1962
Directed by: Herk Harvey
Written by: John Clifford
Produced by: Herk Harvey
Studio: Harcourt Productions

Starring:
Candace Hilligoss .... Miss Mary Henry, Organist
Sidney Berger .... John Linden, Boarder in Mrs. Thomas' House
Frances Feist .... Mrs. Thomas
Art Ellison .... Minister
Stan Levitt .... Dr. Samuels
Tom McGinnis .... Organ Factory Boss
Forbes Caldwell .... Organ Factory Worker
Dan Palmquist .... Gas Station Attendant

Much has been written about this 1962 classic film and a remake was even made in 1998, but the film still remains an enigma. The lighting, camera work, makeup and music score are all very original and still manage to haunt 40 years after it's release. The remake was a decent idea gone bad. Don't even bother with it.

In 1962, industrial film director Herk Harvey decided to make a horror film. He had previously made about 40 films for school and industry with such titles as: What About School Spirit? (1958), Caring for Your Toys (1954) , Street Safety Is Your Problem (1952) and Your Junior High Days (1961). He enlisted the help of fellow Kansans John Clifford (screenplay) and Maurice Prather (cinematographer) to help him and they recruited local talent to act in the film. The lead character, Mary Henry (played by Candice Hilligloss), only appeared in one other film. Most of the other actors have this movie as their only film acting credit.

There are many dvd releases of this film. Even the cheapest and most no frills copy would be worth owning and watching. The one that stands far above the rest however is the Criterion Collection (www.criterionco.com) version. This 2 disk set has all of the features listed below:

DISC ONE: THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION
-New digital transfer of the original theatrical version
- The Movie That Wouldn’t Die! The Story of Carnival of Souls: a documentary on the 1989 reunion of the cast and crew
- More than 45 minutes of rare outtakes accompanied by Gene Moore’s organ score
- Theatrical trailer
- An illustrated history of the Saltair resort in Salt Lake City
- The Carnival Tour: a video update on the film’s locations
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

DISC TWO: THE EXTENDED DIRECTOR’S CUT
- Selected audio commentary by screenwriter John Clifford and late director Herk Harvey
- One hour of excerpts from films made by the Centron Corporation, an industrial film company based in Lawrence, Kansas that employed Harvey and Clifford for over 30 years
- An essay on the history of Centron from Ken Smith’s Mental Hygiene
- Printed interviews with Harvey, Clifford, and star Candace Hilligoss, illustrated with vintage photos and memorabilia
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

It's quite the dvd set and you will know everything there is to know about all of the principles involved. I understand that this also may not be a good thing for some people...

So the basic story is that Mary Henry is involved in a drag race in rural Kansas that results in her car driving off of a bridge into a river. She manages to walk away from the accident, but afterwards she is haunted by a ghoulish looking man. She ends up getting a job as an organist at a church in Salt Lake City but is still seeing the ghoul man. She also starts feeling compelled to go to an old, abandoned carnival. This is the basic story and I don't want to give away any more for those of you who have not seen the movie.

This really is a classic and somewhat of a landmark film. After making this movie, Herk Harvey and John Clifford continued working for the same industrial film company as if nothing had happened. Over the years the movie started fading away from peoples memory until the advent of VHS tapes.

The movie was a popular rental and it developed a cult following which prompted Candice Hilligloss to contact an aging Herk Harvey to try and make a sequel or remake. This fell through but eventually a remake (of sorts) was made titled "Wes Craven Presents: Carnival of Souls". John Clifford of the original film, has the lead writing credit and there is at least one actor from the original, Sidney Berger, who appears in the remake. But this is not an endorsement to rush out and see the remake. And this is not from some purists viewpoint either. It is simply confusing and nonsensical and resembles the original in title only. As for the original, buy it, watch it, and get others others watch it.

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17 Jan 03