc includes a 20-minute interview with actress Evelyn Stewart (The Psychic). While she admittedly doesn't remember the specifics about much of the production, she recalls working with the special effects and explains her use of a stage name. She’s noticeably pleased by the film, particularly Polop's direction.

The most well-known title among the three Forgotten Gialli sets, Autopsy opens with a montage of grisly suicides plaguing Rome, purported to be caused by sun spots. A young, female pathologist (Mimsy Farmer, Four Flies on Grey Velvet), serendipitously writing a thesis on the differences between simulated and authentic suicides, teams up with an epileptic race car driver-turned-priest (Barry Primus, Boxcar Bertha) following the alleged suicide of his sister to investigate.

Directed by Armando Crispino (The Dead Are Alive), who co-wrote the script with Lucio Battistrada, the Italian giallo is convoluted even by the subgenre's standards. It's also shockingly sleazy, from a misogynistic coroner to maddening visions of being molested by cadavers. The film is uneven in both tone and pacing and bloated at 100 minutes, but it ends on a high note with a memorable finale. On the whole, it's more unnerving than most gialli, due to the taboo buttons it pushes as well as the hints of surrealism in which Crispino indulges. A score by Ennio Morricone (The Thing, The Good the Bad and the Ugly) certainly doesn't hurt.

Autopsy has been newly restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative. It includes both the English and Italian (with newly translated English subtitles) mono soundtracks. It offers a variety of special features: a featurette on Crispino consisting of 38 minutes of insight from the late director's son, Francesco Crispino; a 10-minute interview with Francesco Crispino, who dissects various versions of the film and discusses his father's influences; an 11-minute interview with editor Daniele Alabiso conducted by Francesco Crispino, in which they examine the film's peculiar rhythm; an introduction by the director from a screening; alternate Italian titles and credits; and the theatrical trailer.

If only Crazy Desires of a Murderer's plot was as stimulating as its traditionally verbose giallo title. It centers around an affluent, globe-trotting countess, Ileana (Isabelle Marchall, Black Emanuelle). She returns to her familial castle with new friends she met while traveling in China, who unwittingly used her as a drug courier. Meanwhile, her traumatized half-brother is kept locked away in the basement. But those are the least of her problems once someone starts murdering the inhabitants of the castle.

Aesthetically, this one most closely resembles a traditional giallo. What the drab castle lacks in color palette, director Filippo Walter Ratti and cinematographer Gino Santini (Django the Bastard) make up for with interesting camerawork. There's also ample gore, as the killer's modus operandi involves removing the victims' eyes, and heavy doses of sleaze, although it pales in comparison to Autopsy. But writer Ambrogio Molteni (Black Emanuelle) employs an Agatha Christie-esque sleuth (Corrado Gaipa, The Godfather) to solve the mystery, and the abundance of clunky procedural scenes weigh down the film.

Crazy Desires of a Murderer has been newly restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative with Italian mono audio and newly translated English subtitles. The disc includes a 15-minute interview (in Italian with subtitles) with actor Giuseppe Colombo (who more notably went on to produce The Stendhal Syndrome and other Dario Argento productions). He candidly recalls frequent disagreements with Ratti and other drama that befell the production.

While the films are hit or miss, the experience of unearthing them is always a thrill. Even the packaging is great, with each film in its own individual Blu-ray case with reversible artwork, all of which are housed inside a sturdy box (limited to 6,000). Between Forgotten Gialli and the forthcoming Home Grown Horrors, I hope Vinegar Syndrome never stops spoiling us with box sets of hidden gems.

Forgotten Gialli: Volume 3 is available now on Blu-ray via Vinegar Syndrome.

[moviesandmania]

THE MURDER MANSION (1972) Reviews and overview

THE MURDER MANSION (1972) Reviews and overview

The Murder Mansion is a 1972 Spanish-Italian horror film about a group of people stranded at an old house by a heavy fog. Directed by Francisco Lara Polop (The Monk, 1990) from a screenplay co-written by Luis G. de Blain and Antonio Troiso [as Antonio Troisio], based on de Blain’s story. The Mundial Film-Tritone Cinematografica co-production stars Evelyn Stewart, Analía Gadé, Lisa Leonardi,…

[thechemistryset]

Francisco Lara Polop, La mansión de la niebla, 1972

[angelariasdominguez]

§ 3.153. La mujer del juez (Francisco Lara Polop, 1979)

 

He visto esta película hace muchos años, sin exagerar más de treinta. La recordaba por lo que la recordaba, claro. Esas cintas semi eróticas de finales de los años setenta, tan habituales en las carteleras.

Tiene cuarenta y tantos años, y he envejecido francamente mal. Se explica por la época en la que se rodó, pero no tiene un pase. Es mediocre, desde el primer momento sabes de qué va y cómo va a evolucionar. 

La música que la acompaña prácticamente en todo momento es realmente insufrible. Una especie de piano repetitivo y gritón que martillea cada escena en donde la señora se exhibe, de un lado para otro, sin el menor sentido.

Es una cinta que se organiza para mayor gloria de su protagonista: Norma Duval, que como actriz no da la talla, aunque quien acudía al cine para ver esta película no pensaba en si actuaba bien o mal. Era una mujer esplendorosamente guapa, pero intuyo que las críticas no debieron ser buenas, porque es, de hecho, su última película como protagonista. Parece insegura, algo torpe incluso, fuera de lugar. Y no es papel que desempeñaba. No funciona. Sencillamente. 

Pero el acompañamiento es más que interesante. Hector Alterio, nada menos. Manuel Tejada, como el hombre medio típico de provincias sí da el papel. En realidad es su papel. El papel de siempre. 

Se acompaña de Micky Molina, probablemente en una de sus primeras películas, joven, descarado y morboso.

La cinta funciona relativamente. Solo por la expectativa del desnudo de su protagonista. Pero nada más. No tiene la fuerza y la garra de otras cintas similares.

[operazione-paura]

Las protegidas (Francisco Lara Polop, 1975).