One of two low budget horror-fantasy type movies made in the UK in the mid-60's by American professor turned filmmaker Herbert J. Leder, "The Frozen Dead" has a silly and idiotic storyline involving a mad Nazi scientist (Dana Andrews) keeping a number of fellow fanatics frozen in a secret laboratory deep in the English countryside in the hope of thawing them out to begin a new attempt at reviving The Third Reich two decades after their defeat, with further plot complications involving Andrews' niece (Anna Palk). Her friend (Kathleen Breck), whose decapitated head is used for his dastardly plans, two fellow Nazis (Basil Henson and Karel Stepanek) and an American doctor (Philip Gilbert).
With such a premise as this, one thinks the film could be enjoyed as high camp, but virtually all the performances are as dreary and wooden as the verbose script, not helped by Leder's tedious, lethargic direction, who on this evidence should have stuck to teaching film theory at an American university, as other titles in his sparse filmography were just as, if not more, undistinguished as this one. Some fun is to be had by deciding who employs the worst German accent; a clearly bored and disinterested Andrews is in there pitching, as is Alan Tilvern and Basil Henson, but my nomination is Ann Tirard, known initially as Mrs Smith, but later revealed to be Mrs Schmidt, who pronounces her V's and Z's with extra zeal to emphasize her Teutonic credentials.
So anyone looking for hammy acting and rampantly over the top dialogue will be disappointed, though under the circumstances, Kathleen Breck actually gives a decent performance despite the inherent stupidity of her role as a disembodied head in a box, using facial expression and pathos, making her plight quite pitiable, but she is about the only performer in the film who can hold her head up high (sorry for the pun) as all other cast members look embarrassed at taking part in such shenanigans, though the film livens up just a little in the last ten minutes or so for fans of unintended campy humour, with the dismal sets and poor special effects achieving some hysterically funny moments, particularly when Andrews (what a comedown from 'Laura', 'The Best Years of Our Lives', and the like during Classical Hollywood's best years) and Stepanek get their comeuppance via a wall of arms (with a bespectacled technician lurking in the background for some reason) and Edward Fox, in his first credited film role (which is doubtful he talked about at dinner parties) as one of the mute, thawed-out Nazis, who turns out to be Andrews' brother and Ms Palk's father, attempting to strangle the latter.
So "The Frozen Dead" is not recommended as a riotous laugh fest despite the sheer idiocy of the plot, as it is too tediously paced and over-earnest to be so, but as stated, you may get a few decent chuckles towards its conclusion, if you are awake by that time, that is.
RATING:3 and a half out of 10.
With such a premise as this, one thinks the film could be enjoyed as high camp, but virtually all the performances are as dreary and wooden as the verbose script, not helped by Leder's tedious, lethargic direction, who on this evidence should have stuck to teaching film theory at an American university, as other titles in his sparse filmography were just as, if not more, undistinguished as this one. Some fun is to be had by deciding who employs the worst German accent; a clearly bored and disinterested Andrews is in there pitching, as is Alan Tilvern and Basil Henson, but my nomination is Ann Tirard, known initially as Mrs Smith, but later revealed to be Mrs Schmidt, who pronounces her V's and Z's with extra zeal to emphasize her Teutonic credentials.
So anyone looking for hammy acting and rampantly over the top dialogue will be disappointed, though under the circumstances, Kathleen Breck actually gives a decent performance despite the inherent stupidity of her role as a disembodied head in a box, using facial expression and pathos, making her plight quite pitiable, but she is about the only performer in the film who can hold her head up high (sorry for the pun) as all other cast members look embarrassed at taking part in such shenanigans, though the film livens up just a little in the last ten minutes or so for fans of unintended campy humour, with the dismal sets and poor special effects achieving some hysterically funny moments, particularly when Andrews (what a comedown from 'Laura', 'The Best Years of Our Lives', and the like during Classical Hollywood's best years) and Stepanek get their comeuppance via a wall of arms (with a bespectacled technician lurking in the background for some reason) and Edward Fox, in his first credited film role (which is doubtful he talked about at dinner parties) as one of the mute, thawed-out Nazis, who turns out to be Andrews' brother and Ms Palk's father, attempting to strangle the latter.
So "The Frozen Dead" is not recommended as a riotous laugh fest despite the sheer idiocy of the plot, as it is too tediously paced and over-earnest to be so, but as stated, you may get a few decent chuckles towards its conclusion, if you are awake by that time, that is.
RATING:3 and a half out of 10.