original production:
Cast: Gastón Santo (as "Gaston Santos") (Gaston/The Cowboy), Maria Duval (as "Mary Duval") (Maria Elena Garcia/Mary Ellen), Pedro D'Aguillón (as "Peter de Aguillon") (Coyote Loco), Carlos Ancira (as "Charles Ancira") (Felipe), Carolina Barret (as "Carol Barret") (Clotilde/Aunt Sarah), Quintin Bulnes (Indio), José Chávez Trowe (as "Jose Chavez") (Lencho), Eugenia Galindo (Clemencia), Antonio S. Raxel(as "Anthony S. Raxell") (Doctor), Hortensia Santoveña (as "Hortensia Santoveni") (doña María), Hernán Vera (as "Hernan Vera") (cantinero), Guillermo Alvarez Bianchi (don Emiliano), José Dupeyrón (henchman who shoots Lencho)
GUEST SYNOPSIS:
by David Wilt
Gastón and his sidekick Coyote Loco arrive at a remote hacienda, looking for María Elena. He has a small carved figurine that she had given to friends in the capital; he wants to know where it came from. María Elena tells him that her aunt Clotilde carved it and one other--now in the possession of the town doctor--after the death of her two children in the quicksands of the nearby swamp. The figurine, a crying woman, represents death. Clotilde herself died a year ago. Gastón leaves to visit the doctor in town.
Doña María, María Elena's aunt, goes to the family crypt with Lencho, a servant. Clotilde's tomb is there, but her body disappeared shortly after burial. Doña María has an electric alarm rigged to her tomb--a bell will ring if her body is disturbed after burial.
Clotilde's ghost has been seen by villagers, wandering through the swamp where her children died, wailing and crying for them: she is known as La Llorona. Doña María has placed a dagger in the face of the family clock, marking the hour when Clotilde died. This is supposed to keep Clotilde away. When María Elena hears them testing the bell, she pulls the knife from the clock and rushes to the crypt. Doña María collapses in fear when she sees María Elena with the dagger. Lencho is sent to town for the doctor.
However, a sniper shoots Lencho from ambush. Gastón and Coyote Loco pick up the wounded man and take him to town. The town doctor is in the cantina, getting drunk. Gastón tells him about the wounded man, but has to fight Indio and another man (the sniper, although he doesn't know it), who want to keep the doctor there. The doctor, working on Lencho, tells Gastón that he was in love with Clotilde, and now that she's dead he has no reason to live. Gastón reveals himself as a government agent, but swears the doctor to secrecy. They return to the hacienda to attend doña María.
At the hacienda, doña María and María Elena are waiting. Doña María says it is the anniversary of Clotilde's death; Clotilde blamed her for the death of the children, and now doña María fears that Clotilde will return to kill her. While María Elena is out of the room, the figure of Clotilde--who has long hair and a green, decayed face--enters and attacks doña María. As the doctor and Gastón arrive, doña María staggers out, her face bloody, and collapses at their feet. She soon dies. Shortly thereafter, the mysterious cry of La Llorona is heard: "Ay! Mis hijos!" ["Oh, my children!"]
Gastón reveals his identity to María Elena; the figurines that Clotilde carved were made of a mineral that exists only in close proximity to gold ore. The doctor is alone in a room of the hacienda when Clotilde appears and kills him; he's later found hanging upside down in the fireplace.
Gastón goes exploring in the swamp. He finds the hideout of Indio and his gang, and escapes after a gunfight. Falling into quicksand, Gastón is saved by his horse, Rayo de Plata.
Back at the hacienda, doña María is buried in the crypt, and the vault door is locked. However, a short time later the alarm bell rings, and when the crypt is opened, her coffin is gone! María Elena and Coyote Loco are confronted by doña María's "ghost," who hits Coyote Loco over the head with her cane. Later, Gastón explains that because doña María's body and her death certificate are missing, her death can't be proven. She can only be declared dead after 10 years have passed. This means the hacienda can't change hands, which could benefit someone who is searching for the gold ore. The hacienda administrator Emiliano makes a slip--he refers to Lencho being shot from ambush, a fact known only to Gastón, Coyote Loco, and the now-dead doctor (and to the villains). However, Gastón does not let on that he knows Emiliano and his assistant Felipe are the criminals.
