I remember seeing this movie as a child. Even then, I was expecting the story that I grew up with, but I didn't find it here. The entirely new adaptation, suggested by the classic fairy tale has Lady Althea (Joyce Taylor) journeying with her father, (Dayton Lummis) to the land of the prince to whom she is betrothed. What she does not know, is that Prince Eduardo (Mark Taylor) suffers from a curse which transforms him into a beast every night. Meanwhile, his evil cousin, Prince Bruno (Michael Pate) and his wife, Princess Sybil (Merry Anders) are waiting for a chance to seize the throne, with the help of a spy, Grimaldi (Walter Burke). Although Althea eventually discovers Eduardo's horrifying secret, she remains loyal to him. Both Taylor and Damon are a handsome heroine and hero, and play their parts with feeling.The rest of the cast follows suit. The film looks very attractive for a B-picture (it was the last movie from prolific director Edward Cahn) and the moral from the original story has been retained. If you don't expect the classic fairy tale, it can be enjoyed on it's own terms.
12 Reviews
As suggested by the Ancient Legend
richardchatten18 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Edward L. Cahn's last film was also his only Technicolor production, indistinguishable from countless other such glossy trifles from the early 60s, with much candlelit stalking along musty corridors. It passes the time agreeably enough until a tiresome subplot involving the machinations of dastardly Prince Bruno (Michael Pate) to usurp the throne from handsome Prince Eduardo (Mark Damon) eventually intrudes into centre stage, complete with villagers carrying torches as if in an old Universal horror film. The comparison is apt, as this marked the final film of veteran makeup artist Jack Pierce, and the Beast is plainly the Wolf Man makeup he created twenty years earlier with longer hair.
The presence of Michael Pate also stirs memories of William Cameron Menzies' 'The Maze' (1953), in which he had a sympathetic role as the reluctant guardian of a similar Dark Secret in another palatial residence like the one depicted here.
The presence of Michael Pate also stirs memories of William Cameron Menzies' 'The Maze' (1953), in which he had a sympathetic role as the reluctant guardian of a similar Dark Secret in another palatial residence like the one depicted here.
Tale as old as time.
BA_Harrison2 September 2023
Loosely based on the classic fairy tale, this version of Beauty and The Beast sees handsome Duke Eduardo (Mark Damon) suffering under a curse brought about by his tyrant father: when the sun sets, the young man is transformed into a beast, who looks remarkably like Universal's The Wolf Man (this film's 'monster' also created by that film's legendary make-up artist Jack P. Pierce). By night, Eduardo searches for the hidden tomb of Scarlotti, the alchemist who placed the curse, hoping to find some way to put an end to his torment. Joyce Taylor plays Althea, betrothed to Eduardo, who discovers her beloved's secret but remains devoted, and Michael Pate stars as villainous Uncle Bruno, who wants to overthrow his nephew and become ruler in his place.
This is a fairly routine fantasy with gentle gothic horror undertones that plays out with few surprises - it's a handsomely mounted production but predictably scripted and, for the most part, flatly directed by Edward L. Cahn, who delivers little energy or excitement, at least until the final act, when some genuine peril is introduced for Eduardo and Althea as Bruno incites hatred and leads an angry mob to the castle to try and kill the beast. In time-honoured fashion, true love saves the day as Althea's willingness to die alongside Eduardo breaks the curse in the nick of time. Damon and Taylor make for good-looking protagonists, but Pate steals the show with another one of his brilliant boo-hiss bad-guy performances.
This is a fairly routine fantasy with gentle gothic horror undertones that plays out with few surprises - it's a handsomely mounted production but predictably scripted and, for the most part, flatly directed by Edward L. Cahn, who delivers little energy or excitement, at least until the final act, when some genuine peril is introduced for Eduardo and Althea as Bruno incites hatred and leads an angry mob to the castle to try and kill the beast. In time-honoured fashion, true love saves the day as Althea's willingness to die alongside Eduardo breaks the curse in the nick of time. Damon and Taylor make for good-looking protagonists, but Pate steals the show with another one of his brilliant boo-hiss bad-guy performances.
Unimportant and pretty boring period picture...
