La vendetta di Lady Morgan

Digitmovies, with collaboration of Gruppo Sugar, continues its journey into the Italian Gothic genre, by releasing, for the first time ever, the soundtrack of the movie “La vendetta di Lady Morgan” (aka “ Das Folterhaus der Lady Morgan”). In 1965, after “5 tombe per un medium” and “Il boia scarlatto”, Massimo Pupillo directed his third gothic horror movie. The movie is one of the rarest Italian Gothic ever as at that time it had had a poor distribution and nowadays is still unreleased on the home video market. After the tragic death of her boyfriend Pierre (Michel Forain), Susan Morgan (Barbara Nelli) reluctantly marries Sir Harold (Paul Muller), who, by trying to drive the woman into suicide, wants to become heir to the riches of his wife, along with the housekeeper Lilian (Erika Blanc) and the butler Roger (Gordon Mitchell). Lady Morgan commits suicide by jumping from the tower of the castle, but returns as a ghost to take revenge on his “assassins”, and even Pierre, who in fact had escaped from death, is killed because of the spirits and will be forced to wander for eternity as a vampire. “La vendetta di Lady Morgan” is full of all those elements which characterize the Gothic genre: the ancient castle, ghosts, vampires and bloody revenge. Pupillo manages to stage a good horror film, maybe more in the vein of a stage than a movie drama, with a not very original plot, but without a doubt exciting and full of surprises. Piero Umiliani, one of the great names of film music and jazz in Italy, does not need a long presentation considering his long filmography which includes such internationally known successes as “Mah Nah Mah Nah.” Maestro Umiliani (under the pseudonym of Peter O’Milian) has written a symphonic score featuring a ballad with an ancient flavour for classical guitar and orchestra which is reprised and alternated with experimental electronic music, dramatic and gloomy passages. For our CD we could use every note recorded in mono during the original session. A must-have CD for the archives of all those who love this prolific genre.