Rayo de Plata's actions reveal a secret door to Gastón; he and María Elena go in, and find a hidden room underneath the crypt, with a mechanism that allows the coffins to be moved. Doña María's body is there. They are surprised by Emiliano and his henchmen, and a fight breaks out. Clotilde emerges from her coffin and pursues María Elena outside. María Elena is saved by Rayo de Plata, who kills Clotilde with her hooves. "Clotilde" is revealed to be Felipe, wearing a mask and wig. Gastón and Coyote Loco, peace restored, bid farewell to María Elena.
GUEST REVIEW:
by David Wilt
El Grito de la Muerte attempts to mix the two genres that Méndez was most successful in, placing a Western hero in a horror mise-en-scene and plot. It is not surprising that El Grito de la Muerte resembles El Vampiro and Misterios de Ultratumba, given that all 3 films were designed by Gunther Gerszo, written by Ramón Obón, and scored by Gustavo C. Carrión (the first and the third were also photographed by Víctor Herrera). Grito began production in July 1958, a short time after Misterios had finished shooting--the biggest difference between the two films (which share a number of cast members as well as almost identical technical credits) is that Grito is in color (as were all of Gastón Santos' Westerns), while Misterios was in black and white (as were virtually all Mexican horror films of the period).
Misterios de Ultratumba (a seriously underrated film) is a better horror film, since it does not have a "cheat" ending like Grito, nor is it burdened with the need for saloon brawls and gunfights that, as a Western, Grito contains. However, El Grito de la Muerte is a well-crafted film that is still quite entertaining.
El Grito de la Muerte "cheats" not only in its non-supernatural ending, but also throughout the film, by only showing Carolina Barret as Clotilde's ghost--only in the final struggle and unmasking does Carlos Ancira don the makeup, which doesn't really match the earlier shots. Gastón Santos generally played a sort of deadpan, noncommital hero, and he does so here. He never gets emotionally involved in the plot, but handles the action competently (in the saloon brawl, the doubles for Santos and Bulnes are pretty obvious, made more so by some poor continuity--Santos loses his hat and regains it in alternate shots). However, the film is otherwise made with some care, and the direction, photography, and art direction are all quite good. It's difficult to say if Méndez finally found his niche--horror films and Westerns--or if he simply improved as a director with age, or if he just happened to be the director of a number of films in a fairly short period of time that represent the felicitous combination of a number of talented people. Whatever the reason, this small group of films is worth watching.
SYNOPSIS:
A shirtless man, covered in blood, stumbles through a skeleton-infested swamp, and falls to the ground, dead.
A young Cowboy and his sidekick, Crazy Coyote, ride their horses to a local ranch. The Cowboy asks the residents, two men and three old women, to see a woman named Mary Ellen. One of the women, Mary Ellen's aunt Sarah, tells the Cowboy that the girl will be returning shortly, and he will have to wait.
Another woman, Jenny, escorts the Cowboy to the living room. The Cowboy notices a couple of odd things: a dagger stuck in a grandfather clock, and a spooky portrait of a ghostly woman.
Mary Ellen returns. The Cowboy introduces himself as a researcher and student of archeology. He shows Mary Ellen a red stone idol of a crying woman, and asks if she knows anything about it. Mary Ellen explains that the idol, and a twin just like it, were fashioned some time ago by her aunt, Chloe Vargas, who passed away a year ago, in grief over the violent death of her two sons.
A seedy lawyer, Mr. Bigelow, presents Mary Ellen with the Last Will and Testament of her dead aunt.
Sarah and her son, Tony, go downstairs, to a tomb beneath the house, and open it.
Mary Ellen goes to grab for the knife in the clock, but another woman, Clementine, beseeches her to stop. They argue over the validity of the local superstitions, that removing the dagger will bring the horrible "Crying Ghost" back from the dead!
Clementine asks how Chloe was able to escape from her tomb after her burial, if not for the sake of "ghosts." The old woman adds that the ghost of Chloe has been seen since, prowling the quicksand pits near the swamp. When Clementine leaves, Mary Ellen removes the knife anyway, determined not to succumb to fear.
Back in the tomb, Sarah has her son activate an alarm she's had set up. In case of her premature burial, she can signal for help. Mary Ellen shows Sarah the knife, and Sarah has a stroke.
The women send Tony to fetch the village doctor. The Cowboy and Crazy Coyote follow. They pass through the treacherous "Skeleton Swamp", and while there, the ranch hand is shot. The Cowboy and Crazy Coyote take the injured man into town. The would-be assassins follow them.
The Cowboy locates the doctor, drunk at the saloon. The two assassins also arrive at the saloon. The Cowboy convinces the doctor to look at the injured man. The assassins try to delay the Cowboy and the doctor, but a brawl breaks out, and the Cowboy knocks out the two toughs.
The Cowboy and the doctor look after Tony, as Crazy Coyote naps. While in the doctor's office, the Cowboy notices a red stone idol identical to the one already in his possession. He asks the doctor if he can purchase it, but the doctor refuses, telling instead his story of love and tragedy between himself and Chloe.
Back at the ranch, Sarah and Mary Ellen wait for the doctor. Meanwhile, a secret door opens, and a ghostly figure appears: the Crying Ghost of Chloe!
Sarah hears a noise. Mary Ellen goes to investigate, but sees nothing, and the ghost flees upon seeing her.
The doctor arrives at the ranch. Crazy Coyote goes to sleep in the hay, while the Cowboy and Mary Ellen go to fetch Sarah. When they find her, she has been killed by the crying ghost. The doctor verifies this.
The Crying Ghost wanders the halls, and returns to her secret passage, but Moonlight, the Cowboy's faithful and intelligent horse, witnesses this.
Later, the Crying Ghost leaves her lair again. The doctor hands Mary Ellen the death certificate, and asks for a drink. While searching for the cognac bottle, the Crying Ghost attacks and kills the doctor.
The Cowboy explains to Mary Ellen his real interest in the stone idols: they are carved from rock that only occurs near a vein of gold! He therefore thinks that all this ghost stuff is merely a ruse by crooks to scare the owners off the land, so they can have the gold for themselves.
The doctor is found hanging upside down from the fireplace.
The Cowboy returns to Skeleton Swamp, and finds the crooks' hide-out. The Cowboy peeks through a window, and witnesses the men poring over a booty of gold, but the crooks catch him spying, and a shootout ensues. The Cowboy whistles to Moonlight, who makes gun-shot noises and scares the crooks off. The Cowboy then falls into quicksand, but again the clever Moonlight saves him.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the men lower Aunt Sarah's coffin into her tomb. They make sure to set the alarm, as Sarah wished. The Cowboy returns, and Crazy Coyote fills him in.
Later that evening, the coffin alarm goes off. The assembled group run to the tomb. The tomb is intact, so they decide that Sarah must still be alive inside the coffin. They remove the lid; the coffin is empty!
Upstairs, Crazy Coyote and Mary Ellen wait for the others. Mary Ellen hears footsteps in the hallway. They look out the door, and see the ghost of Aunt Sarah approaching. Mary Ellen screams and runs, and Crazy Coyote faints.
The Cowboy returns, and asks Mary Ellen for Sarah's death certificate, but it is missing. The Cowboy explains that certain men want the gold that is hidden in the swamp, and all of these supernatural shenanigans can be attributed to these men, who he connects with the lawyer Bigelow and Phillipe, another one of the ranch hands.
Outside, Moonlight becomes agitated, and leads the Cowboy to the Crying Ghosts's secret door. The Cowboy opens it, and he and Mary Ellen go down a secret tunnel. They encounter what appears to be Aunt Sarah, but the Cowboy reveals it to be just a dummy with a lifelike mask. Further investigation uncovers Chloe's corpse, and a contraption that can make bodies disappear from the tomb.
Suddenly, the crooks appear, and a shootout ensues. The Cowboy appears to be shot, and Bigelow and one of his cronies prepare to kidnap Mary Ellen. The Cowboy jumps up, Crazy Coyote arrives, and they fight the crooks.
A corpse rises out of a coffin, and chases Mary Ellen. It appears to be the Crying Ghost. The ghost and Mary Ellen wrestle. Moonlight appears, and attacks the Crying Ghost, who falls to the ground. The Cowboy approaches the body, and rips off a mask; the Crying Ghost was really Phillipe!
The next day, as the Cowboy prepares to leave, he asks Mary Ellen to get the ranch back in shape. Mary Ellen thanks the Cowboy for his help. The Cowboy, Moonlight and Crazy Coyote ride off into the sunset.
THE END
REVIEW:
This is one of the few Mexi-Murray "horror" pictures to feature a pre-credits teaser (a shirtless man, covered in blood, stumbles through a skeleton-infested swamp, and falls to the ground, dead), which appears to have nothing to do with the plot, but is effective in creating whatever atmosphere this meager flick has to offer. (Actually, it may be that the man is one of Chloe's sons, who died a horrible death in the swamps and whose death precipitated her own breakdown.)
