Castle of the Living Dead (Italian: Il Castello dei Morti Vivi,[1] French: Le Chateau des Morts Vivants[1]) is a 1964 horror film directed by Warren Kiefer.

[3] Since its release, a number of contradictory production histories concerning Castle of the Living Dead have surfaced, with the film's direction being variously attributed to Kiefer (who was credited with the alias "Lorenzo Sabatini" on Italian prints), Riccardo Freda, or Luciano Ricci (credited as "Herbert Wise").

Other mysteries include the extent of assistant director Michael Reeves' involvement in the production, and whether or not Mario Bava provided special effects for the film.

An ill-fated theatrical troupe of commedia dell'arte performers on tour visits the castle of Count Drago (Christopher Lee).

In his research, Drago discovers a chemical formula that instantly kills and embalms any living creature, forever preserving them at the moment of death.

Drago's habit of experimenting on animals is revealed, and the visitors are about to become unwilling participants before a dwarf rescues them.

American Warren Kiefer moved to Italy to pursue a career in the film industry.

Maslansky "put together" an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 dollars, to serve as a "minestone" fund that would cover the film's budget.

[9] Paul Maslansky met Reeves previously on the set of The Long Ships (1964) and invited him to work on Castle of the Living Dead.

Maslansky had "spotted" Sutherland in London, where the actor was involved in a production of Spoon River Anthology by Lindsay Anderson's royal court.

Sutherland was offered a weekly wage of 40 dollars, and the use of Kiefer's couch as a sleeping place.

[5][6][7][8] Maslansky and Reeves put in $10,000 and contacted Christopher Lee for ten days of shooting.

[4] To complicate it further, the film was a French-Italian co-production, which meant that an Italian director was required to collect certain state subsidies.

[1][4] In the Italian version of the film, Kiefer is credited as only for the story and script while the name Herbert Wise was used as the director.

[5][6][7][8] In most European countries, the film's main selling point was the presence of Christopher Lee in the cast.

He later claimed that the lost continuity sheets were simply a ruse, as they intended to improve the film's dialogue.