The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

• Year: 1971
• Released: 11 Jun 1971
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 1 nomination
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067419/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_mephisto_waltz
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, French
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Runtime: 115 min
• Writer: Ben Maddow, Fred Mustard Stewart
• Director: Paul Wendkos
• Cast: Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins
• Keywords: incest, occult, devil, satanist,

6.0/10

The Mephisto Waltz Storyline

Myles Clarkson has led an unremarkable life. Lambasted by the critics at his first and only professional concert following his stint at Juilliard where he was studying piano, he has instead turned to being a music journalist. This job has honed his writing skills, his wife Paula Clarkson, who is in the process of opening a women’s boutique with her best friend Maggie West, believing it enough to make him a half-decent novelist if he wanted. Regardless of their modest life, Paula loves Myles and the emotional comfort of their marriage. Things change after Myles interviews famed, wealthy concert pianist Duncan Ely, who immediately sees in Myles signs of musical greatness, something confirmed by Duncan’s adult daughter, divorced Roxanne Delancey. Duncan and Roxanne’s overwhelming measures to include the Clarksons into their lives don’t sit well with Paula, who doesn’t understand what they see in either her or Myles to mesh with their lives, especially the extent taken to do so. Following Duncan’s not so surprising passing in he being open about his leukemia diagnosis, Paula knows that something isn’t right as Myles is a changed man, most notably becoming a piano virtuoso much in Duncan’s style. When she believes she’s discovered the sinister underpinnings of what has happened to Myles at Duncan and Roxanne’s hands, Paula has to decide what to do to get Myles back.

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The Mephisto Waltz Movie Reviews

it’s fine

Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda) interviews world-renown pianist Duncan Ely (Curd Jürgens). He’s a music journalist married to Paula (Jacqueline Bisset). Duncan takes an interest in his hands. He was a pianist before giving it up as a career. Duncan’s daughter Roxanne (Barbara Parkins) is also interested in him. Paula grows suspicious.

This is fine. I like the premise but the movie is a bit too long. The story only supports a 90 minute movie at most. Two hours is too much. This horror story fits better as an hour long episode. It could use some mystery. If the story is told from Paula’s point of view, the audience can discover the horrible secret along with her. All in all, this is fine.

Weird psychological horror, ultimately too slow

A good cast and a clever storyline help to make this supernatural spooker a bit better than your average kind of fare. Short on actual supernatural content (a few weird dream sequences are all we get) and long on conversations, this is unfortunately let down by an overly wordy script which makes the film quite hard to watch, as it goes on so long as well.

On the plus side, it is a seventies film, which means there are a number of weird psychedelic visuals and some awful and absurd fashions to enjoy. There are a few chills too from the ROSEMARY’S BABY-style plot which shows just how powerful Satanism can be. The acting is all of a high standard, from Jacqueline Bisset as the tough heroine who won’t be killed, to the scene-stealing Curt Jurgens as the rich but sinister pianist. However it’s Alan Alda who carries the film as the mild-mannered everyday kind of man who gets a soul transformation, he may not be totally believable but he’s fun to watch. Barbara Parkins is also good and unlikeable as the fiery Satanist while ’70s fave Bradford Dillman is an unfortunate victim of the Satanic cult.

While THE MEPHISTO WALTZ has a few scattered good moments (the dog with the human mask, the weird dreams, the twist ending) it never reaches the scale of becoming a full-fledged classic, which is unfortunate. If you’re a fan of psychological horror though, then this one might just be for you.

Could Be a Good Film With A Better Development of the Story and Characters

Minor Spoilers

Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda ) is a music journalist and frustrated pianist, married with Paula (Jacqueline Bisset) and having a nine years old daughter. When he is invited for an exclusive interview with the outstanding pianist Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens), he is very welcomed by the famous pianist and his beautiful wife Roxanne Delancey (Barbara Parkins), and becomes friend of the couple. The life of Myles changes completely, and he becomes a successful disciple of Duncan, and Paula believes that Duncan, Roxanne and their friends worship the devil. “The Mephisto Waltz” could be a good low budget movie, with a better development of the story and the characters. The film itself is very dated, with the type of psychedelic image, use of filters, and horrible work of edition, with weird cuts of many scenes. The story plagiarizes the storyline of “Rosemary’s Baby”, showing a community that worships the devil. The characters of “The Mephisto Waltz” are poorly developed along the story, and there are many flaws in the screenplay. For example, Abby Clarkson (Pamelyn Ferdin) has a mysterious disease and dies, and is forgotten in the rest of the story. Based on the last scenes, when Paula switches her soul with Roxanne’s, was the desire of Paula for Myles so intense, that she decides to live with Myles having the soul of the man who traded the life of their daughter per a successful life? However, “The Mephisto Waltz” has a good atmosphere of horror and together with the astonishing beauty of Jacqueline Bisset are the best attractions in this confused movie. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): “Balada Para Satã” (“Balad For Satan”)