Freddie Francis

Crew members recount the production of the 1961 gothic film The Innocents.

For the first time on DVD, the Alpha Archives Collection proudly presents a two part feature length documentary celebrating the history of the Amicus Productions film company. Founded in the early 1960s by Americans Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, Amicus produced some classic (now cult) horror movies, including Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors, The House That Dripped Blood, Tales From The Crypt, Asylum and From Beyond The Grave. Featuring interviews with key individuals who worked for Amicus (actors, directors, etc.), and with many rare photographs and production designs throughout, this documentary is a must-see for fans of British horror cinema.

In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.

An overview of the history of Great Britain's Amicus Films, which was a rival of Hammer Studios in the horror field. Included are interviews with company co-founder Max Rosenberg, cameraman Freddie Francis and director Roy Ward Baker, and clips from various Amicus productions.

Documentary about the making of Dune.

This collage of interviews with the producers, John Hurt, and the makeup man comes off as both interesting and informative. Hurt's recollections about the role and the crazy makeup he worked in, are fascinating, as are the stories about the makeup artist using the real remains of John Merrick archived in the London hospital. A shorter bit has the artist explaining the exact construction of his amibitious makup, and he also narrates a slide show that includes color photos of the finished work. There are some mind-boggling stills of the real Merrick's grotesquely contorted skull, where excess bone seems to have grown like tallow dripping from a horrible candle, or a foaming tumor of excess calcification.

Bristol, England, early 19th century. A beautiful young stranger who speaks a weird language is tried for the crime of begging. But when a man claims that he can translate her dialect, it is understood that the woman is a princess from a far away land. She is then welcomed by a family of haughty aristocrats that only wants to heighten their prestige. However, the local reporter is not at all convinced she is what she claims to be and investigates. Is Caraboo really a princess?

Explore the most legendary horror studio of all time with this fascinating, frightening journey hosted by terror titans Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. England's most successful independent film company, the "fear factory" of Hammer Studios, has a history filled with feuds, censorship battles and streaks of luck both good and bad. Now the legacy of horror returns, featuring interviews with such Hammer legends as Raquel Welch, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Jimmy Sangster, Hazel Court, Martine Beswicke, Freddie Francis, Val Guest and Ray Harryhausen. Plus you'll be treated to behind-the-scenes home movies and nonstop shock scenes from over 40 classic films, including Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out, Curse of the Werewolf and many more! It's the definitive study of one of the greatest names in horror!

Explore the most legendary horror studio of all time with this fascinating, frightening journey hosted by terror titans Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. England's most successful independent film company, the "fear factory" of Hammer Studios, has a history filled with feuds, censorship battles and streaks of luck both good and bad. Now the legacy of horror returns, featuring interviews with such Hammer legends as Raquel Welch, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Jimmy Sangster, Hazel Court, Martine Beswicke, Freddie Francis, Val Guest and Ray Harryhausen. Plus you'll be treated to behind-the-scenes home movies and nonstop shock scenes from over 40 classic films, including Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out, Curse of the Werewolf and many more! It's the definitive study of one of the greatest names in horror!

A veteran actor and a young up-and-comer join for a season of reparatory theatre.

When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.

Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

Maureen Trant and her younger sibling Dani share a strong connection, but local boy Court Foster threatens to throw their bond off balance. Dani and Court meet first and have a flirtatious rapport -- but when he meets Maureen, he falls hard and they begin a passionate affair. The new couple try to keep their love hidden from Dani, but she soon learns the truth, disavowing her sister. But a heartbreaking accident later reunites the girls.

A historical recreation of the 1944 attempt by several German High Command Officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take control of the German government.

Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Fearless reporter Brenda Starr needs a big scoop if she wishes to retain her lofty status within the world of journalism, so she ventures deep into the Amazon to investigate a story involving a mad scientist's plot to blow the planet to smithereens. Her investigation pits her against a collection of dastardly villains and the myriad dangers of the jungle.

A writer of BAD detective novels is in full writers' block. He pretends to be the alibi of a beautiful woman who was arrested for murder at first thinking her innocent, but as she shows more and more interesting abilities (such as knife throwing) he begins to doubt his first assessment.

A partially under construction office tower is being haunted by a deadly presence which seems to target the building's architect.

In Victorian England, two grave robbers supply a wealthy doctor with bodies to research anatomy on, but greed causes them to look for a more simple way to get the job done.

In the year 10,191, the world is at war for control of the desert planet Arrakis—the only place where the space-travel substance Melange 'Spice' can be found. But when one leader gives up control, it's only so he can stage a coup with some unsavory characters.

The US military is running a test for a special type of radio transmitter, to be used to communicate with submarines, in a deep system of underground caves in Central America. When the signal from one of the transmitters suddenly disappears, a team of soldiers led by Major Elbert Stevens and cave specialists led by Rupert 'Wolf' Wolfsen including scientist Leslie Peterson are sent in to find out what happened. Exploring deep underground, they stumble upon a tribe of albino cave-dwellers who have apparently been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. The cave-dwellers are hurt by radio frequencies and are able to see in infra-red frequencies, tracking the explorers by their body heat.

Philip Kimberly, the former head of the British Secret Service who defected to Russia, is given plastic surgery and sent back to Britain by the KGB to retrieve some vital documents. With the documents in hand, he instead plays off MI6 and the KGB against each other.

In this fact-based made-for TV film, Gary Gilmore, an Indiana man who just finished serving a lengthy stay in prison, tries to start anew by moving to Utah. Before long, Gary begins an ill-advised romance with the troubled Nicole Baker, a teenage single mother. As their relationship quickly deteriorates, Gary goes on a murderous rampage, leaving two dead. During his trial, he demands capital punishment; a media circus ensues and outsiders look to profit from his story.

In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

A travelling circus in 19th century France adopts and showcases a feral "wolf boy", who grows into adulthood only to kill the one-man band. He runs off to Paris, where he develops a jealous, overprotective crush on a prostitute, leading him to attack her client, incurring a pursuit by a determined police surgeon.

A former clergyman (Peter Cushing) in 1920s England tries to keep his cannibalistic son locked in the attic.

Jack Palance stars as a demented art dealer & antique-shop owner who performs nightly rituals in honor of the African god Chuku, whom he believes will reward him with unimaginable wealth and power if he merely offers up human sacrifice. His methods are fairly creative, ranging from impalement, slashing and burning, to scaring people to death with an ooga-booga fright mask. But it's all about to blow up in his face...

Due to be crowned King of the Netherworld by his mentor Merlin the Magician, Count Downe–the son of Count Dracula–falls in love with the beautiful but human Amber and finds himself in conflict with Baron Frankenstein, who is vying for the same honorary title.

Dr. Tremayne is an enigmatic psychiatrist running an asylum that houses four very special cases. Visited by his colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each of the four patients went mad.

A scientist comes to believe that evil is a disease of the blood and that the flesh of a skeleton he has brought back from New Guinea contains it in a pure form. Convinced that his wife, a Folies Bergere dancer who went insane, manifested this evil he is terrified that it will be passed on to their daughter. He tries to use the skeleton's blood to immunise her against this eventuality, but his attempt has anything but the desired result.

Five people find themselves in a tomb. The Crypt keeper explains why they are there through a series of frightening stories. Based on the classic comic book.

An American actress inherits a castle in Transylvania. What she doesn't know is that her ancestor, the Baroness Catali, was in actuality a vampire countess, and emerges from her tomb to ravage the nearby village and Catholic seminary.

Anthropologist Dr. Brockton unearths a primitive troglodyte -- an Ice Age "missing link": half-caveman, half-ape -- in a local cave. Through medical experimentation, she manages to communicate with him and domesticate him before he's let loose by an irate land developer and goes on a rampage, terrorizing the local citizenry.

A wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnaps bums and hippies and forces them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape are ritualistically murdered.

In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.

Five people visit a fairground sideshow run by the sinister Dr. Diabolo. Having shown them a handful of haunted-house-style attractions, he promises them a genuinely scary experience if they will pay extra.

A group of scientists are possessed by an alien force when they investigate a meteor shower in a rural field.

Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner grows deadly bees.

Inspector Holloway is investigating a series of brutal murders in which a doll of each victim is found at the scene. The dolls, as it turns out,were purchased by the crippled Mrs. Von Sturm, whose home is overcrowded with a doll collection. Her pale, wide-eyed, neurotic son is the prime suspect and the daughter of one of the victims discovers the shocking truth.

An occult investigator buys the 150-year-old skull of the Marquis de Sade, which turns out to be possessed by evil spirits.

An American wakes up in an English hospital unable to remember anything of his life before a recent car accident. With only a photograph torn from a newspaper to guide him, and an unknown benefactor, he attempts to unravel what looks increasingly like a bizarre murder.

Five strangers board a train and are joined by a mysterious fortune teller who offers to read their Tarot cards. Five separate stories unfold: An architect returns to his ancestoral home to find a werewolf out for revenge; a doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire; a huge plant takes over a house; a musician gets involved with voodoo; an art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.

A businessman organises a caper to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?

A young student is haunted by recurring dreams of her mother murdering her father, but her nightmare is just beginning as she tries to prove to her loved ones that she is not insane.

A psychotic man schemes to drive his sister mad so that he can claim her inheritance, but a deadly game of cat-and-mouse begins when an imposter intervenes.

A millionaire businessman's brain is kept alive after a fatal accident, and communicates clues to a doctor on the trail of the killer

An US airman stationed in the UK strikes down his commanding officer. Believing he killed him, the airman goes on the run with a girl. They run into a couple that looks like them and a mix up happens.

A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.

A 22-year-old factory worker lets loose on the weekends: drinking, brawling, and dating two women, one of whom is older and married.

The son of a working-class British mining family has dreams of pursuing an art career, but when he strikes up an affair with an older, married woman from the town it enrages his kind but possessive mother.

Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.

Angela Barrows is a man-eating business woman sent by her American employer to investigate their export opportunities in Edinburgh. En route she meets Robert MacPherson, a businessman who asks for her help to bring his company into the 20th Century. The staff, led by Mr Martin, has other ideas—and a battle between the old and new business methods soon breaks out.

A British woman marries an American writer in spite of her family's disapproval and goes to live with him on a tropical island.

An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.

Unassuming planning engineer David Webb finds himself on the Queen Elizabeth to New York with instructions to negotiate a high-powered loan. His lack of confidence means he is completely out of his depth, at least until he finds his personality changes every day during the hour the ship's clocks stop to make allowance for their westward passage.

Tod is a motherless boy, who is mistreated by his violent father. He eventually finds happiness with kindly foster parents.

Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”

In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service abroad the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.

A group of con artists stake their claim on a bogus uranium mine.

A compulsive gambler stumbles towards losing everything when Merle Oberon decides to save him from himself.

The year is 1940 and Pilot Officer T.B. Baird arrives straight out of flight school to join a front line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain. After an unfortunate start and a drumming down from his commanding officer, Baird must balance the struggle to impress his Group Captain, regain his pride, fit in with his fellow pilots, and survive one of the most intense air battles in history.

An archaeologist stumbles into the territory of an evil crime syndicate and struggles to set things right.

At the height of World War II, the Germans begin dropping a new type of booby-trapped bomb on England. Sammy Rice, a highly-skilled but haunted bomb-disposal officer, must overcome his personal demons to defeat this new threat.

Fearing her husband could become a killer, a woman seeks a psychiatrist's help.

A new batch of Army recruits, from diverse backgrounds and with varying degrees of commitment, is shaped into an efficient fighting unit.