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 Latarnia |
Mel Welles (Actor, Director, Producer, Dubber) |
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Posts: 12349 (01/30/04 10:06:07) |
We're hoping to get Mel Welles in here to talk about his work, particularly in the euro-film field. Mel is well known to euro-horror fans for LADY FRANKENSTEIN, but he also had a major hand in LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE (ISLAND OF THE DOOMED). If he can get to this place, I'd like to start off by asking him about LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE, how the film came into being, and his assessment of the movie.
Mirek |
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gravismushnik |
La Isla de La Muerte | ||
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Posts: 8 (01/30/04 10:45:51) |
I'm not quite sure what people mean when they say "How did you get to....". Life and careers are kind of "Per Inerzio" that is by inertia, and you fall into things more often than not in spite of yourself rather than because of yourself. I had the script to this film written and saw an opportunity to put a three country co-production together, reserving the ownership of the western hemisphere for myself. This was the first, and I believe the only, full length feature production ever to be done in Spain...at least up to the eighties. There are many wonderful memories from this opus. We lived in Barcelona at the time, and the entire film was shot in a mini-castle in the Catelonian Mountains, owned by a Textile Magnate Family Trincet. We lived in the castle during the shoot (cast and crew) and did all the interiors and exteriors on the grounds. There was, I recall, a one day shoot at a coastal site. I would be delighted to fill anyone in on anything I can remember about my long and checkered career, so fire away.
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Latarnia |
Re: La Isla de La Muerte | ||
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Posts: 12349 (01/30/04 11:39:15) |
Great that you could make it here, Mel! Thank you.
LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE is listed as a Spanish-West German co-production. You mention another country's involvement. Would that have been the U.S.? I have a Mexican large-size lobby for the film, which has your name on it, but the film was released also with a director's pseudonym: Ernst R. von Theumer. Why this name and not Mel Welles? Did you stay in Europe for a while when making films like LADY FRANKENSTEIN and LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE, and doing dubbing work, or were you going back and forth between the States and the Continent? Spain seemed to have been particularly receptive to foreign productions. Samuel Bronston set up his studios there, and others followed. (Most Spaghetti Westerns, the exteriors at least, were shot in Spain.) Sidney Pink even had a go with several films -- PYRO, being one. Did shooting in Spain have financial or other advantages over filming in other parts of Europe? Mirek |
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 bobmonel |
Re: La Isla de La Muerte | ||
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Posts: 2561 (01/30/04 12:56:08) |
Isn't there another director who used the Von Theumer name or is it a real person who happens to have the same name which I've seen on other films?
DER HOLLISCH SCHARFE SEXY HORROR-GRUSEL-SPAB VON KULTREGISSEUR JESS FRANCO
"This is a nice quiet place, folks go to church on Sunday. It's my job to keep it that way." Joseph Cotton, The Sheriff in WHITE COMANCHE |
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gravismushnik |
Von Theumer | ||
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Posts: 8 (01/31/04 10:23:25) |
Firstly, the other country was Italy, not the US in the coproduction of "Island of the Doomed". Of course, it was released in the US by Allied Artists and did reasonably well. In putting together coproductions in Europe during that era (pre-common market), one had to satisfy the various ministries with certain percentages of participation from cast, crew, services, script, lab etc. This was done in order to qualify for the Government "Premiums" that were dealt to the production houses in order to fortify and subsidize the growth of their film industry. The German "PRODUCER" was, indeed, a real person named Ernst Von Theumer who later directed some of his own films as well. In this case, in order to qualify for the Ministries, I had to credit one of the participating countries with the points given for direction. I got my deserved credit in the rest of the world. I had to do this one other time on a pic with Ray Danton entitled "HELLO, GLEN WARD" or "HOUSE DICK" as it was called in some countries, there I used an old Spanish director's name, Julio Salvador.
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bobmonel |
Re: Von Theumer | ||
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Posts: 2561 (02/02/04 15:25:06) |
Thanks for the clarification, Mel. I just heard about the death of Nick Alexander, whom I'm sure you knew well. I know his disctinctive voice from many films and it's kind of like losing an old friend even though I never met him.
DER HOLLISCH SCHARFE SEXY HORROR-GRUSEL-SPAB VON KULTREGISSEUR JESS FRANCO
"This is a nice quiet place, folks go to church on Sunday. It's my job to keep it that way." Joseph Cotton, The Sheriff in WHITE COMANCHE |
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Tim Lucas VW |
Mel & Ernst | ||
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Posts: 675 (02/03/04 02:37:28) |
First of all, it's a delight to return to Latarnia and find Mel Welles here. Secondly, I'd like to extend my condolences on the passing his his former partner, Nick Alexander. I think I speak for all of us who come here regularly when I say, The voices heard on the English soundtracks of these European films we love so much... they became so familiar to us from constant exposure that they became an integral part of our obsession. Nick was such a big part of this field, and he will be missed.
I always felt it was unfair that US prints didn't credit the voice cast, as they regularly do in France. Peter Fernandez disagreed with me when I told him this because, to him, as a voice actor, he felt it was his job to provide voices so convincingly that the audience was not so aware that any dubbing had been done. When I interviewed Mel a couple of years ago, I was astounded to learn that he had directed the English versions of so many Bava films... and I always thought of him as an onscreen actor, so it never occurred to me that he had also dubbed and directed the dubbing of films. Now I can hear his voice on many Bava films, including the Inspector in HATCHET and also as the Cyclops in THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES. As for Ernst R. van Theumer, I noticed him on camera recently in the Tony Anthony film COME TOGETHER (or COMETOGETHER, as some sources have it) as a tour guide in Pompeii, so he also worked as an actor. I checked his IMDb credits afterwards, and was surprised to find him credited there as the antiques dealer in Bava's HOUSE OF EXORCISM, but that is not the same actor at all. Did I read somewhere that Mel has an important birthday approaching (or has that already come and gone)? Either way, congratulations and many happy returns, Mel, and God bless. As for me, I can't die happy till I've seen MANEATER OF HYDRA in widescreen! Mel, do you have any interesting memories of working with your composer on that film, Anton Garcia Abril? He's well-liked in these parts. |
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gravismushnik |
Nick Alexander's passing | ||
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Posts: 8 (02/04/04 15:22:13) |
Nick was nineteen when he came to Rome and I hired him as my "sala assistant" in the dubbing rooms of a certain Renato Caldonazzo, who, incidentally, also passed much to early from the dreaded big "C". Nick was forthright, ingenuous, direct, relaxed, comfortable to be with. I called him the "Young Abe Lincoln". He rose in the re-voicing industry to what is equivalent to top director. We were partners on the film with Frank Wolf and Georgia Moll entitled "A Quiet Business" in English. "Una Signora per Bene." in Italian. It was the first film made under Swiss Government participation and there are countless stories to tell of that crazy and wonderful experience punctuated with some tragedy and much poignancy. A group of Nick's pals and I had a sort of group grieving on the net yesterday and he was a truly loved colleague. He is survived by his wife Irena, who he met in an editing room, their daughter Jane and his son and daughter from a first marriage, J.J. and May May. They tell me his passing was peaceful and that they read all the many E-letters sent to him in his final weeks, so he went knowing he was loved.
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Latarnia |
RIP | ||
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Posts: 12349 (08/26/05 19:09:58) |
A peek at Mobius, and Tim Lucas' post informed me about the sad news that Mel Welles died August 18 from a heart attack. I had been thinking about Mel recently and how I wanted to contact him soon to request a video of LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE and continue my questions regarding that film. I know he was eager to talk about this little-mentioned and regarded film, but time dragged on, and now it's too late.
In case it's not obvious, the above poster, "gravismushnik," was Mel Welles. Sadly, he didn't live to see the definitive DVD of LADY FRANKENSTEIN, which is in the works in Europe. He will be missed. Mirek |
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bobmonel |
Re: RIP | ||
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Posts: 2561 (08/28/05 05:24:41) |
A man who gave provided my childhood with some joy with his performance as Mushnik in THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. I had also been thinking about him lately and I had planned to follow up an email to him since he told me he had some comments about Jess Franco whom he had known professionally. You take people for granted, that they are always going to be there and then they are suddenly gone.
contact the author of this post @ monell579@hotmail.com
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