Henry-1712 January 1999
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the last movie by experienced Hollywood director Edward L.Cahn who died in 1963. He was a real workhorse and directed some 100 films in 30 years, among them such B-Picture classics as THE CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN, ZOMBIES OF MORA-TAU, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, IT!-THE TERROR FROM BRYOND SPACE and THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is an unimportant and pretty boring period picture with well done art direction, but that is all it has to offer. The naive story moves along at a snail's pace without any highpoint and there is no action at all. Although Mark Damon looks like a werewolf after he turns into the beast, this is not a horror film, because Damon is a very tame "werewolf", who does no harm to anyone. Anyway, with or without make-up: Damons acting ability is not very impressive and it was a wise move by him, to give up acting and become a movie producer a few years later.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is an unimportant and pretty boring period picture with well done art direction, but that is all it has to offer. The naive story moves along at a snail's pace without any highpoint and there is no action at all. Although Mark Damon looks like a werewolf after he turns into the beast, this is not a horror film, because Damon is a very tame "werewolf", who does no harm to anyone. Anyway, with or without make-up: Damons acting ability is not very impressive and it was a wise move by him, to give up acting and become a movie producer a few years later.
Calling Lon Chaney!
moonspinner554 August 2007
Little-seen American-made rewrite of the classic fable is an awesomely awful 'family film' set in Italy. The beautiful daughter of the Count of Sardi is all set to marry a vacuous Prince Charming, but he has inherited an ancient curse which turns him into a werewolf every nightfall. Bad films can be a lot of fun, but this one is just sad. Paltry production values, pitiful make-up effects, amateurish cast including Joyce Taylor, Mark Damon and Edward Franz, terrible script and direction. Stick with the 1946 French version by Jean Cocteau. Heck, even Disney's animated bombast is preferable to this! NO STARS from ****
Beauty and the half-beast.
ulicknormanowen13 August 2021
The legend spawned so many tales and so many movies it's hard to count them all;even a work such as "King Kong " is another variation on the theme.
In France ,the fairy tale "La Belle et la bête " (1945) was transferred to the screen by Jean Cocteau and René Clément. The poet/director took it to new limits ,he dramatically expanded the scope,and most of all,he wiped out an obsolete grating moral one found in the most famous French version by Madame LePrince De Beaumont Cocteau left the "moral " angle far behind magic,symbolism,surrealism and psychoanalysis while keeping the well-known denouement :only true love can defeat all the curses .
In the French movie,the curse was cast by an evil fairy ;Mark Damon is victim of a family heredity :he does his best au naturel (he matches Solomon in the carrots/cow affair),but is laughable when he turns into a beast ;in Cocteau 's black an white masterpiece ,Jean Marais had to endure a four-hour make up ,and the results ,even today,are stunning ;In this version, the make up is so cheap that it makes Mark Damon look like a vague ape ,or a young man dressed up for Mardi-Gras or a fancy dress ball ; the work must not have taken more than ten minutes .
Damon's curse ,unlike most of his colleagues ,is sweetened : it only happens at night , but it does not make things easier when you are about to get married (the Freudian side , which the late Bruno Bettelheim studied in his famous book "psychoanalysis of fairy tales" ?)The Belle is not a commoner ,like in most of the other versions, but a genuine lady.
Wicked cousin prince Bruno , who covets Eduardo's throne, tries to pit the people against their sovereign ;in Disney's version ,Gaston plays more or less the same role .The middle ages allow hints at sorcery .
In France ,the fairy tale "La Belle et la bête " (1945) was transferred to the screen by Jean Cocteau and René Clément. The poet/director took it to new limits ,he dramatically expanded the scope,and most of all,he wiped out an obsolete grating moral one found in the most famous French version by Madame LePrince De Beaumont Cocteau left the "moral " angle far behind magic,symbolism,surrealism and psychoanalysis while keeping the well-known denouement :only true love can defeat all the curses .
In the French movie,the curse was cast by an evil fairy ;Mark Damon is victim of a family heredity :he does his best au naturel (he matches Solomon in the carrots/cow affair),but is laughable when he turns into a beast ;in Cocteau 's black an white masterpiece ,Jean Marais had to endure a four-hour make up ,and the results ,even today,are stunning ;In this version, the make up is so cheap that it makes Mark Damon look like a vague ape ,or a young man dressed up for Mardi-Gras or a fancy dress ball ; the work must not have taken more than ten minutes .
Damon's curse ,unlike most of his colleagues ,is sweetened : it only happens at night , but it does not make things easier when you are about to get married (the Freudian side , which the late Bruno Bettelheim studied in his famous book "psychoanalysis of fairy tales" ?)The Belle is not a commoner ,like in most of the other versions, but a genuine lady.
Wicked cousin prince Bruno , who covets Eduardo's throne, tries to pit the people against their sovereign ;in Disney's version ,Gaston plays more or less the same role .The middle ages allow hints at sorcery .
This isn't exactly "Beauty and the Beast"--it's more like they merged it with "I was a Teenage Werewolf" and "Shrek"!!
planktonrules11 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very, very different version of "Beauty and the Beast"--as so much of what I remembered about the story has changed. In this film it's set in Italy and the curse on the young Duke was caused by a long-dead sorcerer. And now the curse man must contend with a jerk that will stop at nothing to steal his throne. But it's the nature of the curse that is so different from what I expected--even more so than this silly political posturing and subterfuge. While the man DID become a beast, it only happened at night--like Princess Fiona from "Shrek"! And how does the film remind me of "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"? Well, the makeup looks like a third-rate version of this second-rate film. This certainly seemed nothing like the versions of the story from Jean Cocteau (1946), Hallmark (with George C. Scott in 1976) or the Disney version! Sadly, what also is different about this version is that it was very low energy--and way too dull considering how interesting the story should have been.
If the weirdness of the story were all, I could still have given this movie a decent score. After all, it is an old folk tale and there is no one definitive version. However, what's new is bad--not just the dullness of the story but the writing overall. There are too many scenes involving long exposition--a sign of very bad writing. This is when people talk not so much to each other but instead it's like a little speech only intended, clumsily, to explain the back story! In addition, again and again, the film never gets interesting or takes advantage of the plot. For example, if you do see the film, what if at the end the curse had not only left the Duke but then attached itself to the evil usurper? All in all, a film that kids will be bored to tears over and others won't particularly enjoy either. My advice is see the brilliant Cocteau and Disney versions....the George C. Scott one, unfortunately, is not available anywhere.
If the weirdness of the story were all, I could still have given this movie a decent score. After all, it is an old folk tale and there is no one definitive version. However, what's new is bad--not just the dullness of the story but the writing overall. There are too many scenes involving long exposition--a sign of very bad writing. This is when people talk not so much to each other but instead it's like a little speech only intended, clumsily, to explain the back story! In addition, again and again, the film never gets interesting or takes advantage of the plot. For example, if you do see the film, what if at the end the curse had not only left the Duke but then attached itself to the evil usurper? All in all, a film that kids will be bored to tears over and others won't particularly enjoy either. My advice is see the brilliant Cocteau and Disney versions....the George C. Scott one, unfortunately, is not available anywhere.
Not quite a fractured fairy tale, but definitely a repaired one even if not in complete working order.
mark.waltz2 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The beautiful Joyce Taylor and her father are on their way to the castle of handsome Duke Mark Damon who is kind but mysterious, hiding the fact that at night he's cursed to become a werewolf. This doesn't really show him attacking anyone, pretty much just frustrated that he's cursed with unrest for eternity, especially since he's about to take in a beautiful bride. Rival Michael Pate is determined to expose this so he can get Damon out of the way, and the loyal servants work with their master to keep that from happening.
Certainly disappointing for those who will expect the magic of the classic tale, and not a gothic melodrama that seems like it should have been made at Universal back in the early 40's. I got over it quickly, though, putting this closer to early 60's fantasies like "Jack the Giant Killer" than either the 1946 Cousteau film or the 70's TV remake or the TV series or Disney animated film and its live action remake.
Taylor and Harmon are gorgeous, with Merry Anders, Pate and veteran character actress Meg Wyllie good in supporting roles. It's a very handsome film that tried for something different. There's enough of the legend there to make it comparable to those others I mentioned, filled with adventure, action, chills and romance, great costumes, beautiful color scenery and decent sets. Definitely worth giving a chance if you're aware that it isn't the same as the others.
Certainly disappointing for those who will expect the magic of the classic tale, and not a gothic melodrama that seems like it should have been made at Universal back in the early 40's. I got over it quickly, though, putting this closer to early 60's fantasies like "Jack the Giant Killer" than either the 1946 Cousteau film or the 70's TV remake or the TV series or Disney animated film and its live action remake.
