The Cabinet of Caligari (1962)

The Cabinet of Caligari (1962) is a film by Roger Kay, starring Glynis Johns, Dan O'Herlihy, and Richard Davalos, and released by 20th Century Fox.

Although the film has a title that is very similar to that of the acclaimed silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), it shares very few similarities, except for the main plot twist. The film is notable for a script penned by author Robert Bloch, author of the novel Psycho. The cinematographer for The Cabinet of Caligari was John L. Russell, who also worked on Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960) based on Bloch's novel.

In 1960, independent Hollywood producer Robert Lippert acquired the rights to Caligari from Matray and Universum Film AG for $50,000, and produced a film called The Cabinet of Caligari, which was released in 1962. Screenwriter Robert Bloch did not intend to write a Caligari remake, and in fact the title was forced upon his untitled screenplay by director Roger Kay. The film had few similarities to the original Caligari except for its title and a plot twist at the end, in which it is revealed the story was simply the delusion of the protagonist, who believed she was being held captive by a character named Caligari. Instead, he was her psychiatrist, and he cures her at the end of the film.

The story of the way director Roger Kay tried to rob Bloch of the writing credit for the film and how Bloch won out is told in Bloch's autobiography.

Synopsis

Motorist Jane Lindstrom (Glynis Johns) has a tire blowout and seeks assistance at an estate owned by Caligari (Dan O'Herlihy), a very polite man with a German accent. After spending the night she finds that Caligari will not let her leave; he proceeds to ask some personal questions and shows her (presumably sexual) pictures that offend her.

Acteurs