The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964 TV Movie) User Reviews

"I don't believe in ghosts, but I'm afraid of them"

[boblipton · 7/10 · 5 February 2023]

Blind, incredibly wealthy Tom Simcox keeps getting phone calls from his mother. She has been dead for some time, but possessed of a fear of being entombed while still alive, had a phone installed in her crypt. Simcox's wife, Diane Baker, seeks out architect and skeptical ghost hunter Martin Landau to find out what is going on. Does this link to an earlier case of murder-by-ghost that turned out to be poisoning?

It's a very well cast and run little spooky movie, originally intended as a pilot for a TV anthology series. Landau's intelligence and low-affect performance serve it well, and writer-director Joseph Stefano has a good arc of what starts out as atmosphere, and bursts into something more disquieting. With Judith Anderson and Nellie Burt.

Disappointing

[Martinjsxx · 5/10 · 6 February 2023]

I was excited to find out about this movie which was made by and starred a lot of people associated with The Outer Limits series. Sadly it wasn't close to being as good as an average Outer Limits episode.

The plot is all over the place and the odd title of the movie is a clue as to how convoluted the episode is.

There are also too many details and scenes which are unnecessary. The husband receiving spooky phone calls is blind but his blindness doesn't really factor into the plot. The ghost hunter meets a sexy blonde on the beach and arranges to meet her later but that is the last we see of her. Why was she in the movie? It's as if they planned to use her later on but ran out of time. The architect's boss has a few scenes but he too adds nothing to the plot.

Also it is not scary. It's just a mess of a movie with a poor resolution. I can see why it wasn't picked up for a series. It's just a bad movie.

A great dame faces her darkest shadows.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 27 March 2019]

The terrific Dame Judith Anderson is once again the holder of the secrets in this TV pilot that didn't go anywhere America simply because it was far too scary for television audiences at the time. She's once again cast as a spooky housekeeper, dressed very witch like and highly reminding me of Grayson Hall later on the TV soap opera "Dark Shadows". It is ironic that one of Hall's TV characters on that soap opera was obviously based on Anderson's character of Mrs. Danvers in the classic Hitchcock masterpiece "Rebecca", for here, Anderson is both gloomy and sympathetic as a woman whose intentions are unknown and could either be sympathetic...or sinister.

Cast opposite Anderson is the future Oscar-winning Martin Landau, acclaimed for his role of Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood", here playing a master of decoding the presence of ghostly creatures, and Diane Baker ("Straight Jacket") as the wife of a blind man and a victim of ghostly apparitions, believing that her mother was murdered by a ghost in a nearby mission. it appears that approximately 20 minutes of footage has been deleted from the print that I found, but what remains tells the story quite thoroughly and left no questions unanswered. Some of the ghostly apparitions reminded me of the William Castle cult classic "13 Ghosts", and there are moments that are genuinely more frightening than any of the theatrical release horror movies of this time. That makes this a must for fans of moody ghost stories, with Anderson and Landau truly magnificent in their characterizations.

The Bleeding Ghost movie

[dusteemane · 6 November 2007]

I too saw this in 1964 in Manila, Philippines and my sister and I would love to see it again....it was so scary and we thought no one else remembered this movie...so I was surprised to see a lot of people have seen it as well...please let us know if anyone knows how to get a copy of it. I remember the howling cry of the bleeding ghost as it went down a hallway and the scary fish pond !!! and also the phone by the coffin and the bony hand reaching out for it when it rang !!! I hope we'll get to see it again..I'm 50 now so getting on in age..saw this when I was about 7 yrs old ...please someone find it so we can see it again !..thanks so much....and have a great day !

The Bleeding Ghost

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 28 October 2022]

A busted pilot for a TV anthology proudly declaring itself "created by Joseph Stefano", who flush with the success of 'The Outer Limits' assembled about him a cast and crew of veterans of his earlier triumph; plus Diane Baker as her usually stylish but flawed heroine.

Set a spacious seashore house like Manderlay - complete with the original Mrs Danvers - there's a lot of talk but when she finally appears the ghost is satisfyingly ghoulish. The thing is glacially photographed by Conrad Hall, the atmosphere reinforced by music by Dominic Frontiere and by the eerie use of sound effects like crashing waves and wailing winds.

Nothing really adds up ... yet, it's still a great little horror flick!

[CammieinOz · 7/10 · 16 June 2023]

The synopsis for The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre differs from the actual movie storyline. OK, yes, the telephone rings from a connection to the crypt BUT as the story goes on, there's no relevance. Creepy housekeeper, played brilliantly by fellow Aussie actress Dame Judith Anderson (she was wonderful in Hitchcock's Rebecca) is a sinister, mysterious character. Diane Baker as Vivia is also very good as the frightened wife of a rich, blind man. There's obviously some hocus-pocus afoot, hence the entry of Martin Landau as Orion.

This was originally filmed as a pilot for an anthology TV series which never got picked up because it was considered too dark for 1960s viewers. Extra footage was then added and it was aired as a TV movie.

I give it a 7/10.

Little known, but pretty enjoyable

[Milk_Tray_Guy · 7/10 · 29 October 2022]

Nice ghost story, directed by Joseph Stefano and starring Martin Landau as architect and paranormal investigator, Nelson Orion. He agrees to look into the case of a man apparently receiving phone calls from beyond the grave - but things soon take another turn. Tom Simcox plays the blind client, Diane Baker his wife, and the new housekeeper is Judith Anderson (the sinister Mrs Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock's version of Rebecca). The performances are good - especially from Landau and Anderson - and despite some of the effects looking a bit hokey today, it's pretty atmospheric with some great seafront and clifftop locations. This was originally intended as a pilot for a proposed TV series called The Haunted (the whole thing has a distinctly Dan Curtis feel to it). In the end the series wasn't picked up, so additional scenes were filmed and it was released as a standalone feature. Very enjoyable - should be better known. 7/10.

One of the worst looking ghosts ever

[Stevieboy666 · 4/10 · 4 January 2023]

Martin Landau, who I best remember for being in the TV series "Space 1999", plays Nelson Orion, a suave looking and cool architect, he is also a paranormal investigator. He is approached by one Vivia Madore, the attractive wife of the rich but blind Henry. Poor Henry is convinced that his dead mother is haunting him via a telephone. This movie starts off promising, nice cinematography, atmosphere, spooky music and an interesting plot. Then we see the ghost and it looks utterly dreadful. Furthermore the plot twists and turns, sadly for the worse and in the end I was rather relieved when the end credits rolled. Much of the second half takes place "in the dead of night" yet it was obviously filmed in broad daylight. Orion meets a pretty blonde girl on the beach beneath his modern house, they arrange a date but she curiously is not seen again. Looks like my review goes against the grain but I was honestly disappointed with this.

One of the most frightening made for TV works of horror ever produced

[interface_arts · 9/10 · 27 December 2005]

In '64 or '65 my father ,who was working at CBS brought home a 16mm print of this film which had been screened at the network as a potential pilot,but was rejected because the network (CBS) felt it was too scary for television audiences. I was 7 years old at the time& my Brother was 9 when we first watched this film, and it was the most frightening thing we had ever seen."The Bleeding Ghost" as we referred to it gave us both nightmares for many years to follow,but we still watched it over &over again.When I was 18 my families house burned completely to the ground & the 16mm print was lost in the fire with everything else.I am now 47 and images & sounds from this film still linger in my mind.My father, my brother & I would all very much like to find a copy,in any form, of this classic work of horror. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

a very good chiller

[crmurton-1 · 7/10 · 9 February 2005]

I have seen this film a number of times, since it was not uncommonly screened on Australian late night television in the 1960s.

Martin Landau's wife is dead, and interred in a crypt in the grounds of the family mansion. There is a phone line leading from the crypt to inside the house itself, and when it rings anguished sobbing is heard on the line.

Martin Landau believes it is his wife's ghost sobbing, but in fact it is connected with the ghost of an old Spanish mission, a painting of which is on the wall of the main room of the house.

The film is strong on atmosphere. There are slow, lingering shots which follow the phone line out of the house, and down to the granite crypt, which are quite creepy. However, the ghost, when it appears, is a disappointment.

The film never leaves the house and its grounds, and looks cheaply made, but it is one of those 'irresistable' films; the type that might become a cult favourite. Now I know why it looks cheap - it was a TV pilot!

Great TV movie

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 1 January 2021]

Written, produced and directed by Joseph Stefano, author of the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Eye of the Cat, Home for the Holidays, Snowbeast and The Kindred, this was originally a pilot for pilot for an anthology series for CBS called The Haunted. Sadly, it was never picked up*.

Nelson Orion (Martin Landau) is an architect who has an affinity for the occult. His fiancee, Vivia Mandore (Diane Baker), is haunted by the mother of her first husband. If they want a future, the past must be dealt with.

This is way better and cooler than it had any right to be and man, I wish we could have seen more of Orion - housebuilder by day, ghostbuster by night - in more adventures.

*One theory is that the network received complaints that the movie was too scary and disturbing, so the project was canceled. Another - and potentially more likely situation - was that CBS president James T. Aubrey had originally greenlit the show and when he stepped down, they had no one in power who was interested in the series.

An incredibly frightening experience

[jbennett-13 · 10/10 · 30 March 2005]

I caught this on late-night Sydney television in the '60s as a young boy who had been allowed to stay up late. Really bad move. I was unable to sleep for days I was so terrified. The memory still occasionally haunts me: the idea of things happening in sealed crypts is something of a staple of the horror genre (it always reminds me of the infamous Chase family vault in Barbados, something someone should make a movie about!) but The Ghost of Sierra Cobre was also incredibly moody and suspenseful and the denouement shocking. I'm not surprised the TV execs "soiled their garments" when Stefano and Martin Landau screened it for them. I've been chasing this one for 40 years without success. I hope these comments put the heat on some Hollywood archivist to track it down and get it out there.

Perfect for a 🎃 Halloween party, or a stormy night...

[vnssyndrome89 · 6/10 · 30 June 2023]

THE GHOST OF SIERRA DE COBRE (1964)

BASIC PLOT: Nelson Orion (Martin Landau) is an architect by day, and a 'psychical consultant' by night. He's been hired by the Mandore family to investigate strange phones calls coming from the Mandore crypt. Henry Mandore (Tom Simcox) has been blind since birth, and he's been receiving phones calls from his mother's tomb. No one speaks, but a haunting wailing can be heard on the line.

Henry's mother was so afraid of being buried alive, she installed a telephone next to her coffin, and ordered her coffin never to be closed. His mother's been dead awhile, but when his wife, Vivia Mandore (Diane Baker), went out of town on business, the phone calls began. The servants were all scared away, but because Henry is blind, they did get him a replacement. A strange woman named Paulina (Judith Anderson) has come to help, or has she?

WHAT WORKS: *This is a great atmospheric, the Mandore house, the family cemetery, and the tomb are creepy, as is Paulina, the new housekeeper. Orion's house is also beautiful, but it's lonely, windswept location has something unearthly about it too.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *A scene at the beginning has Vivia Mandore terrified of the new housekeeper, Paulina. She is creepy, but not that creepy. Why is she so scared of her?

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I would definitely recommend this movie. It's perfect for a 🎃 Halloween party, or a stormy night in front of the fire. It's great fun! Martin Landau, Judith Anderson, Diane Baker, and Tom Simcox all give stand out performances.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

my favorite ghost story film ( contains spoilers)

[sonnythefat · 9/10 · 27 August 2013]

I also saw this film on TV in Sydney Australian several times in the late nineteen sixties and early seventies. Very scary and Moody with a great soundtrack . martin landau was a skeptical paranormal investigator and there was a twist with a tourist scam going wrong .and a tragic death and mistaken supernatural identity.the scene where the "ghost" is revealed is super scary and original i have most of my favorite ghost story films on DVD like "lets scare Jessica to death" "ugetsu" "the uninvited" "13 gantry row" "carnival of souls" and "The shining so if there is a DVD of ghost of it can be found I want a copy too

this film on DVD anywhere?

[harry_erdos · 10/10 · 3 March 2005]

i remember seeing this film as a child, in Sydney in the sixties, on the Deadly Earnest Show..scared the crap out of me..and i don't believe in ghosts. i saw it again years later and it was still great...the scene in the crypt has stayed with me as one of the biggest scares i ever got out of a movie. i would love to get a copy of this film, if anyone knows of it being on DVD anywhere. if you get a chance to see it don't miss it, especially if you like creepy dark tales.minimum special effects and really great suspense, i can't understand why it didn't do really well, especially with Stefano's credits.somebody must be able to do something...please!

The restoration is coming.

[quickwatson · 3 August 2018]

Kino Lorber have announced that they will release on Blu-ray Joseph Stefano and Robert Stevens' film The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964), starring Judith Anderson, Martin Landau, Diane Baker, Nellie Burt, and Tom Simcox. The release will be available for purchase on October 16, 2018

Please note that supplemental features for this upcoming release have not yet been finalized.

