Hey, here's the NECROMANCY (1972) trailer! - trailer of Necromancy (1972)

[purplepines]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JOlJjflbMk

I haven't seen the film, but I like the music and I'm intrigued by the subject matter

[Tony]

Has anyone seen this film?
???

[mteal]

I've got the R-rated version, known as THE WITCHING on VHS. It's not a very good film.

[Store Hadji]

That's the one I've got, the recut version from the 80s with what may as well be John Carpenter music. Haven't seen the original, though I doubt it was any better.

[Tony]

"It's not a very good film."

Possible understatement?
???

[mteal]

Yes, to be honest, it's an amateurish mess that looks like it was thrown together by hippies during a weekend pot party (Hmmm, maybe they were rejects from the TOSOTW crew!). Like Store Hadji, I haven't seen the PG cut, but I can't say I have much desire to; it probably doesn't have Pamela Franklin's nude scenes which are about the only good thing about it. But that may be overstatement.

I think it's likely that NECROMANCY was Welles's half-hearted attempt to muscle in on Vincent Price/Christopher Lee territory. Obviously it didn't work.

[Tony]

My guess is that it paid for one day's shooting on TOSOTW or F For Fake. :;):

[ToddBaesen]

I've always remembered a memorable night of Orson Welles guest hosting Johnny Carson when he had Vincent Price as his guest, around 1979. Orson opened the show by doing an incredibly complicated card trick, brought people out from the audience and it was really fascinating just to watch him go about conducting this elaborate trick... but then, as Vincent Price said when he came on, "Orson, you laid the biggest egg I've ever seen..." The cards he was supposed to guess didn't match!

Anyway, Orson introduced Vincent as an old friend who was a big star on the stage (with Helen Hayes) before he came to us at the Mercury Theater, and as I recall said something like, "Vincent you do horror movies and I do horrible ones..."

[Tony]

Todd:
I saw that same show: it was fabulous when the card trick didn't work! Do you recall Price saying he had a photo of his dad holding a pic of Orson's dad's head on a plate? Some photo trick of a John the baptist thing when they were young amateur actors. Welles was freaked out to hear this. Also, Terry Garr was sitting between them (she was the next guest after Price, who shuffled over to the couch) and she was complaining about having to do so many cheap beach blanket bingo type films when she was starting out; that's when Price said "Don't worry: I've had to do a lot of horror pictures in my career" and Welles said "And I've had to do a lot of horrible pictures!".

It was a great night; I hope somehow it gets a release on dvd...

[mteal]

I seem to remember someone here saying that they had a VHS recording of it. If so, I've got lots of obscure Welles stuff I could exchange for a copy of it. That should definitely be in circulation.

[maxrael]

i personally liked The Witching... it's a perfectly presentable low-budget horror and Welles is decent enough in it.

i sampled some of the dialogue from it for an electronic music project once.

[Harvey Chartrand]

I don't think Welles seriously contemplated becoming a horror star like Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee or Vincent Price. By 1973, Welles was finding it harder to get good acting roles. This was due to his age and girth. Casting directors said he could only play Orson Welles. So Orson took whatever job came along to pay the bills and keep himself in the public eye. THE WITCHING / NECROMANCY / THE TOY FACTORY was directed by Bert I. Gordon (who called himself "Mr. BIG"). Gordon specialized in giant bug movies such as BEGINNING OF THE END, EARTH VS THE SPIDER and EMPIRE OF THE ANTS, and giant people movies such as VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS and THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN. Despite their poor special effects, Gordon's films are beloved by monster boomers. TORMENTED, a 1960 ghost story starring Richard Carlson (and a real change of pace for Mr. BIG) is probably his best work.
So it was quite a comedown for Welles to appear as the toymaker/warlock Mr. Cato in THE WITCHING (even before the porno scenes were added). And Welles looked terrible with that slim, grey putty nose. Hard to believe it was the same man who played the charismatic Harry Lime.

[Tony]

I've often wondered about that nose thing: it didn't matter in B&W, but in colour his noses often looked as though they had died; didn't anybody say "Excuse me ,Mr. Welles, but your nose is blue"? Or was it his way of rebelling aginst having to do those awful roles????