''It!'' (also known as ''Anger of the Golem'' and ''Curse of the Golem'') is a 1967 British

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed, produced and written by Herbert J. Leder and starring

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his n ...

Jill Haworth Valerie Jill Haworth
FilmReference.com; accessed 17 May 2016. (15 August 1945 – 3 January 20 ...

and

Paul Maxwell Paul Maxwell (born Maxim Popovich; 12 November 192119 December 1991) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British cinema and television, in which he was usually cast as American characters. In terms of audience, his most notable role was ...

. It was made by

Seven Arts Productions Seven Arts Productions was a production company which made films for release by other studios. It was founded in 1957 by Eliot Hyman, Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. Formation The company was formed in 1957. It came out of the company, Associa ...

and Gold Star Productions, Ltd. A mad museum curator brings the

Golem A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

of Prague to life.John Hamilton, ''The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70'' Hemlock Books 2013 p 174-177

Plot

A London museum's warehouse burns down, leaving undamaged a statue that the museum curator, Mr. Grove, identifies as "Mid-European Primitive." Grove is mysteriously killed while inspecting the artifact when his assistant, Arthur Pimm, is sent to fetch a flashlight for him. This begins a series of unexplained deaths and calamities connected with the statue, which is later positively identified as the

of Judah Loew of the 16th century. Arthur Pimm, a

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main protagonist in his 1959 horror novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, who in hi ...

-like character, who keeps his mother's corpse in his apartment and borrows museum jewelry exhibits to adorn it, brings the Golem to life by placing a small scroll containing the Hebrew word "emeth" ("truth") into its mouth, which he finds in a compartment located at the top of the Golem's right foot. The Golem then becomes Pimm's accomplice in murder and mayhem, contrary to its original purpose to defend its community. When the Golem is suspected of bringing about the catastrophic destruction of

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, with Barnes in the London Boroug ...

, Pimm tries to destroy it. This is impossible, as the inscription predicts: "for neither by fire, nor water, nor force, nor anything by man created" can it be destroyed. This is borne out in the final scenes of the film by the detonation of a small nuclear warhead in an attempt to stop it. Caught up in all of this is Ellen Grove, the daughter of the first deceased curator with whom Pimm is in love, but she falls in love with Jim Perkins of the New York Museum, who identifies the Golem and seeks to acquire it for his museum. Perkins exposes Pimm to the police, and Pimm is committed to an insane asylum. He breaks out of the asylum and kidnaps Ellen with the help of the Golem. Pimm holes up in the museum's annex in the country known as "the Cloisters." Perkins dramatically saves Ellen from the aforementioned nuclear explosion that vaporizes both Pimm and "the Cloisters," but not the Golem which, for unknown reasons, retreats into the sea.

Cast

as Arthur Pimm *

Jill Haworth Valerie Jill Haworth
FilmReference.com; accessed 17 May 2016. (15 August 1945 – 3 January 20 ...

as Ellen Grove *

as Jim Perkins * Aubrey Richards as Professor Weal *

Ernest Clark Ernest Clark MC (12 February 1912 – 11 November 1994) was a British actor of stage, television and film. Early life Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving ...

as Harold Grove * Oliver Johnston as Curator Trimingham *

Noel Trevarthen Noel Trevarthen was a New Zealand actor who worked largely in England and Australia, active from 1959 to 1999. Trevarthen was first based in England where he starred in '' Riviera Police'' and in extended run of ''Watch It, Sailor'' at the Apo ...

as Inspector White * Ian McCulloch as Detective Wayne *

Richard Goolden Richard Percy Herbert Goolden, OBE (23 February 1895 – 18 June 1981) was a British actor, most famous for his portrayal of Mole from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book ''The Wind in the Willows'' in A A Milne's 1929 stage adaptation, ''To ...

as the old rabbi * Dorothy Frere as Miss Swanson * Tom Chatto as the young captain * Steve Kirby as Ellis the electrician * Russell Napier as boss * Frank Sieman as museum workman * Brian Haines as first museum guard * John Baker as second museum guard * Mark Burns as first officer * Raymond Adamson as second officer * Lindsay Campbell as policeman * Alan Seller as the Golem of Prague

Release

Theatrical release

Since Seven Arts Productions acquired

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1967, the film was released by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in the United States. The film was widely released in the U.S. in 1967 as a double feature with '' The Frozen Dead''.

Home media

''It!'' was released on DVD on 9 December 2008 when Warner Home Video released it with '' The Shuttered Room'' (1967) on ''Warner Home Video Horror Double Feature''.

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: "The trouble with the audacious and interesting idea of reviving the Golem story (and due reference is made in this film to the silent German cinema) is that to do it justice requires a sizeable budget and spectacular special effects – both of which are lacking here. It needed, say,

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

, to make something stunning of the untoward demolition of Hammersmith Bridge, a scene which is here rather feeble. The Golem itself, however, is rather a gem, and the transition from a static state to an ambling sort of locomotion is effectively accomplished. The narrative is serviceable, but tends to evolve in fits and starts, and never quite decides what to do with the character of Pimm. The opening scene, in which we find him living with his mother, whose singular uncommunicativeness is shortly explained by the fact that she is merely a clothed skeleton, properly suggests that there is something odd about this Pimm. And this piece of macabre fun is justified by the ending (by which time the plot has disintegrated) in which mother has a part to play. Here and there the film is good enough to make one wish that it had a little more style and invention." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Director Herbert J Leder made this dismal attempt to resurrect the legend of the Golem monster most famously filmed in 1920 by Paul Wegener for Swinging Sixties audiences. Roddy McDowall is an assistant museum curator, living with the mummified corpse of his mother (''Psycho'' has a lot to answer for), who revives the original Golem to do his psychopathic bidding. A confused mix of black humour and horror, this lacks style, invention and (crucially) budget." Jason P. Vargo from IGN awarded the film a score of 4/10, calling it "a sub-par creature feature". Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gave the film two out of four stars. David Camak Pratt from PopMatters, reviewing the double feature DVD release, awarded it three out of 10 stars. In his review, Pratt called the film "uneven" and "ridiculous", criticizing the film's '' Psycho''-like plot points as being both obvious and pointless.

References

External links

*
''It!'' at AllMovie
* {{TCMDb title, id=79476 1967 films 1967 horror films Films directed by Herbert J. Leder Golem films 1960s monster movies Warner Bros. films 1960s English-language films British monster movies 1960s British films English-language science fiction horror films