Titles roll over a creepy/primitive graphic of a cartoon skeleton laying on a prairie. One wonders if these charmingly cheesy graphics were designed by Murray & Company, or were the graphics for the original Mexican verison.
Otherwise, this is a lame, lame, lame entry in the Mexi-Murray sweepstakes, fun in a rip-off sorta way, talky and silly and corny to a fault, but probably unwatchable to anyone under 30! Hooray! Essentially a murder mystery set in a Western tableau, TLC has little in the way of horror to offer, other than the generally creepy notion of being buried alive, and the rarely-seen "Crying Ghost".
This flick has alot in common with THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTERS, including the star (Santos), the Western motif, the rare use of color, and the fake-out ending.
In its own way, the film is visually beautiful, with its grainy color pallete consisting of shades of red and blue, reminiscent of a 40's poverty row B-movie filmed in two-strip Cinecolor.
But the Western setting, as well as the talky, convoluted plot, makes for rough going. For instance, an extended barroom brawl looks like it could have been lifted from any number of 40's American B-Westerns.
And the star, Santos, is pretty ridiculous in his little rawhide Cowboy suit and scarf and hat, looking more like a escapee from a gay Halloween party than a bonafide macho hero.
Santos' sidekick (the same sidekick he had in SWAMP) is just as lazy and shiftless and chicken as in the other film, sort of a Mexican Gabby Hayes. All he wants to do here is sleep through the whole thing; foreshadowing the sentiment of the audience perhaps?
On the plus side, there's a nice, spooky village Main Street set, and a cheesy painting of the dead Aunt Ghostie, as well as the usual dank and spooky catacombs sets.
The unmasking ending is so similar to that in THE SWAMP OF LOST MONSTERS, one can see this as its companion piece, and be thankful one wasn't lured into a double bill of these two red-n-blue stinkers!
COMMENTS:
* (updated 02-14-06) 
Thanks to a terrific new book we just received, "Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold" by Kevin Heffernan, (2004, Duke University Press), we have been able to update the U.S. television release date for this Murray horror title to 1965. The appendices to this study of the horror film in America, circa 1955-1968, include complete listings of syndication feature film packages from many distributors, including American International Television, who subleased the K. Gordon Murray film catalog under the title THRILLERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD. It seems that 1965 was the watershed year for genre film sold to television, with a veritable flood of titles released by both domestic and foreign distribs.
* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!
* Fernando Méndez directed his first film in 1940, and eventually worked on 62 films before his death in 1966, but his reputation rests primarily on a handful of pictures he directed between 1956 and 1960: 4 horror films--Ladrón de Cadáveres, El Vampiro, El Ataúd del Vampiro, Misterios de Ultratumba--and 5 Westerns, 2 with Gastón Santos and 3 in the "Hermanos Diablo" series. His other directorial efforts are routine and adequate at best (more than half of his credits are for screenwriting work on films he did not direct), but these 7 films are well-known among Mexican film scholars for the skill and care of their execution. Ironically, the horror films and Westerns are almost diametric opposites: the Westerns, shot mostly outdoors on location, while the horror films are studio-bound, a very stylized, controlled environment. (David Wilt)
* Here's an odd thing: when "the Cowboy" rides through the death swamp, there's a close-up of a crudely-lettered sign, ("SKELETON SWAMP") that looks suspiciously like an insert shot. Did Murray actually go through the trouble of filming this and sneaking it in for the benefit of his US audience? Why would he bother? Then again, why would the original filmmakers?
addenda: 02-09-02
Mexican film fan Mark Barnard recently sent us this interesting revelation:
"The speculation concerning the sign at the swamp in EL GRITO DE LA MUERTE/THE LIVING COFFIN is on the mark. I recently picked up the Mexican prerecord of this, and the original sign is indeed in Spanish.
"The original sign is also in the same, rather murky color scheme (it looks to have been lettered on a sheet of trimmed down, mauve cardboard) that typifies the film's fairly unconvincing "exterior" sets at the hacienda and at the nearby town.
"This, however, could be due to discoloration in the film stock of the master print used in making the "Clasicas De Oro" series tapes. My studio copy of PANTANO DE LAS ANIMAS is similarly dark, though nowhere as reddened as the TV (and U.S. prerecord video) prints for the reworked THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTER."
Be sure to visit Mark at Save the Galaxy!
NOTABLE DIALOGUE:
