An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a killing spree.An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a killing spree.An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a killing spree.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Marshall Smith
- (as Monty Landis)
- Waiter
- (as Tim Burns)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBy the time this film was made (from November 1967 to December 1967), Boris Karloff was 80 years old and in very poor health, suffering from emphysema along with rheumatoid arthritis, had only half of one lung and spent the time between takes in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask on. He also wore braces on both legs and had difficulty standing or walking without his cane; the weakness of his legs is visible in some scenes in the film. Fortunately, Karloff lived long enough to view the completed film as well as enjoy the well-deserved accolades he received for this performance.
- Goofs(at around 1h 28 mins) At the very end of the movie, the drive-in is empty the next day, except for the killer's car. This is illogical: the victims' cars should be there too.
- Quotes
Byron Orlok: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home through the darkness. Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions. And after a while, the servant came back, white-faced and trembling, and said, "Master, when I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and I turned to look, and I saw that it was Death that jostled me. And she looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Oh, Master, please, lend me your horse, that I may ride away from this city and escape my fate. I will ride to Samara, and Death will not find me there." So the merchant loaned him the horse, and the servant mounted it and dug his spurs into its flank, and as fast as the horse could gallop, he rode towards Samara. Then the merchant went to the marketplace, and he saw Death standing in the crowd, and he said to her, "Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?" And Death said, "I made no threatening gesture. That was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samara."
- Crazy creditsThe original theatrical prints begin with a title card reading: "Why gun control? Why did a lunatic sniper kill or maim 11 innocent victims in Texas on June 3, 1966? Why were over 7,000 Americans slain or wounded by gunfire in 1967? Why in 1968 after assassinations and thousands of more murders has our country no effective gun control law? This motion picture tells a story that sheds a little light on a very dark and a very deep topic." This text was added by Paramount Pictures in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, but was not approved by director Peter Bogdanovich, and was removed from later releases of the film.
- Alternate versionsRe-edited for a "GP" rating for a 1971 reissue to capitalize on the success of Peter Bogdanovich's then-recent hit The Last Picture Show (1971). Later home media releases are uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Boris Karloff (1996)
- SoundtracksGreen Rocky Road
(uncredited)
Written and performed by The Daily Flash (Don MacAllister, Steve Lalor, Jon Keliehor and Doug Hastings)
- Space_Mafune
- Aug 25, 2003
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $130,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1