Curtis Harrington

Curtis Harrington

Birth : 1926-09-17, Los Angeles, California

Death : 2007-05-06

History

Gene Curtis Harrington was an American film and television director whose work included experimental films, horror films, and episodic television. He is considered one of the forerunners of New Queer Cinema.

Profile

Curtis Harrington
Curtis Harrington

Movies

The Other Side of the Wind
Curtis Harrington
Surrounded by fans and skeptics, grizzled director J.J. "Jake" Hannaford returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his innovative comeback film. This film was started in 1970 but never completed during Welles lifetime.
Harrington on Harrington
Himself
Wide-ranging archival interview with the filmmaker.
House of Harrington
Himself
Profile of the late iconoclastic director Curtis Harrington, featuring images from many of his poetic and haunting films.
Usher
Writer
Writer Truman Jones travels to the home of old, eccentric poet Roderick Usher in his quest for wisdom from the aging poet.
Usher
Director
Writer Truman Jones travels to the home of old, eccentric poet Roderick Usher in his quest for wisdom from the aging poet.
Usher
Roderick Usher/Madeline Usher
Writer Truman Jones travels to the home of old, eccentric poet Roderick Usher in his quest for wisdom from the aging poet.
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
Self
A documentary from Universal about the movie "The Invisible Man" (1933) directed by James Whale.
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
Self
Written, co-produced and co-directed by David J. Skal, THE WORLD OF GODS AND MONSTERS is a behind-the scenes chronicle of the making of the 1998 Academy Award-winning film GODS AND MONSTERS starring Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser and Lynn Redgrave. Narrated by author/ filmmaker Clive Barker, the documentary interweaves the life and career of James Whale, director of the original FRANKENSTEIN, with the making of the acclaimed biopic. Interviewees include writer/director Bill Condon (Oscar winner for best adapted screenplay), Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, and Christopher Bram, author of the novel FATHER OF FRANKENSTEIN, on which the film was based.
Sex, Death & The Hollywood Mystique
Himself
Larry Wessel presents darkest Hollywood and explores some of tinsel town's most grisly tragedies, including the murders of Sharon Tate and The Black Dahlia.
Universal Horror
Self - Interviewee
A documentary about the era of classic monster movies that were made at Universal Studios during the 1930s and 1940s.
Gods and Monsters
Cukor Party Guest (uncredited)
It's 1957, and James Whale's heyday as the director of "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man" is long behind him. Retired and a semi-recluse, he lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper, Hannah, hires a handsome young gardener, the flamboyant director and simple yard man develop an unlikely friendship, which will change them forever.
Hollywood Halloween
Himself
Horror documentary with interviews to William Friedkin, Stan Winston, John McNaughton, Tom Holland and Ridley Scott.
Working with Orson Welles
Himself
"Working with Orson Welles" is a low-budget production put together by Gary Graver, who worked as a cameraman for Welles in the last 15 years of his life.
Cult People
himself
In interviews, various actors and directors discuss their careers and their involvement in the making of what has come to be known as "cult" films. Included are such well-known genre figures as Russ Meyer, Curtis Harrington, Cameron Mitchell and James Karen.
Mata Hari
Director
Based loosely on the real-life story of the World War I spy. The exotic dancer uses her contacts in European high society, along with her seductive charm, to collect military secrets during the war. She successfully plays both sides against each other until at last her deceptions catch up with her.
The Horror of It All
Himself
A collection of film clips from horror movies and interviews with the actors and directors who made them.
Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell
Director
A dog that is a minion of Satan terrorizes a suburban family.
Ruby
Director
Strange killings occur at Ruby's drive-in theatre, sixteen years after the murder of her gangster boyfriend.
The Dead Don't Die
Director
In the 1930s, a sailor trying to prove that his brother was wrongly executed for murder finds himself becoming drawn into the occult world.
The Killing Kind
Director
Young Terry Lambert returns home from serving a prison term for a gang-rape he was forced to participate in. He seeks revenge on his lawyer and the girl who framed him. But his real problem is his overbearing mother, whose boarding house he resides in and who keeps bringing him glasses of chocolate milk. One of her boarders, Lori, becomes attracted to him. However, while he was serving his prison sentence, Terry developed an interest in rough, violent sex, and gory death. Now, one by one, some of the town's women pop up dead.
Killer Bees
Director
A strong-willed woman not only dominates her family of California winegrowers, but also has a strange hold on a colony of bees in her vineyard.
The Cat Creature
Director
When a rich man dies, some items from a collection of his are stolen- an ancient Egyptian gold amulet and the mummy that was wearing it. The police consult scholars from the local University to help with the investigation, which is taking a more serious turn as people connected with the case are killed by wounds that seem to be from a housecat.
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Director
A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.
What's the Matter with Helen?
Director
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
How Awful About Allan
Director
After an eight-month stay in a mental hospital, a tormented man comes home to live with his sister; but a mysterious boarder may be trying to kill him.
Games
Story
A mysterious woman in black moves in with married Manhattan thrill-seekers and helps one trick the other.
Games
Director
A mysterious woman in black moves in with married Manhattan thrill-seekers and helps one trick the other.
Queen of Blood
Writer
A spaceship is sent to Mars after an alien distress signal is picked up. They find one survivor, but when a crew member is found drained of blood it's evident they have rescued a bloodsucking monster. Uses footage from Encounter in Space (1963).
Queen of Blood
Director
A spaceship is sent to Mars after an alien distress signal is picked up. They find one survivor, but when a crew member is found drained of blood it's evident they have rescued a bloodsucking monster. Uses footage from Encounter in Space (1963).
The Four Elements
Director