Very fine made-for-TV horror film.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 16 June 2019]

In the mid 1960s, a pilot titled 'The Haunted' was shot in the hopes of launching a new series that would be something like 'The Twilight Zone' and 'The Outer Limits', but would concentrate more on flat-out horror. The series was not picked up, so what we now have is a stand-alone TV movie that is good and interesting, and a notable entry into genre television. (There also exists the version 'The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre', which includes some additional scenes, and which this reviewer will be referring to.) Robert Stevens, a veteran of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and TZ, started directing, but fell very ill, and directing chores were then turned over to writer-producer Joseph Stefano, who of course had adapted Robert Blochs' novel "Psycho" for Hitchcock.

Martin Landau stars as Nelson Orion (a neat name, that), an architect who fights for the preservation of historical buildings. He also dabbles in the supernatural, because it's an interesting subject for him. He investigates hauntings, yet doesn't automatically reach for the most outlandish explanation. He grants that a good number of them can be no more than pranks, or otherwise have a reasonable explanation. He comes to the aid of blind rich man Henry Mandore (episodic TV veteran Tom Simcox), who thinks he's being haunted by his late mother. The plot thickens in intriguing ways, as Nelson meets Henry's wife Vivia (the pretty Diane Baker, "Strait-Jacket") and mysterious housekeeper Paulina (Dame Judith Anderson, "Rebecca").

'The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre' can legitimately claim to be genuinely spooky. It has the kind of wonderful atmosphere that the best "old dark house" movies possess. Two of the people responsible for its great look are the renowned cinematographers Conrad L. Hall ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") and William A. Fraker ("Rosemary's Baby"). (The latter was the camera operator here.) And Dominic Frontiere did the shuddery score.

The movie doesn't miss opportunities for humour, considering the relationship that Nelson has with his witty housekeeper, Mary Finch (Nellie Burt, another TV veteran). She professes not to believe in the supernatural, while he prefers to be open to all possibilities. This leads to an interesting conversation between the two of them.

This is sort of done in the tradition of great black & white horror like "The Haunting" (1963), except that this time we do get to see the spirit, and it's a pretty good effect for a TV movie shot over 50 years ago. It's appropriately gnarly-looking.

More people should be made aware of this one. At the least, it's a good candidate for a cult favourite.

Eight out of 10.

I remember this one too!

[waynea3 · 8/10 · 15 June 2009]

I can remember this being shown on Melbourne TV a few times in the 60's, and the 70's; always very late at night. It was the most effective ghost story I can ever remember seeing: it scared me stupid as a kid. Surely this still exists in someones "vault" of movies. I hope it one day sees the light of day on DVD. If Martin Landau does have a copy perhaps a copy can be made of this, then it can be digitally restored for us all to enjoy. At the very least it would make an excellent addition to a "decent" classic Outer Limits DVD set (presently they have no extras at all) as a tribute to Joseph Stefano. A few years ago I contacted TV stations, particularly our ABC in Australia but sadly no memory of this film exists with anyone now.

Nifty and effective made-for-TV supernatural horror chiller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 5 December 2018]

Paranormal expert Nelson Orion (an excellent performance by Martin Landau) investigates a case involving a deceased woman who's reportedly making phone calls from beyond the grave.

Writer/director Joseph Stefano relates the compelling story at a steady pace, ably crafts a supremely spooky atmosphere, and makes the most out of the isolated seaside setting. The fine acting by the capable cast keeps this movie humming: Diane Baker as the concerned Vivia Mandore, Tom Simcox as tormented blind man Henry, Judith Anderson as the sinister Paulina, and Nellie Burt as cheery housekeeper Mary Finch. The plot has a few neat twists and turns while the howling and moaning ghost rates as a genuinely unsettling apparition. Conrad L. Hall's crisp black and white cinematography boasts several snazzy stylistic flourishes. Dominic Frontiere's score is a tad overwrought at times, but does the shivery trick just the same. Well worth a watch.

Amazing. Read other's reviews

[neonblade-2 · 10/10 · 24 October 2019]

I'm just about to re-watch this after many years. Like many reviewers here I saw this on Deadly Earnest's TV show in Sydney around 1970. I was about 13 at at the time. Like many other reviewers here I've never forgotten it. It scared the hell out of me. I remember having nightmares for days afterwards. Looking forward to watching it again.

Lost TV pilot

[ChungMo · 27 January 2005]

This film was produced by Joseph Stephano after he left the Outer Limits series. It was apparently intended as a pilot for a new TV series.

I first found out about the film when many years ago I read a limited edition book about TV pilots, it may be "Unsold TV Pilots: The Almost Complete Guide to Everything You Never Saw on TV 1955-1990" or not. The book belonged to a friend. Regardless the description of the pilot features a colorful comment by Martin Landau who describes the network executives at the first screening soiling their garments. He also says it was one of the best things he had worked on ever.

