Don't ring the bell, don't read the book and don't light the candles. This ultra cheap precursor to "Rosemary's Baby" has a few genuine scares, but mainly contains unintentional laughs. After playing George Gershwin on "Rhapsody in Blue" and the original Sky Masrerson in the original Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls"' Robert Alda was reduced to this low grade supernatural horror film where he is haunted in dreams by the presence of a beautiful woman he's never met. Destiny takes him and his sweet girlfriend into a strange doll shop where he meets the strange Neil Hamilton as well as the gorgeous dream doll. This doll house is the front for a group of satanists who seem somewhat normal. Hamilton chews the scenery more than any "Batman" villain, eventually turning into a cartoon character. Among the chilling moments are a sequence where Hamilton reveals that a traitor amongst them will die and the truly violent follow up. Yet, the structure is presented with such silliness that the film ends up becoming melodramatic and totally over the top. When you look at the more well made supernatural films yet to follow, the result here is a midnight movie where you have to wonder just how much popcorn ended up being thrown at the screen.

This movie begins with a young man by the name of "Rick Turner" (Robert Alda) having strange dreams about a beautiful woman. After walking around town one night he sees a doll in a store window that looks exactly like the woman of his dreams. When he inquires about the doll the storekeeper informs him that it was made specifically for him at his own request. But Rick doesn't recall ever ordering this doll and certainly has never met the woman named "Bianca Milan" (Linda Christian) in whose image it was made. That changes not long afterward and he soon becomes totally beguiled by her. Yet as stunning as she looks there is much more to Bianca than meets the eye. At any rate, rather than disclose any more details and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a generally satisfactory B-grade horror movie for its time. Obviously, filmed in black and white back in 1961 this movie doesn't have the special effects or computer graphics many would expect to see today for a similar picture of this type. Additionally, the acting and script aren't exactly world class either. But Linda Christian looked absolutely gorgeous and her performance was pretty good as well. All things considered then I thought it was somewhat entertaining and I give it a rating of average.

An overly sleek socialite is haunted by visions of a beautiful scantily clad vixen, which becomes an intriguing mystery when he finds a doll with her likeness. The colluding shop-owner reveals the girl from his dreams actually exists and encourages him to deliver it in person to her, which he does. When he arrives, she admits to being a voodoo witch. Obviously he has been under her voodoo spell all along, but joins her voodoo cult without question anyway. It turns out the shopkeeper is the voodoo priest and the basement of the shop is their temple. Later the hapless cad has growing doubts which lead him to be tested. Rather than comply, he rejects the religion and the witch-girl and in trying to escape, destroys the temple.This rather nonsensical fair thankfully drives on at a decent pace and is a bearable length. Robert Alda does not give an amazing performance, but plays his character much as his own personality. The witch-girl is a smouldering beauty even if her performance is wooden. Neil Hamilton is unconvincing and gives a rather dry delivery rather than the campy style his role deserved. Somehow this movie manages to be charming enough to not completely suck, but very nearly does!

William J.Hole Jr. directs this very low-budget satanic flick from Crown International Pictures. Rick Turner(Robert Alda)is haunted nightly by visions of a seductive beautiful woman dancing. Rick is drawn to a doll shop where he finds a doll that resembles the woman trying to seduce him. He later returns to the shop with his fiancée Donna(Arianda Welter)to get the doll. On the shelf is a doll that looks exactly like Donna. The shop owner Frank Lamont(Neil Hamilton)gives Rick the one doll that he is anxious to deliver. Lamont will not let the couple leave with the doll resembling Donna; because it is actually a voodoo doll that he uses to cause her crippling pain. Rick makes his delivery to Bianca Milan(Linda Christian), the dancing seductress in his dreams. She will have her way with Rick and convinces him to join a coven of devil worshipers that actually wants his fiancée Donna as a human sacrifice. Rounding out the cast: Gertrude Astor, Julie Scott and Gere Craft.