Roger Kay

Jane's (Glynis Johns ) car breaks down on a lonely road and she walks to a nearby ultra-modern country-house for assistance. She's invited in by the oddly mannered Caligari (Dan O'Herlihy) who is initially helpful and accommodating but is soon behaving strangely. Jane slowly acquaints herself with the other odd inhabitants of house and begin to feel as if she's become a prisoner. To make manners worse Caligari begins to intrusively question her for highly personal information and to delve into her past and into her motivations. Written by the great Robert Bloch, whose film is a remake, of a sort, of German expressionistic classic "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" - although it is devoid of huge elements of the original's storyline. It also disposes of the surrealism of the German film until the climax when director Roger Kay feels confident enough to let loose a barrage of extreme and disorientating camera angles, distended corridors and dream imagery. The film is beautifully shot in CinemaScope by John L. Russell; the use of the widescreen frame for interior shots allowing Kay and Russell to develop a distancing effect and a feeling of dissociation that is perfect for the subject matter. Glynis Johns is interesting in the lead role with Dan O'Herlihy giving an interesting, if oddly-voiced, performance as Caligari. Unfortunately the film gets bogged down in its plotting with the unclear structure working against it. It fails to deliver any real suspense and after too many meanderings it becomes difficult to care about Jane and her plight. "The Cabinet of Caligari" is definitely an interesting film and there is always something happening to keep the interest piqued, but overall it fails to fully ignite despite having plenty of positive elements.… (more)