.gif)
It! (1966 film)
Encyclopedia
It! is a 1966 horror film made by Seven Arts Productions
and Gold Star Productions, Ltd. that features the Golem
of Prague
as its main subject. The film was made in the style of the Hammer Studios films both in sound and cinematography. It! stars Roddy McDowall
as the mad assistant museum curator Arthur Pimm, who evokes (brings to life) the golem by finding a hidden scroll in a hollowed out compartment of the golem's right foot and placing it under its tongue. Alan Sellers plays the golem, Jill Haworth plays Ellen Grove, and Paul Maxwell plays Jim Perkins. Herbert J. Leder is a producer, the screenwriter, and director of this film. Leder also produced, wrote, and directed Nine Miles to the Moon (1963), The Frozen Dead (1966), and The Candy Man (1969). He was the screenwriter for Fiend without a Face
(1958), and Pretty Boy Floyd (1960).
Since Seven Arts Productions acquired Warner Brothers
Communications Company in 1967 the film was released by Warner Brothers—Seven Arts
in the United States. The film was widely released in the US in 1967 on a double bill with The Frozen Dead
.
It! was never released on home video until December 9, 2008 when Warner Home Video released it with The Shuttered Room in its new series of "Horror Double Feature" DVDs.
firemen
fighting a warehouse
fire
. The warehouse belongs to a London museum, whose curator
, Grove and curator's assistant, Arthur Pimm respond to the report of the fire. They inspect the rubble for anything salvageable. Standing undamaged in the smouldering ruins is a large rough-hewn stone statue
that Grove observes is made in the style of "Mid-European Primitive." He examines it, but carelessly places his umbrella
onto the statue's arms that are partially outstretched, parallel to each other (see image below). Pimm timidly keeps his distance, but provides Grove his magnifying glass
. As Pimm goes back to the car for a flashlight to aid in Grove's investigation he is stopped by Groves's death cry. Pimm returns to find him dead at the foot of the statue with the statue's right arm now somewhat lower than the other. Pimm suspiciously removes Grove's keys from his pocket and calls the police. The beginning credits
are then shown.
Pimm is then seen entering his apartment in conversation with his mother, who is seen from the back in her rocking chair. He tells her that he believes he is sure to be chosen the new curator by the museum's board of trustees. He brings out a necklace with a jewel pendant, which he has borrowed from the museum for his mother to wear to indulge her. As he puts the necklace on his mother we see that she is a decaying corpse, reminiscent of Norman Bates
's mother in Alfred Hitchcock
's Psycho
. The imagined rivalry in Pimm's mind between his dead mother and his personal attraction for Ellen Grove, the dead curator's daughter, is a minor subplot, which saves her life in the end.
The next day Pimm is in his office at the museum when Mr. Trimingham, presumably a museum official with higher authority than the curator, comes in demanding Grove's keys. Pimm pretends to find them when Trimingham dials the police. Pimm must find a way, then, to return to its display case the jewellery he borrowed the night before. An opportunity presents itself when the electrician, Ellis is killed by the newly installed statue falling on him after he had gone out of his way to mock it. Pimm discovers the dead man under the statue, cuing him to break into the display case and return the borrowed jewellery. The crime scene then looks like an apparent murder/robbery.
Mr. Trimingham wants to rid the museum of the statue due to its connection to the two unexplained deaths, and he contacts the New York Museum in order to sell them the statue. A Jim Parkins is sent to London to examine the statue. Parkins and Pimm examine the statue together, and Parkins also notices the Hebrew inscriptions on the robe of the statue as did Grove before. Parkins expresses his belief that the statue is a golem
: either that constructed by Elizah de Helm in 1550 or Judah Loew
at a later date. Parkins explains that the golem was built as a guardian of "the community," presumably the Jewish community for which it was constructed. He discovers an inscription that reads "Judah Loew, Prague, 1500" with the last two digits being undecipherable. Parkins is certain that the statue is authentic, but Pimm pretends to be skeptical. Parkins suggests making a rubbing of the Hebrew inscriptions, which Pimm secretly does.
While Parkins romances Grove's daughter, Ellen, whom Pimm had his eye on, Pimm takes his rubbing to a rabbi
, who translates the Hebrew inscription (see, below). He agrees to give Pimm the translation only if Pimm tells him where he got the rubbing. After the rabbi reads the translation Pimm tells him that it is from a statue from Czechoslovakia
. The rabbi exclaims that if it is authentic, it is the "great Golem," which would be the most powerful force on earth. The rabbi also tells Pimm as did Parkins that a small scroll, with the Hebrew word "emet" (אמת), "truth," written on it, placed in its mouth would bring it to life.
A new curator begins his duties at the museum, a Professor Weal, who describes himself as a "stickler" and a "fuss pot," stricter than Grove had been, who had been known as a "kidder." When Weal finds Pimm looking at the golem, he tells Pimm that he is making a new rule for the museum: no staff other than the night watchman may be in the "art rooms" without his express permission.
Pimm speaks to the golem. He tells it that he is attuned to the spirit world and knows that there is a spirit living inside it. He directly asks the golem where the emet scroll is. With a clap of thunder the golem's right arm appears fleetingly to point down at its feet. Pimm taps the golem's feet with a hard object and finds a hollow spot on the top of the golem's right foot. He opens this compartment and finds the emet scroll that he takes and puts in the golem's mouth. A slow heartbeat then commences. Pimm deliriously declares to the golem, "I am your master." When he is confronted and fired by Weal for disobeying his new rule, Pimm locks him in the room and orders the golem to kill him, which is promptly done with a blow to the head. Pimm is then awakened at home by Inspector White and his assistant who are investigating Weal's death. The police are more and more suspicious of Pimm after this murder.
Pimm meets Ellen in the park outside the museum the next day, and learns from her that she and Parkins had discovered Weal's body the night before. Pimm persuades Ellen to join him for lunch. After lunch Pimm tells Ellen that he can do anything. He tells her that he can have a nearby Thames bridge pushed down. That evening he awakens the golem by putting the emet scroll in its mouth and drives it to the bridge Pimm wants it to destroy. This it does but not without the two of them being seen.
Ellen and Parkins are at her apartment when they hear a news flash about the destruction of the Thames Bridge. Pimm calls Ellen, who does not recognize his voice due to his drunkenness. He wants to meet her to tell her all about what he has been doing with the golem. Ellen is ready to put him off, but Parkins indicates that he wants to see Pimm. When Pimm sees that it is Parkins rather than Ellen he changes the subject from the golem to his own inside track to becoming the new curator. Pimm tells Parkins that he will help him acquire the golem for the New York Museum.
Pimm wants to rid himself of the golem and the temptation it poses for him, so he tries to burn it by dousing it with gasoline in a shack that he sets on fire. The golem-inscription proves true for it that in the 20th century it can "neither by fire, nor water, nor force, nor anthing by man created" be destroyed. The golem accordingly returns to the museum to Pimm's dismay. The golem has to break into the museum to get back to its pedestal, which again draws the attention of the police and Parkins.
Parkins confronts Pimm in the "golem room" for he has seen him with the golem walking out of the museum. Pimm admits to being overwhelmed by the power that the golem gives him, but he rebuffs Parkins. The police pop out to arrest Pimm and put him into a mental hospital. Pimm telepathically contacts the golem, whom he had commanded to swallow the emet scroll. The golem breaks Pimm out of the mental hospital and helps him retrieve his mother's corpse and kidnap Ellen. Pimm as assistant curator obtains entrance to a remote annex of the museum called "the Cloisters" through an unsuspecting Miss Swanson. Miss Swanson tries to draw the authorities to the Cloisters to rescue her and Ellen when she realizes what Pimm is up to, but Pimm kills her with her own bonfire.
The British military finds that conventional mortars and rockets are useless against the golem, so they get clearance to detonate a small nuclear warhead with the capability of destroying anything within a mile radius. Parkins heroically saves Ellen, who is thrown out of the Cloisters by Pimm, who delusively thinks that Ellen might take his mother's place in his affections. Parkins and Ellen arrive at the sandbag barrier just in time to escape the nuclear explosion, which one soldier believes has annihilated everything. Remarkably, again, in accordance with the inscription, the golem comes through it all intact, but ends the film by walking into the ocean.