Taylor and Harmon are gorgeous, with Merry Anders, Pate and veteran character actress Meg Wyllie good in supporting roles. It's a very handsome film that tried for something different. There's enough of the legend there to make it comparable to those others I mentioned, filled with adventure, action, chills and romance, great costumes, beautiful color scenery and decent sets. Definitely worth giving a chance if you're aware that it isn't the same as the others.
Beauty And The Werewolf: A Different Version Of A Beloved Classic
FloatingOpera726 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Beauty And The Beast (1962): Mark Damon, Joyce Taylor, Eduard Franz, Michael Pate, Merry Anders, Walter Burke, Dayton Lummis, Alexander Lockwood, Meg Wyllie, Charles Wagenheim, Herman Rudin, Jon Silo...Director Edward L. Cahn, Screenplay George Bruce, Orville H. Hampton.
Director Edward Cahn's 1962 "Beauty and the Beast" is not the familiar fairy tale classic, despite the misleading title and the opening of the film, which shows, in a Disney-like fashion, an illustrated fairy tale book opening up. This is instead a very different version, part-romance, part Gothic horror mystery. This is a film that is very much a product of its time and also targeting an adult audience, not children. Mark Damon stars as Prince Eduardo, set to rule a provincial area in Italy during the 1600's. As the film opens, he has just become engaged to the beautiful Althea (Joyce Taylor) of a nearby province, but little does she know of his dark secret. Eduardo has been cursed by a late sorcerer. He's doomed to live as a normal human man during the day but at night he is transformed into a wolf. The scenes in which he is transformed into a werewolf as soon as the sun sets, the wicked sorcerer's curse and plotting villains as well as the eerie and foreboding atmosphere of the castle with its many chambers and dungeons are all components of what was a typical horror film for 1962. But rather than focusing on intense horror or violence, the film instead tries to re-tell the romantic Beauty and the Beast story in a different light. For some, this film is lousy B movie stuff. But it's in beautiful color and the cinematography is clearly not in the level of standard B films. Likewise, the costumes by Jerry Bos and Sabine Manela are exquisite, authentic to the late Renaissance period and very "Beauty and the Beast", as are the sets by Morris Hoffman. These sets are studio sets and may not be truly impressive but they are not lousy either. The music provided by Hugo Friedhofer is also lovely. As with any Beauty and the Beast film, there's the romantic aspect. A woman's sincere love breaks the spell over the Beast. But the reason I give this film a number 8 rating is that, despite the good parts, there are some things that are visibly flawed, such as the bad script (stilted language from everyone, our Beauty provides an angry, torch-bearing mob with a speech on how they ought to love the man inside the Beast). But if you're a fan of Beauty and the Beast in its many forms, this is a film you may just want to check out.
Director Edward Cahn's 1962 "Beauty and the Beast" is not the familiar fairy tale classic, despite the misleading title and the opening of the film, which shows, in a Disney-like fashion, an illustrated fairy tale book opening up. This is instead a very different version, part-romance, part Gothic horror mystery. This is a film that is very much a product of its time and also targeting an adult audience, not children. Mark Damon stars as Prince Eduardo, set to rule a provincial area in Italy during the 1600's. As the film opens, he has just become engaged to the beautiful Althea (Joyce Taylor) of a nearby province, but little does she know of his dark secret. Eduardo has been cursed by a late sorcerer. He's doomed to live as a normal human man during the day but at night he is transformed into a wolf. The scenes in which he is transformed into a werewolf as soon as the sun sets, the wicked sorcerer's curse and plotting villains as well as the eerie and foreboding atmosphere of the castle with its many chambers and dungeons are all components of what was a typical horror film for 1962. But rather than focusing on intense horror or violence, the film instead tries to re-tell the romantic Beauty and the Beast story in a different light. For some, this film is lousy B movie stuff. But it's in beautiful color and the cinematography is clearly not in the level of standard B films. Likewise, the costumes by Jerry Bos and Sabine Manela are exquisite, authentic to the late Renaissance period and very "Beauty and the Beast", as are the sets by Morris Hoffman. These sets are studio sets and may not be truly impressive but they are not lousy either. The music provided by Hugo Friedhofer is also lovely. As with any Beauty and the Beast film, there's the romantic aspect. A woman's sincere love breaks the spell over the Beast. But the reason I give this film a number 8 rating is that, despite the good parts, there are some things that are visibly flawed, such as the bad script (stilted language from everyone, our Beauty provides an angry, torch-bearing mob with a speech on how they ought to love the man inside the Beast). But if you're a fan of Beauty and the Beast in its many forms, this is a film you may just want to check out.
