Dementia 13 | |
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A promotional film poster for Dementia 13
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Directed by | Francis Ford Coppola |
Produced by | Roger Corman |
Written by | Francis Ford Coppola |
Starring |
William Campbell Luana Anders Patrick Magee |
Music by | Ronald Stein |
Cinematography | Charles Hannawalt |
Edited by |
Stuart O'Brien Morton Tubor |
Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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80 minutes (w/ prologue) 75 minutes (w/o prologue) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $42,000 |
Dementia 13 (UK title: The Haunted and the Hunted) is a 1963 horror-thriller released by American International Pictures, starring William Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. The film was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Roger Corman. Although Coppola had been involved in at least two nudie films previously, Dementia 13 served as his first mainstream "legitimate," directorial effort.
The plot follows a scheming young woman (Luana Anders) who, while visiting her husband's family castle in Ireland, inadvertently causes his heart attack death. She attempts to have herself written into her rich mother-in-law's will since her husband (Peter Read) has pre-deceased his mother (Eithne Dunne). Her plans are permanently interrupted by an axe-wielding lunatic who begins to stalk and murderously hack away at members of the family.
Corman offered Coppola the chance to direct a low-budget horror film in Ireland with funds left over from Corman's recently completed The Young Racers, on which Coppola had worked as a sound technician. The producer wanted a cheap Psycho copy—complete with gothic atmosphere and brutal killings—and Coppola quickly wrote a screenplay in accordance with Corman's requirements. Although he was given total directorial freedom during production, Coppola found himself fighting with Corman after the film was completed. The producer declared the movie unreleasable and demanded several changes be made. Corman eventually brought in another director, Jack Hill, to film additional sequences.