An educational film about power sources that’s rendered as a lyrical meditation on heat and vapor, The Four Elements is a poetic and avant-garde documentary Curtis Harrington made for the United States Information Agency.
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Writer
In 2020, after the colonization of the moon, the spaceships Vega, Sirius and Capella are launched from Lunar Station 7. They are to explore Venus under the command of Professor Hartman, but an asteroid collides and explodes Capella. The leader ship Vega stays orbiting and sends the astronauts Kern and Sherman with the robot John to the surface of Venus, but they have problems with communication with Dr. Marsha Evans in Vega. The Sirius lands in Venus and Commander Brendan Lockhart, Andre Ferneau and Hans Walter explore the planet and are attacked by prehistoric animals. They use a vehicle to seek Kern and Sherman while collecting samples from the planet. Meanwhile John helps the two cosmonauts to survive in the hostile land.
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Director
In 2020, after the colonization of the moon, the spaceships Vega, Sirius and Capella are launched from Lunar Station 7. They are to explore Venus under the command of Professor Hartman, but an asteroid collides and explodes Capella. The leader ship Vega stays orbiting and sends the astronauts Kern and Sherman with the robot John to the surface of Venus, but they have problems with communication with Dr. Marsha Evans in Vega. The Sirius lands in Venus and Commander Brendan Lockhart, Andre Ferneau and Hans Walter explore the planet and are attacked by prehistoric animals. They use a vehicle to seek Kern and Sherman while collecting samples from the planet. Meanwhile John helps the two cosmonauts to survive in the hostile land.
The Stripper
Associate Producer
An aging former movie starlet whose Hollywood career went nowhere, now reduced to dancing with a third-rate touring show, finds herself stranded in a small town where she's courted by an infatuated and naive local teenager.
Night Tide
Screenplay
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman performing as a mermaid on the local pier. As they become entwined, he comes to suspect the woman might be a real mermaid who lures men to a watery death during the full moon.
Night Tide
Original Story
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman performing as a mermaid on the local pier. As they become entwined, he comes to suspect the woman might be a real mermaid who lures men to a watery death during the full moon.
Night Tide
Director
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman performing as a mermaid on the local pier. As they become entwined, he comes to suspect the woman might be a real mermaid who lures men to a watery death during the full moon.
Return to Peyton Place
Associate Producer
Residents of the small town of Peyton Place aren't pleased when they realize they're the characters in local writer Allison MacKenzie's controversial first novel. A sequel to the hit 1957 film.
Mardi Gras
Story
A military school cadet romances a visiting French actress during Mardi Gras. With songs, kissing and New Orleans locations.
The Wormwood Star
Editor
A portrait of artist, actress, poet and occultist Marjorie Cameron, it shows images of her paintings and recitations of her poems.
The Wormwood Star
Producer
A portrait of artist, actress, poet and occultist Marjorie Cameron, it shows images of her paintings and recitations of her poems.
The Wormwood Star
Director
A portrait of artist, actress, poet and occultist Marjorie Cameron, it shows images of her paintings and recitations of her poems.
The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome
Cesare / Slave / Sleep-walker
Lord Shiva wakes. A convocation of magicians in the guise of figures from mythology; a masquerade party at which Pan is the prize. The wine of Hecate is poured: Pan's cup is poisoned by Shiva. Kali blesses the assembly as a bacchic rite ensues.
The Assignation
Producer
Long considered lost, The Assignation was Curtis Harrington's first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax.
The Assignation
Editor
Long considered lost, The Assignation was Curtis Harrington's first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax.
The Assignation
Writer
Long considered lost, The Assignation was Curtis Harrington's first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax.
The Assignation
Director
Long considered lost, The Assignation was Curtis Harrington's first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax.
On the Edge
Director
In this fragile yet frightening poetic fantasy set against a dark industrial landscape, a woman sits knitting on the porch of her home when a man appears and takes the knitting from her.
Picnic
Writer
Beginning in the reality of American middle-class life, Picnic portrays the idealistic dream-quest of the protagonist, from which he is finally cast off.
Picnic
Director
Beginning in the reality of American middle-class life, Picnic portrays the idealistic dream-quest of the protagonist, from which he is finally cast off.
Puce Moment
Cinematography
Puce Moment is a short 6 minute film by Kenneth Anger, author of the Hollywood Babylon books, filmed in 1949. Puce Moment resulted from the unfinished short film Puce Women. The film opens with a camera watching 1920s style flapper gowns being taken off a dress rack. The dresses are removed and danced off the rack to music. (The original soundtrack was Verdi opera music; in the 1960s, Anger re-released the film with a new psychedelic folk-rock soundtrack performed by Jonathan Halper.) A long-lashed woman, Yvonne Marquis, dresses in the purple puce gown and walks to her vanity to apply perfume. She lies on a chaise lounge which then begins to move around the room and eventually out to a patio. Borzois appear and she prepares to take them for a walk.
Fragment of Seeking
Writer
A young man desperately seeks out the fleeting image of a female companion, and though he never quite catches her, he discovers much more through the surreal explorations of his own sexuality.
Fragment of Seeking
Young Man with Glasses (uncredited)
A young man desperately seeks out the fleeting image of a female companion, and though he never quite catches her, he discovers much more through the surreal explorations of his own sexuality.
Fragment of Seeking
Director
A young man desperately seeks out the fleeting image of a female companion, and though he never quite catches her, he discovers much more through the surreal explorations of his own sexuality.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Director
Curtis Harrington's student film based on the Edgar Allan Poe story.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Roderick Usher / Madeline Usher
Curtis Harrington's student film based on the Edgar Allan Poe story.