Seven Arts Productions
Seven Arts Productions was founded in 1957 by Ray Stark and Eliot Hyman. The company was a frequent producer of movies for other studios, including The Misfits for United Artists, Gigot for Twentieth Century-Fox, Lolita for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Is Paris Burning? for Paramount Pictures.Over...
and Gold Star Productions, Ltd. that features the Golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
as its main subject. The film was made in the style of the Hammer Studios films both in sound and cinematography. It! stars Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as the mad assistant museum curator Arthur Pimm, who evokes (brings to life) the golem by finding a hidden scroll in a hollowed out compartment of the golem's right foot and placing it under its tongue. Alan Sellers plays the golem, Jill Haworth plays Ellen Grove, and Paul Maxwell plays Jim Perkins. Herbert J. Leder is a producer, the screenwriter, and director of this film. Leder also produced, wrote, and directed Nine Miles to the Moon (1963), The Frozen Dead (1966), and The Candy Man (1969). He was the screenwriter for Fiend without a Face
Fiend Without a Face
Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
(1958), and Pretty Boy Floyd (1960).
Since Seven Arts Productions acquired Warner Brothers
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Communications Company in 1967 the film was released by Warner Brothers—Seven Arts
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was formed in 1967 and became defunct in 1970, when Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. for $32 million and merged with it. The deal also included Warner Bros. Records, Reprise Records and the B&W Looney Tunes library...
in the United States. The film was widely released in the US in 1967 on a double bill with The Frozen Dead
The Frozen Dead
The Frozen Dead is a 1967 British science-fiction film directed by Herbert J. Leder and starring Dana Andrews, Anna Palk and Philip Gilbert. In this film, a Nazi scientist plans to revive a number of frozen Nazi leaders.-Cast:* Dana Andrews - Dr. Norberg...
.
It! was never released on home video until December 9, 2008 when Warner Home Video released it with The Shuttered Room in its new series of "Horror Double Feature" DVDs.
Plot
The film begins by showing LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
firemen
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
fighting a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
fire
Conflagration
A conflagration or a blaze is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, health, or property. A conflagration can be accidentally begun, naturally caused , or intentionally created . Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage or diversion, and also can be the consequence of...
. The warehouse belongs to a London museum, whose curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
, Grove and curator's assistant, Arthur Pimm respond to the report of the fire. They inspect the rubble for anything salvageable. Standing undamaged in the smouldering ruins is a large rough-hewn stone statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
that Grove observes is made in the style of "Mid-European Primitive." He examines it, but carelessly places his umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
onto the statue's arms that are partially outstretched, parallel to each other (see image below). Pimm timidly keeps his distance, but provides Grove his magnifying glass
Magnifying glass
A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle ....
. As Pimm goes back to the car for a flashlight to aid in Grove's investigation he is stopped by Groves's death cry. Pimm returns to find him dead at the foot of the statue with the statue's right arm now somewhat lower than the other. Pimm suspiciously removes Grove's keys from his pocket and calls the police. The beginning credits
Motion picture credits
-Opening credits:Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture, or video game, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in...
are then shown.
Pimm is then seen entering his apartment in conversation with his mother, who is seen from the back in her rocking chair. He tells her that he believes he is sure to be chosen the new curator by the museum's board of trustees. He brings out a necklace with a jewel pendant, which he has borrowed from the museum for his mother to wear to indulge her. As he puts the necklace on his mother we see that she is a decaying corpse, reminiscent of Norman Bates
Norman Bates
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
's mother in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. The imagined rivalry in Pimm's mind between his dead mother and his personal attraction for Ellen Grove, the dead curator's daughter, is a minor subplot, which saves her life in the end.
The next day Pimm is in his office at the museum when Mr. Trimingham, presumably a museum official with higher authority than the curator, comes in demanding Grove's keys. Pimm pretends to find them when Trimingham dials the police. Pimm must find a way, then, to return to its display case the jewellery he borrowed the night before. An opportunity presents itself when the electrician, Ellis is killed by the newly installed statue falling on him after he had gone out of his way to mock it. Pimm discovers the dead man under the statue, cuing him to break into the display case and return the borrowed jewellery. The crime scene then looks like an apparent murder/robbery.
Mr. Trimingham wants to rid the museum of the statue due to its connection to the two unexplained deaths, and he contacts the New York Museum in order to sell them the statue. A Jim Parkins is sent to London to examine the statue. Parkins and Pimm examine the statue together, and Parkins also notices the Hebrew inscriptions on the robe of the statue as did Grove before. Parkins expresses his belief that the statue is a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
: either that constructed by Elizah de Helm in 1550 or Judah Loew
Judah Loew ben Bezalel
Judah Loew ben Bezalel, alt. Loewe, Löwe, or Levai, widely known to scholars of Judaism as the Maharal of Prague, or simply The MaHaRaL, the Hebrew acronym of "Moreinu ha-Rav Loew," was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who served as a leading rabbi in the city of...
at a later date. Parkins explains that the golem was built as a guardian of "the community," presumably the Jewish community for which it was constructed. He discovers an inscription that reads "Judah Loew, Prague, 1500" with the last two digits being undecipherable. Parkins is certain that the statue is authentic, but Pimm pretends to be skeptical. Parkins suggests making a rubbing of the Hebrew inscriptions, which Pimm secretly does.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, who translates the Hebrew inscription (see, below). He agrees to give Pimm the translation only if Pimm tells him where he got the rubbing. After the rabbi reads the translation Pimm tells him that it is from a statue from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. The rabbi exclaims that if it is authentic, it is the "great Golem," which would be the most powerful force on earth. The rabbi also tells Pimm as did Parkins that a small scroll, with the Hebrew word "emet" (אמת), "truth," written on it, placed in its mouth would bring it to life.
A new curator begins his duties at the museum, a Professor Weal, who describes himself as a "stickler" and a "fuss pot," stricter than Grove had been, who had been known as a "kidder." When Weal finds Pimm looking at the golem, he tells Pimm that he is making a new rule for the museum: no staff other than the night watchman may be in the "art rooms" without his express permission.
Pimm speaks to the golem. He tells it that he is attuned to the spirit world and knows that there is a spirit living inside it. He directly asks the golem where the emet scroll is. With a clap of thunder the golem's right arm appears fleetingly to point down at its feet. Pimm taps the golem's feet with a hard object and finds a hollow spot on the top of the golem's right foot. He opens this compartment and finds the emet scroll that he takes and puts in the golem's mouth. A slow heartbeat then commences. Pimm deliriously declares to the golem, "I am your master." When he is confronted and fired by Weal for disobeying his new rule, Pimm locks him in the room and orders the golem to kill him, which is promptly done with a blow to the head. Pimm is then awakened at home by Inspector White and his assistant who are investigating Weal's death. The police are more and more suspicious of Pimm after this murder.
Pimm meets Ellen in the park outside the museum the next day, and learns from her that she and Parkins had discovered Weal's body the night before. Pimm persuades Ellen to join him for lunch. After lunch Pimm tells Ellen that he can do anything. He tells her that he can have a nearby Thames bridge pushed down. That evening he awakens the golem by putting the emet scroll in its mouth and drives it to the bridge Pimm wants it to destroy. This it does but not without the two of them being seen.
Ellen and Parkins are at her apartment when they hear a news flash about the destruction of the Thames Bridge. Pimm calls Ellen, who does not recognize his voice due to his drunkenness. He wants to meet her to tell her all about what he has been doing with the golem. Ellen is ready to put him off, but Parkins indicates that he wants to see Pimm. When Pimm sees that it is Parkins rather than Ellen he changes the subject from the golem to his own inside track to becoming the new curator. Pimm tells Parkins that he will help him acquire the golem for the New York Museum.
Pimm wants to rid himself of the golem and the temptation it poses for him, so he tries to burn it by dousing it with gasoline in a shack that he sets on fire. The golem-inscription proves true for it that in the 20th century it can "neither by fire, nor water, nor force, nor anthing by man created" be destroyed. The golem accordingly returns to the museum to Pimm's dismay. The golem has to break into the museum to get back to its pedestal, which again draws the attention of the police and Parkins.
