The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962)

Starring Barbara Steele, Robert Flemyng, Silvano Tranquilli, Maria Teresa Vianello, Harriet Medin
Directed by Riccardo Freda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Twelve years after the accidental death of his wife, an acclaimed surgeon returns to his mansion with a new bride, who soon becomes convinced the house is haunted.

I viewed the American release of this Italian chiller, which according to film historian Troy Howarth has had scenes cut from the original, which likely explains why I found some of the film's subtexts a little difficult to understand.  The film however is a well-photographed and paced gem, with fine direction by Freda, which keeps the audience guessing as to what is going on.  This isn't one of Steele's greatest roles, playing the victimized second wife, but she's fine in the part, and gives the audience its entryway into the story and central character to follow.  Roman Vlad's music score, although at times a bit simplistic and at others a bit over the top, gives the thriller a worthy musical setting that helped sustain my interest.  I look forward to seeking out the Italian release in hopes of an even richer cinema experience.

The Ghost (1963)

Starring Barbara Steele, Peter Baldwin, Elio Jotta, Harriet Medin, Carol Bennet
Directed by Riccardo Freda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

While a scientist is being treated for his paralysis, his wife has an affair with his doctor and convinces him to kill the scientist, but they're both haunted by his apparent ghost afterward.

We have here an interesting psychological thriller from Italian director Freda, although curiously set in Scotland, fronted by gothic horror star Barbara Steele.  Freda and his cameraman Raffaele Masciocchi exquisitely frame Steele's face and eyes in closeups to great effect and the screenplay makes clever use of the ghost's appearances.  Sometimes objects move on their own, sometimes we see manifestations of the scientist's decaying body, and sometimes he communicates to Steele and Baldwin in his own voice through his mansion's maid who is also a medium.  There are also twists and turns as the lovers find their future plans not as easy to achieve at first thought.  Film historian Troy Howarth pointed out to me that despite the return of actors from Steele's and Freda's The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, as well as the use of the surname Hitchcock in this film, it's not related to the earlier picture, but it's certainly worthy of standing on its own merits, which are many.