Danza macabra

Infobox Film
name = Danza macabra


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director = Antonio Margheriti
producer = Leo Lax
Marco Vicario
writer = Sergio Corbucci
Giovanni Grimaldi
narrator =
starring = Barbara Steele
Georges Rivière
music = Riz Ortolani
cinematography = Riccardo Pallottini
editing = Otello Colangeli
distributor = Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc (US)
released = July 29 1964 (US)
runtime = 87 min
country =
language = Italian
budget =
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amg_id = 1:137658
imdb_id = 0057993

Danza Macabra ("Castle of Blood") is the title of a 1964 black and white Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti, using the pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson. This film is also known as "Coffin of Terror, Danse macabre, Dimensions in Death, La Lunga notte de terrore, Terrore, The Castle of Terror, The Long Night of Terror, Tombs of Horror," and "Tombs of Terror".

Tagline: "The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!"

Cast

*Barbara Steele — Elisabeth Blackwood
*Georges Rivière — Alan Foster
*Margarete Robsahm — Julia
*Arturo Dominici — Dr. Carmus
*Silvano Tranquilli — Edgar Allan Poe
*Sylvia Sorrente — Elsi

The story

A journalist challenges Edgar Allan Poe on the authenticity of his stories, which leads to him accepting a bet from Lord Blackwood to spend the night in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Ghosts of the murdered inhabitants appear to him throughout the night, re-enacting the events that lead to their deaths. It transpires that they need his blood in order to maintain their existence. Barbara Steele plays a ghost who attempts to help the journalist escape.

The Poe Connection

Silvano Tranquili plays Edgar Allan Poe in this movie, and the credits claim that the movie is based on a short story by Poe. In reality no such story exists, although in the opening scene Poe (Tranquili) is seen recounting the end of Poe's story "Berenice".

Danza Macabra was remade by the same director in 1971 as "Nella stretta morsa del ragno". In this version Poe was played by Klaus Kinski, and the movie claimed to be based on a different non-existent Poe story called "Night of the Living Dead".

Trivia

*Silvano Tranquili appeared in the remake "Nella stretta morsa del ragno" as a different character named William Perkins.
*Arturo Dominici who plays Dr. Carmus appeared in the role of Javuto with Barbara Steele in "Black Sunday" (1960).