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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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The Whip and the Body (1963)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Lash and Spurn

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Whip and the Body on DVD

Many Mario Bava fans consider this to be one of his best, and it's certainly a contender with its effectively stylish rendering of a pulpy ghost mystery. Christopher Lee stars as Kurt, an errant, outcast son who returns to his family mansion, much to the chagrin of everyone there. Before long, he turns up dead but his ghost continues to cause trouble. Kurt's brother Christian (Tony Menliff) has married Kurt's former lover Novenka (Daliah Lavi), but secretly loves a beautiful servant girl (Ida Galli). An older servant woman (Harriet Medin) blames Kurt for the death of her daughter, and has saved the murder weapon -- a dagger -- in a glass case, hoping to use it again in the same way. Kurt's father (Gustavo De Nardo) doesn't think too highly of his son either. So everyone's a suspect, but as usual Bava is more interested in using his trademark gloomy colors to establish a mood and an atmosphere than he is creating suspense or logic. The film dabbles in sadistic eroticism as Kurt lashes his former lover Novenka with a whip -- and she appears to like it. One small drawback is that Lee's voice is dubbed in both the English and Italian language versions (the DVD from VCI Entertainment comes with both, plus subtitles). Bava used his pseudonym "John Old" to sign the film.

With: Daliah Lavi, Christopher Lee, Tony Kendall, Ida Galli, Harriet Medin, Gustavo De Nardo, Luciano Pigozzi, Jacques Herlin
Written by: Ernesto Gastaldi, Ugo Guerra, Luciano Martino
Directed by: Mario Bava
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Language: Italian, with English subtitles
Running Time: 88 minutes
Date: July 24, 2009