''The House of 1,000 Dolls'' (also known as ''La casa de las mil muñecas'', ''Das Haus Der Tausend Freuden'', and ''House of a Thousand Dolls'') is a 1967

Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 f ...

German-Spanish

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

white slavery White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the enslavement of any of the world's European ethnic groups throughout human history, whether perpetrated by non-Europeans or by other Europeans. Slavery in ancient ...

thriller directed by

Jeremy Summers Jeremy Summers (18 August 1931 – 14 December 2016) was a British television director and film director, known for directing television series such as ''The Saint (TV series), The Saint'' and films such as ''Five Golden Dragons'', ''The House o ...

and starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

. It has been described as "quite possibly the sleaziest movie AIP ever made". The film is set in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

. Released initially in Spain, it was not released in the United States until November 1967.

Plot

Stephen Armstrong, vacationing with his wife Marie in Tangiers, runs into an old friend and learns he is searching for his missing girlfriend who was kidnapped by an international gang of white slavers. The kidnappers are nightclub magician Manderville and his mentalist partner Rebecca. Under the guise of their nightclub act, they hypnotize and kidnap young women for the white slavers, and spirit them away to an exclusive

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

called "The House of 1000 Dolls." Stephen continues the investigation when his friend is murdered.

Cast

as Felix Manderville *

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in '' Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way: A ...

as Rebecca *

George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, mainly action and adventure film roles. He won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the ...

as Stephen Armstrong *

Ann Smyrner Ann Smyrner (3 November 1934 – 29 August 2016) was a Danish actress who was active in the 1960s in Italy, the United States, Austria and West Germany. She played in adventure, comedy, science fiction, crime, and horror movies, among which are ...

as Marie Armstrong *

Wolfgang Kieling Wolfgang Kieling (16 March 1924 – 7 October 1985) was a German actor. Biography In films since childhood in his native Germany, Kieling appeared in a few American films, notably in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Torn Curtain'' (1966), where he playe ...

as Inspector Emil *

Sancho Gracia Félix Ángel Sancho Gracia (27 September 1936 – 8 August 2012) was a Spanish motion picture and television actor. Career Born in Madrid, Gracia started his acting career in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he lived from 1947 until 1961. In Urugu ...

as Fernando *

Maria Rohm Maria Rohm (13 August 1945 – 18 June 2018) was an Austrian actress and producer. Born Helga Grohmann in Vienna, she started her acting career at the very young age, working at the famous Viennese Burgtheatre as a child actor from ages 4 throug ...

as Diane *Luis Rivera as Paul *

José Jaspe José Jaspe () (10 August 1906 – 5 June 1974) was a Spanish film actor. He played Konev the conductor in '' Horror Express'' (1972), Ahmed in '' House of 1,000 Dolls'' (1967), Henneker in '' The Man Called Noon'' (1973), the traitor in '' The C ...

as Ahmed *Juan Olaguivel as Salim *

Herbert Fux Herbert Fux (25 March 1927 – 13 March 2007) was an Austrian film actor and politician. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1960 and 2007. Life Fux was born in Hallein, at the age of five he moved with his family to the city of Salzburg ...

as Abdu *

Yelena Samarina Yelena Samarina (née Elena Georgievna Vologzhaninova , Vologzhanina, Volozhanina) , 16 December 1927, Omsk – 4 May 2011, Madrid - was a Russian-born actress who settled in Spain. She was originally selected to play the lead in Wim Wenders' his ...

as Madame Viera *

Diane Bond Diane Loretta Bond (born September 25, 1945, in Los Angeles) is an American former actress and feminist artist and writer, best known for her minor roles in movies during the 1960s. She appeared in films like '' In Like Flint'' (1967), '' House ...

as Liza *Andrea Lascelles as Doll *Ursula Janis as Doll

Production

The film originated with

, who shot the movie in Madrid and got

Samuel Arkoff Samuel Zachary Arkoff (June 12, 1918 – September 16, 2001) was an American film producer, known as the co-founder of American International Pictures. Life and career Arkoff was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Russian Jewish parents. He was the ...

at AIP to contribute financing. At one stage

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explic ...

was announced as director.

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

was mentioned as going to support Vincent Price and Martha Hyer, but he ended up being replaced by George Nader. Filming began in November 1966. Knowing that local censors would prohibit filming, Towers gave them a copy of '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' and hired an actor to walk around the set dressed like

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

in case the censors dropped by. According to Price in a 1984 interview, he had been signed on to the project without full knowledge of what the film would be about. After his scenes were shot, "

and I were led off ... so we went to visit on the set and we found that they were remaking all of the scenes we'd been in, but a

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

version of it." He added, "I never got to see it."

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Had Vincent Price's tongue-in-cheek opening gambit ("Open the coffin") been followed through, more might have been made of this preposterously scripted, crudely directed and indifferently photographed charade. As it is, a confusion of kidnappings, fights, floggings and a little timid strip-tease prove too much for all Price's efforts to treat the whole thing as a joke. He has little support from the rest of the cast, the exotic backgrounds are wasted, and the film could well serve as an object lesson in the kind of disaster that this type of international venture can produce." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' called the film "not even bad enough to be good... bargain basement backfire that is strictly discount Price." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the film as containing "routine sleuthing, double-crossing and chasing."

References

External links