Carnival of Souls (1962)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Herk Harvey

Writer:

John Clifford (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

2 November 1962 (Finland)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

She Was A Stranger Among The Living.

Plot:

After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | Spirit | Salt Lake City Utah | Fairground | Death

Cast

Candace Hilligoss	...	Mary Henry
Frances Feist	...	Mrs. Thomas, Landlady
Sidney Berger	...	John Linden
Art Ellison	...	Minister
Stan Levitt	...	Dr. Samuels
Tom McGinnis	...	Organ Factory Boss
Forbes Caldwell	...	Organ Factory Worker
Dan Palmquist	...	Gas Station Attendant
Bill de Jarnette	...	Mechanic (as Bill De Jarnette)
Steve Boozer	...	Chip, Man at Juke Box
Pamela Ballard	...	Dress Sales Lady
Larry Sneegas	...	Drag Racer
Cari Conboy	...	Lake Zombie
Karen Pyles	...	Dress Store Customer
T.C. Adams	...	Dancing Zombie
Sharon Scoville	...	Mary's Girlfriend
Mary Ann Harris	...	Mary's Girlfriend
Peter Schnitzler	...	A Walking Corpse
Bill Sollner	...	Lake Zombie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reza Badiyi	...	Bus Ticket Customer (uncredited)
Ed Down	...	Man At Bridge (uncredited)
Herk Harvey	...	'The Man' (uncredited)
Wayne Shmille	...	Sheriff At Bridge (uncredited)

Directed by
Herk Harvey

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Clifford		written by
Herk Harvey		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Herk Harvey	....	producer

Original Music by
Gene Moore

Cinematography by
Maurice Prather		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bill de Jarnette		(as Bill De Jarnette)
Dan Palmquist

Makeup Department
George Corn	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Lanny Fellers	....	assistant production manager
Larry Sneegas	....	production manager
Richard Walker	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Reza Badiyi	....	assistant director (as Raza Badiyi)

Sound Department
Ed Down	....	sound
Don Jessup	....	sound

Other crew
Dan Fitzgerald	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Harcourt Productions
• Off Color Films

Distributors

• Herts-Lion International Corp. (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Filmipojat (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1990) (Canada) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Harcourt Productions (1987) (USA) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Marengo Films (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• BFS Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• VidAmerica (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Hart Sharp Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Pan Vision Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Clint Hickman Productions (2001-2007) (worldwide) (all media) (3D version)
• Englewood Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VidAmerica (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Video Home Library (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Clint Hickman Productions  3D process
• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration

Runtime:

78 min | 91 min (original version) | USA:84 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (1991) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (1990) | USA:Approved (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (1997) | USA:PG (re-release) (1990) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) (1962) | Finland:K-18 (re-rating) (1962) | Germany:12 | UK:12 (DVD re-rating) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2009) | Australia:PG | Norway:16 | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Centron Studios - 1621 W 9th Street, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Company:

Harcourt Productions

Trivia:

The Saltair that appears in the film actually burned down in the early '70s. In the early '80s another version of Saltair was rebuilt, although it was a much smaller design. Shortly after it was built, the Great Salt Lake rose and flooded it out. In 1993, the building was remodeled and reopened, now it's mainly used as a small venue for musical acts.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Mary Henry's footfalls don't match her on-screen steps as she dashes into and through bus depot.

Quotes:

Mrs. Thomas: You can take all the baths you want.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Carnival of Souls (#1.24)" (2007)

You won't shout, you won't scream because you'll feel too desolated and scared to do it.

How scary a movie can be? Carnival of souls is scary as no other movie is by one simply reason, this film won't only frighten you to death but also will lead you to a desolation state: You won't shout, you won't scream because you'll feel too desolated and scared to do it. The plot happens to be superb: I love it when the whole plot starts making sense by the very end.

Candace Hilligoss play Mary Henry the lead role; the character is great and her performance is magnificent, she just gives the movie a vulnerable element that sometimes turns to be dark and mysterious.

Carnival of Souls became a cult film with plenty of honors; it's not only one of the most scary movies ever but also is a masterpiece of moviemaking.