Parkins confronts Pimm in the "golem room" for he has seen him with the golem walking out of the museum. Pimm admits to being overwhelmed by the power that the golem gives him, but he rebuffs Parkins. The police pop out to arrest Pimm and put him into a mental hospital. Pimm telepathically contacts the golem, whom he had commanded to swallow the emet scroll. The golem breaks Pimm out of the mental hospital and helps him retrieve his mother's corpse and kidnap Ellen. Pimm as assistant curator obtains entrance to a remote annex of the museum called "the Cloisters" through an unsuspecting Miss Swanson. Miss Swanson tries to draw the authorities to the Cloisters to rescue her and Ellen when she realizes what Pimm is up to, but Pimm kills her with her own bonfire.
The British military finds that conventional mortars and rockets are useless against the golem, so they get clearance to detonate a small nuclear warhead with the capability of destroying anything within a mile radius. Parkins heroically saves Ellen, who is thrown out of the Cloisters by Pimm, who delusively thinks that Ellen might take his mother's place in his affections. Parkins and Ellen arrive at the sandbag barrier just in time to escape the nuclear explosion, which one soldier believes has annihilated everything. Remarkably, again, in accordance with the inscription, the golem comes through it all intact, but ends the film by walking into the ocean.
The film's golem inscriptions
- "Power bringeth destruction; beware, lest it be unleashed."
- "He who will find the secret of my life at his feet, him will I serve until beyond time.
- "He who shall evoke me in the 17th century, beware, for I cannot by fire be destroyed.
- "He who shall evoke me in the 18th century, beware, for I cannot by fire or by water be destroyed.
- "He who evokes me in the 19th century, beware, for I cannot by fire or by water or by force be destroyed.
- "He who in the 20th century shall dare evoke me, beware, for neither by fire, nor water, nor force, nor anything by man created can I be destroyed.
- "He who in the 21st century evokes me must be of God's hand himself because on this earth the person of man existeth no more."
Cast
- Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as Arthur Pimm - Jill HaworthJill HaworthValerie Jill Haworth was an English actress.Haworth was born in Sussex, to a textile magnate father and a mother who trained as a ballet dancer ....
as Ellen Grove - Paul MaxwellPaul MaxwellPaul Maxwell was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British television and films, in which he was usually cast as an American...
as Jim Perkins - Aubrey Richards as Professor Weal
- Ernest ClarkErnest ClarkErnest Clark was a British actor of stage, television and film.-Early life:Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving school he became a reporter on a local newspaper in Croydon...
as Harold Grove - Oliver Johnston as Curator Trimingham
- Noel Trevarthen as [Police] Inspector White
- Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (actor)Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor.He is best known for his role as Greg Preston in Survivors. Though he debuted in the second episode, "Genesis", Greg would become the male lead for the first series, and got to show off his singing and guitar playing in several episodes...
as Detective Wayne - Richard GooldenRichard GooldenRichard Goolden was a British actor, most famous for his portrayal of Mole from Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows...
as the old rabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah... - Dorothy Frere as Miss Swanson
- Tom ChattoTom ChattoTom Chatto was a British actor. He made some 28 appearances between 1957 and his death. Chatto appeared mostly in films, including Oscar Wilde in which he played the Clerk of Arraigns ....
as the young captain - Steve Kirby as Ellis the electrician
- Russell NapierRussell NapierRussell Gordon Napier was an Australian actor.Russell Napier was born in Perth, Western Australia. Originally a lawyer, Napier was active as an actor from 1947 to 1974, playing both comedic and dramatic roles in both cinema and television. Notably, he starred in a live BBC television production...
as Boss - Frank Sieman as museum workman
- Brian Haines as museum guard
- Mark BurnsMark BurnsMark Burns was an English film and television actor.Burns was born in Bromsgrove in the county of Worcestershire and educated at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire...
as first officer - Raymond Adamson as second officer
- Lindsay Campbell as policeman
- John Baker as second museum guard
- Alan Sellers as the golem