The Terror (1963)

Smithee Award Nominations

"Alas, Poor Yorick"

"You're on MY Turf Now, Woman!"

The witch learns too late that the guy she's been trying to kill is really her own son (Karloff). Jack grabs her and tries to drag her through the chapel and into the secret passage so they can save Boris. She resists hysterically, saying she can't go in there because "she's made her pact with another." Alas, too late. She explodes. Jack looks at her flaming corpse as if it's something he's seen every other Tuesday and proceeds without her.

Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Worst Cover Copy

The Woman Temps the Ship Wreckeded Soldier, Starring Borris Karloff

The TRUE terror is the cover copy of this. Finally a contender in a category I've been traditionally weak in! I like how the bottom claims it was made in USA. Did you know (I'm not making this up): There's a town in Taiwan that actually changed its name to "Usa" (pronounced OO-sah) so that they could legally churn out crappy products "Made in USA." This must be one of those, 'cause it sure ain't from Willmington [sic], Delaware, as they claim. Oh, and beware of heavy finess when you clip it--it's a Fedederal Crime, you know.

Sorry, this cover has not yet been made available!

Worst Acting

I'm French, Dammit!

This is clearly one of Jack Nicholson's first films and one of Karloff's last. Jack's horrendous. He's supposed to be French, but doesn't even attempt an accent, thank God. (Another clip that illustrates this is when he first approaches the castle. He pounds on the castle door and demands--in his patented Nicholson drawl--that they open up in the name of the French crown). In THIS scene, though, he's confronting the Baron's servant, and acting very badly toward him. And acting very, VERY badly toward us.

Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Directors

Director	Claim to Fame
Roger Corman	Producer of pretty much everything that was ever crappy, ever, and directed most of it. His contribution to Smithee-worthy film cannot be overstated. To list his accomplishments here would not do him justice.
Francis Ford Coppola	Famous director of The Godfather, one of the best of all time; what's he doing here?
Monte Hellman	notwithstanding this film, he done good -- directing Two-Lane Blacktop and Baretta
Jack Hill	writer of Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told
Jack Nicholson	Psycho Jack can more than act...or can he?

Cast

Actor	Character	Claim to Fame
Boris Karloff	<Not Yet in Database>	Very famous classic horror actor with distinctive lispy voice and baggy face; made the role of Frankenstein famous
Jack Nicholson	<Not Yet in Database>	Usually a good actor, especially when being psychotic.
Sandra Knight	<Not Yet in Database>	Jack Nicholson's ex-wife
Dick Miller	<Not Yet in Database>	The poor man's Robert Loggia--squinty and tough-looking. This guy's nearly ubiquitous-- you've definitely seen him. As a cab driver, a bartender, a mafia goon, a security guard, a pawn shop clerk... He sadly left us in 2019, but his memory will live on.
Dorothy Neumann	<Not Yet in Database>	Looked a lot like Margaret Hamilton; played witches, hags, crones, bag ladies, etc...
Jonathan Haze	<Not Yet in Database>	Buddy Rich's cousin, Seymour in the original Little Shop of Horrors film. Wrote Invasion of the Star Creatures.


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