The Mask (1961 film)
| The Mask (aka Eyes of Hell) | |
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Theatrical film poster
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| Directed by | Julian Roffman |
| Produced by | Julian Roffman Nat Taylor |
| Written by | Franklin Delessert Sandy Haver Frank Taubes Slavko Vorkapich |
| Starring |
Paul Stevens Claudette Nevins Bill Walker |
| Music by | Louis Applebaum |
| Cinematography | Herbert S. Alpert |
| Edited by | Stephen Timar |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Mask (re-released as Eyes of Hell) is a 1961 Canadian horror film produced in 3-D by Warner Bros. It was directed by Julian Roffman, and stars Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, and Bill Walker. It was shot in Toronto, Ontario and is the first Canadian horror film.
The story concerns a psychiatrist, Dr. Allen Barnes (Stevens), who obtains a mysterious ancient tribal mask. Whenever he puts on the mask, Barnes experiences dream-like visions which become increasingly disturbing and violent. The visions begin to alter Barnes' personality, and eventually drive him insane.
The Mask is notable chiefly for its surreal use of 3-D cinematography.
Most of the story is presented in conventional black-and-white. However, whenever Dr. Barnes is about to put on the mask, Barnes' voice urges the viewer to, "Put the mask on, NOW!" This was the cue for theatre-goers to don the 3-D glasses (originally shaped like masks) which they were given upon entering the theatre. The terrifying visions experienced by Dr. Barnes were then presented in anaglyphic 3-D.
The 3-D sequences, three in all, last 14.65 minutes (879 s). They were designed by montage expert Slavko Vorkapich, and feature an array of distinctively psychedelic visuals, some of which are mildly gruesome. A pioneering electronic music score (billed as "Electro Magic Sound" in publicity materials) enhances the strangeness of the 3-D scenes.
The 3-D effects in The Mask come across unusually well when shown on television, making it one of the better examples of anaglyphic 3-D video available.
The Mask was frequently exhibited in 3-D on US broadcast and cable TV in the 1980s. It has also been issued in 3-D on both VHS and LaserDisc home video formats. In 2015, "The Mask" was restored by TIFF and copyright holders 3-D Film Archive for theatrical and 3-D Blu-ray/DVD release from Kino Lorber. The 3-D segments have been mastered for the first time from original 35mm left/right elements. The stereoscopic quality is vastly superior to all previous anaglyphic presentations.
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