Saturday, October 31, 2015

LAS GARRAS DE LORELEI - Antón García Abril - "The Loreley's Grasp" (1974)

Well, here we are! We finally made it to the end of another Hallowe'en Countdown, and I'm going to leave you this year with a Spanish made movie that is based on the classic German legend "Die Lorelei" written by Heinrich Heine in 1824! Now it just so happens that Tabonga! and Eegah!! are very familiar with this classic tale because it was required reading in our German I class in high school, and since we both had to take the class twice, it makes the story even more familiar to us!

"Die Lorelei" or The Loreley is a 433 feet high slate cliff in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage near the town of St. Goarshausen in Germany! The heavy currents and a small waterfall cause the rock to make a murmuring sound. The rock and the murmur it creates have inspired various tales over the years of sirens and such! The original title of this movie is "Las Garras De Lorelei," but it has been released in English not only as "The Loreley's Grasp," but also as "When The Screaming Stops!" It's got a fairly nifty soundtrack that was written by Antón (Island Of The Doomed, The Werewolf Versus The Vampire Woman) García Abril, and here's just a small sample of what I'm talking about! 

 This fraulein is never going to make it to her own wedding!

 Bratwurst and Beer! This is Germany for sure!
You know, "In heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here!"

The local boarding school for girls calls out for some security after people start to get brutally murdered by what appears to be some creature of the night!

This just might be the last year of the rubber monster in film making outside of Japan! I'm sure they would have liked to have had a monster as cool as "It, The Terror From Beyond Space," "The Creature From The Black Lagoon," or "The Monster From Piadras Blancas," but instead, they resorted to one gloved hand and a whole lot of shadows, but that's better than no monster at all!

Tony (The Three Fantastic Supermen, Kommissar X) Kendall is the guy they call to guard the girls and track down the monster! His name is Sirgurd, he's a hunter and a horndog, and perfect for the job!!

 The story of "Die Lorelei" has inspired writers poets, singers, and songwriters of all ilks from Felix Mendelssohn to Styx, Roxy Music, Scorpions, Wishbone Ash, and The Pogues!
It's only fitting that Helga (Mr. X) Liné has the role! 

 It seems this Loreley has a penchant for fresh broken hearts! 
This shot goes out to the "Z" Man!

Sirgurd is hot for every gal he has ever met including Lorelei!

AARRRAAGGHHH!!!!

These two boarding school babes managed to escape being slashed to death!

Silvia Eulalia Catalina Tortosa López aka Silvia (Horror Express, The Brother From Space) Tortosa has the role of the beautiful but stern headmistress! 

Following the lead of the Lorelei myth, Sirgurd goes diving, and finds himself a cave! One key point is that he has brought some dynamite with him just in case he has to seal the deal!

That's quite the underground cave that Loreley has, there must be a Starbucks around the corner or somewhere close if I had to guess!

 The 1973 animated "Star Trek" episode titled "The Lorelei Signal" is about a planet of beautiful women who lure ships to their world and the ships' crew to their deaths.
This particular Loreley has a trio of girlfriends living in her cave that is never really explained, or in my case, understood!

I'm thinking the only way to see what this Loreley monster really looks like would to be to find some production stills somewhere! As the mailman said when he saw one of Tabonga's paintings one time,
"Is that teeth?"

Yep! Those was teeth, and this is what one of them eyes looks like! That's about all you're ever gonna get!

 Among all the other marvels of the universe, the Marvel Comics character Lorelei was also inspired by this legend!
That's how strong the song of Lorelei really is!
Be safe out there in the domain of ghosts and goblins tonight!
You never know what's lurking around the next corner!
And Thanx again to the whole gang over at the Hallowe'en Countdown! We'll see you all again next year!

4 comments:

  1. I've never seen it, but it would be interesting seeing Tony Kendall in something completely serious, after knowing him from the KOMMISSAR X movies, where he plays just about the ultimate "swinging spy" character, who can hardly stay serious for ten minutes.

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  2. I'm not sure how serious it all was really Grant, but I'm cleaning house and I'll make you a Helluva deal if you want my copy to see for yourself!

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  3. Are you offering many other items?

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  4. Post your email address Grant, I won't publish it but I'll contact you!

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