The pilot may have been re-edited for a theatrical release but it apparently never was shown in the United States outside that network executive screening. If "INCUBUS" was found, somebody should dig this one up

Chills in broad daylight!

[tellstar · 9/10 · 23 August 2015]

I saw this film circa 1975 in London, Ontario on a local afternoon movie presentation on CFPL-TV. Like the other reviewers, the viewing left me chilled to the bone—in broad daylight! I saw the film twice before it disappeared permanently from the local airwaves. Even though 40 years have passed, I don't believe I'm exaggerating the doleful atmosphere of the film, or the effectiveness of the shock sequences and climax. I've spoken to two or three people who remember it being as horrifying as I do. I've read that the shorter pilot film for The Haunted is more effective than the full-length TV movie, but this film didn't feel padded at all. Demanding a DVD!

commentary

[bghezzi · 10/10 · 10 August 2006]

I saw this film in 1964 in Manila, Phillipines. It has to be the scariest film i've ever seen. I now live in Sydney, Australia. I concur with the other Sydney people who saw this film on Deadly Earnest, a show i also enjoyed. I cannot believe this rare classic hasn't been put on video or DVD!! Please somebody, even if it is only the venerable martin landau, release this film on DVD now because it would be inestimably valuable in educating the current batch of 'film makers' on how to scare the crap out of people without CGI or any other rubbish!! Long live Joseph DI Stefano! He was a true genius, whose Outer Limits show is still the best ever science-fiction TV, in terms of writing, direction and acting. Production be damned: who cares if the budget is non-existent when the quality of the writing is so magnificent...

Exceptional horror movie

[jacqsagot · 10/10 · 9 April 2012]

Indeed, "The ghost of Sierra de Cobre" is a masterpiece of the horror genre. I saw it several times, broadcasted on TV in the early seventies, in my home country, Costa Rica. I assume it must have been released worldwide, but probably not in theaters. I would give anything to see it again. It made a profound impression on me when I was a child, but something tells me the movie must have aged well, and still retain most of its power. I would appreciate any hint as to how avail myself of this underrated, little known jewel full of Gothic atmosphere, terrifying special effects, with a superb Judith Andersson repeating, to a certain point -but still extremely effectively, the role of Ms. Danvers in Hitchcock's Rebbeca, from 1940. Andersson is even more sinister in this supernatural story. As long as I live, I will remember the crying and the laments of the woman who calls on the phone, from her grave, and the blurred, hallucinating ectoplasm -the ghost- appearing in the haunted mansion, All the elements of the Hawthorne-Poe world are there. Admiteddly, it is a formula-movie, but a movie that precisely proves that the good old formula still works, when the ingredients are intelligently used. Eerie, very eerie. Now that there is so much talk about "The lady in black", one can clearly see from where some of its images are taken. Landau is, as usual, wonderful, but few would argue that it is Andersson -with her Bela Lugosi profile and small, penetrating eyes, who steals the show. She always did, anyways. She simply was one of those actors with whom no one could not compete. I remain perplex of the fact that this movie did not become an iconic classic of its genre. Splendid photography, atmospheric lighting, haunting music... what can I say. I would be very grateful with whoever could give me some hints about the best way to have this movie. I have been looking for it for over twenty years! "The uninvited" (Ray Milland) and "The innocents" (Deborah Kerr: based on James's "Another turn of the screw") were clearly influential in the conception of "The ghost of Sierra de Cobre".

I think Martin Landau has the only copy!

[dmacpherson12-1 · 9/10 · 15 January 2006]

Similar to the other viewer, I saw this film when I was 9 years old back in 1966 on Canadian T.V. It was a failed pilot for what eventually became The Outer Limits series. Joseph Stefano wrote it and it (apparently) has also appeared under it's alternative title "The Haunted". It features a 'bleeding ghost' and a wickedly chilling story. For some reason it has failed to reach the video stage. Even one of the stars, Martin Landau, has said he used to show his 'two reeler' version of the film for guests in his home and it 'scared the crap out of them'. You can read more about the film in the latest Outer Limits Guide which talks about how they were originally going for a 'Ghost Story' style series, but the studio passed on that concept in favor of sci-fi. I believe a series called 'Ghost Story' which later became 'Circle of Fear' hit the small screen about five years later. Someone please get this 'Ghost' on DVD!