Indeed, "The ghost of Sierra de Cobre" is a masterpiece of the horror genre. I saw it several times, broadcasted on TV in the early seventies, in my home country, Costa Rica. I assume it must have been released worldwide, but probably not in theaters. I would give anything to see it again. It made a profound impression on me when I was a child, but something tells me the movie must have aged well, and still retain most of its power. I would appreciate any hint as to how avail myself of this underrated, little known jewel full of Gothic atmosphere, terrifying special effects, with a superb Judith Andersson repeating, to a certain point -but still extremely effectively, the role of Ms. Danvers in Hitchcock's Rebbeca, from 1940. Andersson is even more sinister in this supernatural story. As long as I live, I will remember the crying and the laments of the woman who calls on the phone, from her grave, and the blurred, hallucinating ectoplasm -the ghost- appearing in the haunted mansion, All the elements of the Hawthorne-Poe world are there. Admiteddly, it is a formula-movie, but a movie that precisely proves that the good old formula still works, when the ingredients are intelligently used. Eerie, very eerie. Now that there is so much talk about "The lady in black", one can clearly see from where some of its images are taken. Landau is, as usual, wonderful, but few would argue that it is Andersson -with her Bela Lugosi profile and small, penetrating eyes, who steals the show. She always did, anyways. She simply was one of those actors with whom no one could not compete. I remain perplex of the fact that this movie did not become an iconic classic of its genre. Splendid photography, atmospheric lighting, haunting music... what can I say. I would be very grateful with whoever could give me some hints about the best way to have this movie. I have been looking for it for over twenty years! "The uninvited" (Ray Milland) and "The innocents" (Deborah Kerr: based on James's "Another turn of the screw") were clearly influential in the conception of "The ghost of Sierra de Cobre".
Review of The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre
