Founded in 1966, the Gothique Film Society specialises in double bills ‘for the connoisseur of the macabre’.

We are delighted to be presenting two genuine classics from the Golden Age of Horror – plus a ‘bonus extra’!

Murders in the Rue Morgue was director Robert Florey and star Bela Lugosi’s ‘consolation prize’ for them both missing out on Universal’s Frankenstein. Florey had been replaced by James Whale, while Bela did not fancy a non-speaking role. Well, he certainly got a speaking role in this film, in which he plays the mad Dr. Mirakle with his customary gusto and much arm-waving and emoting!

Running a sideshow at a Parisian carnival, he aims to prove that man has a kinship with the apes; specifically Erik, his own giant ape. Capturing a young prostitute, he injects her with Erik’s blood, but she dies. But then, when two young lovers attend his show, Dr. Mirakle can’t help noticing that Erik shows a particular interest in lovely young Camille…

Mad Love is another of those perverse, outrageous horrors produced as the other studios tried desperately to cash in on Universal’s runaway successes. This time, it was MGM, with its version of the 1920 story The Hands of Orlac.

Fresh from his success as the child murderer in Fritz Lang’s M, Peter Lorre stars as mad Dr. Gogol, tortured by the macabre credo that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. He becomes obsessed with Yvonne Orlac, an actress at the Theatre des Horreurs, who suffers ‘torture and degradation’ nightly. Then, when her husband Stephen, a concert pianist, suffers a terrible injury to his hands, Dr. Gogol is only too pleased to help when Yvonne approaches him…

Rather ironically, Stephen Orlac was played by Frankenstein himself, Colin Clive, who is now, in a perverse role reversal, himself a victim of science.

The ‘bonus extra’ is a reel from a 1923 Western, The Love Brand, recently discovered in the vaults at the British Film Institute and which features a very early appearance of Gothique favourite Boris Karloff. This will be on 35mm, courtesy of the BFI.

Doors open at 18.00 for a 19.00 start.

Refreshments will be available in the licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Everyone welcome: Individual tickets at £8.00 can be purchased on the door or via TicketLab.

Alternatively, Gothique Film Society membership subscriptions are available. Each season comprises six shows, from October to March. The subscription for all six shows is £30.00, but discounted membership is available for in-season joiners. For further enquiries about membership, contact David Simpson david.simpson399@btinternet.com or come along and join up on the door.