Dementia 13 (1963) on Netflix
Louise Haloran hides her husband John's death so she can still claim a share of his mother's estate. She arrives at the family's Irish castle, where an axe murderer stalks the grounds.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Louise Haloran and her husband John argue in a rowboat on a lake at night about his mother's will, which sends the family fortune to charity under the name of a girl called Kathleen. The quarrel and the rowing bring on a heart attack, and John dies, warning her that if he goes before his mother she will inherit nothing. Louise lets the body sink, then writes to Lady Haloran to say she is coming to the Irish castle while John is away on business. The family gathers there for its yearly tribute to Kathleen, a daughter lost years earlier in the estate pond, and Lady Haloran faints as she does every year. Louise sees how superstitious the old woman is and decides to make her believe Kathleen is speaking from beyond the grave.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Dementia 13 (1963)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Coppola quietly arranged an extra $20,000 for Dementia 13 by pre-selling the European rights to producer Raymond Stross, hid the money from Roger Corman, and moved Corman's $22,000 into a bank account so an angry Corman could not reclaim it.
- Roger Corman stormed out of the screening room and demanded changes Coppola disagreed with, dubbing the film with voiceovers and insisting on at least one more axe murder.
- Because he thought the film too short, Corman had a prologue shot in which an actor playing a psychiatrist gives the audience a test to see if they were mentally fit to watch the picture; it was released with the film.
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1976 debut single "American Girl" opens with a lyrical reference to a line spoken by Louise Haloran in the film: "...especially an American Girl. You can tell she's been raised on promises."
- William Campbell said Coppola promised him future roles as an "I-owe-you-one" but never delivered, and that after Dementia 13 he could not get through to Coppola again, even when trying for a cop or gangster part in The Godfather.
- Francis Ford Coppola had already worked on at least two sexploitation films before Dementia 13, which was his first mainstream, "legitimate" directing effort.