Lovely movie!
rose-29425 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
How an earth can such a charming movie suffer from that bad IMDb rating? Probably because Beauty and the Beast (1962), little Hollywood B-picture, offers gorgeous dresses, lush colours and atmospheric Gothic settings instead of exploitation filth. Set in Renessance Italy, this is charming retelling of the fairytale, with the newlywed Althea (Joyce Taylor) finding out that her husband (Mark Damon) is cursed to be a werewolf at night. Michael Pate is villain and Merry Anders his evil but beautiful wife. With script by George Bruce and B-movie veteran Orville H. Hampton, costume design by Sabine Manela and Jerry Bos, music by Hugo Friedhofer and werewolf make-up from Hollywood legend Jack P. Pierce.
Fun Costume Picture
raphael6513 March 2005
I think that this film is unfairly maligned. It does not purport to be an adaptation of the original story, the most famous version of which was written by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont and published in 1756. This film is admittedly not as haunting as the version starring George C. Scott, which was made for TV in 1976 and stuck quite close (as did Jean Cocteau's artistic masterpiece) to the original French fairy tale. It should, however, be appreciated for what it is: a glossy Technicolor fantasy from the producer who brought us the excellent fantasy film "Jack the Giant Killer," which was released in the same year and features some of the same actors. It has the same evocative opening, which shows a story-book opening up and inviting the viewer into its magical world. The same opening is found in Disney's "Snow White," "Cinderella," and "Sleeping Beauty."
I cannot fathom why some viewers say that the sets are "cardboard"; I personally feel that the castle sets are quite convincing and solid-looking. The costumes are also lovely. Granted, Joyce Taylor is not a great actress and not really as pretty to look at as Mark Damon, who plays the duke/beast. I think he delivers a solid performance, although the script hardly gives him the opportunity to show how well he can act, which he most certainly did two years earlier in Roger Corman's horror masterpiece, "House of Usher." There is a great cast of character actors: the ever-slimy Michael Pate and the little-known and under-appreciated Walter Burke, who plays the part of the villain's henchman to creepy perfection. Another asset is the beast make-up created by the legendary Jack P. Pierce, who was the artist behind the monster make-up for the Frankenstein monster and the Wolf Man (the curse on Eduardo, Mark Damon's character, is actually like that of the one imposed upon Lon Chaney Jr.'s character in the latter film). Finally, we have the requisite happy ending. This is a good family film. Don't expect high art. I am sure the makers of the movie did not set out with that aim in mind.
I cannot fathom why some viewers say that the sets are "cardboard"; I personally feel that the castle sets are quite convincing and solid-looking. The costumes are also lovely. Granted, Joyce Taylor is not a great actress and not really as pretty to look at as Mark Damon, who plays the duke/beast. I think he delivers a solid performance, although the script hardly gives him the opportunity to show how well he can act, which he most certainly did two years earlier in Roger Corman's horror masterpiece, "House of Usher." There is a great cast of character actors: the ever-slimy Michael Pate and the little-known and under-appreciated Walter Burke, who plays the part of the villain's henchman to creepy perfection. Another asset is the beast make-up created by the legendary Jack P. Pierce, who was the artist behind the monster make-up for the Frankenstein monster and the Wolf Man (the curse on Eduardo, Mark Damon's character, is actually like that of the one imposed upon Lon Chaney Jr.'s character in the latter film). Finally, we have the requisite happy ending. This is a good family film. Don't expect high art. I am sure the makers of the movie did not set out with that aim in mind.
Horrible
Trashbag26 June 2003
Talyor the Beauty and Damon the Beast in this terrible ripoff. It would be better off if this film was not filmed at all, or if it was flushed down the can. Mark Damon's acting was horrible, and the soundtrack sounded like a chainsaw. But I'll give it 1(half)out of 10, because I feel sorry for it.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
