VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960), Director: Wolf Rilla. Colorized. 

All of a sudden everyone in the town of Midwich collapses into unconsciousness, and remains that way for several hours. Months later virtually every woman in the village is pregnant, and they all give birth to strange, emotionless children with the same blond hair and uncertain stare. One of the fathers, Gordon Zellaby (George Sanders of Jupiter's Darling), tries to get through to the children and become their friend, while his wife, Anthea (Barbara Shelley of Dracula Prince of Darkness), can only love her beautiful if essentially unresponsive son as best she can. It isn't long before the children demonstrate frightening mind-control powers that they use against perceived enemies, including a man who accidentally hits one of the girls but doesn't injure her. Zellaby, his brother-in-law Alan (Michael Gwynn of Never Take Candy from a Stranger), and others in authority such as Dr. Willers (Laurence Naismith of Jason and the Argonauts), learn that other weird children have been born elsewhere in the world, with terrible results. Little David Zellaby (Martin Stephens of Another Time, Another Place) wants his father to arrange for him and the other children to go away, infiltrate other societies, and in essence, take over the world, but Gordon comes up with another scheme that just might mean the death of him. 

"Beware Their Stare:" Martin Stephens and pals 

Village of the Damned is based on John Wyndham's sci fi classic "The Midwich Cukoos," which undoubtedly goes into more detail about these extra-terrestrial babies, their origins, abilities and so on, as well as the moral implications of the story and the notion of killing children, no matter how malevolent or bizarre they may be. Gordon does his best to mentor the children, and talks about teaching them morality as they grow, but these sequences are not shown. The performances in this are quite good, and little Martin Stephens with his angelic, dispassionate face makes an impression despite being dubbed to give him an "otherworldly" voice. The film was a very big hit, and a sequel, Children of the Damned, soon followed. Remade in 1995 with Christopher Reeve.( If memory serves me right, it was decent.) Ronald Colman was penciled in to play the lead but died -- he was replaced by Sanders, who also married Colman's widow!

Verdict: Classic, creepy science fiction. ***. 

BLIND CORNER

Alexander Davion and Barbara Shelley

BLIND CORNER (aka Man in the Dark/1964). Director: Lance Comfort.  

Although he's been totally blind for a number of years, Paul (William Sylvester of The Unholy Four) has a successful career as a composer of popular songs and commercial jingles; he also hopes to complete a concerto. His wife, Anne (Barbara Shelley of The Gorgon), a former actress who wanted security, has grown tired of looking after Paul and leaves that to his secretary, Joan (Elizabeth Shepherd of Damian: Omen 2), who happens to be in love with him. Anne has taken up with a starving artist named Ricky (Alexander Davion of Paranoiac), who has no problems sleeping with Paul's wife, but draws the line at murder. Or does he? Anne needs money which she can get from her late husband's estate, but if Ricky won't help her ... Then Paul's manager, Mike (Mark Eden), whom Anne can't stand, tells Paul that her saw her having a romantic dinner with Ricky. 

Triangle: Shelley, Davion, Sylvester

Blind Corner is a minor but absorbing British suspense story that is well-acted by all, although it could be argued that lead Sylvester seems a little too in control when his world is falling apart; still he is good, and the picture works well even if it might come off like a television episode. There's an effective climax and a very good twist that took me by surprise. Singer Ronnie Carroll plays himself and gets to warble a couple of tunes. Neither Shelley nor Davion are photographed that flatteringly, although both are certainly attractive individuals. 

Verdict: Worthwhile British suspenser with good performances. ***. 

THE CAT GIRL

Barbara Shelley

THE CAT GIRL (aka Cat Girl/1957). Director: Alfred Shaughnessy.

Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) is married to the unfaithful Richard (Jack May), but is secretly in love with former paramour, Dr. Brian Marlow (Robert Ayres of Battle Beneath the Earth), who is now married to Dorothy (Kay Callard of The Flying Scot). If that weren't enough of a mess, Leonora's crazy uncle (Ernest Milton), who keeps a leopard in the house, has convinced his niece that she is under a family curse and can turn into a leopard, or that she has a bond with it that can cause it -- or her -- to kill. Who the hell knows? In any case, when Brian tries to convince Leonora that she isn't really crazy and isn't growing claws, she decides it would be best to rid the world of her rival, Dorothy. This confusing mish mosh is a blatant rip off of Cat People, and while it's all overwrought and entertaining in a modest fashion, its chief strength is an excellent, intense performance by Barbara Shelley [The Gorgon] as the highly unlikable Leonora. Lily Kann is also effective as the uncle's housekeeper, Anna, and the various supporting performances are adept. But the movie is not really worth much in the long run.

Verdict: A monster movie with a most disappointing "monster." **.

DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS

Dracula (Christopher Lee) in attack mode

DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966). Director: Terence Fisher.

Two couples are touring Europe -- Helen and Alan (Barbara Shelley, Charles Tingwell) and Alan's brother Charles (Francis Matthews) and his wife Diana (Suzan Farmer) -- when they are warned to stay away from Carlsbad by Father Sandor (Andrew Kier). Naturally, they go directly to Carlsbad despite Helen's sensible misgivings. There they wind up "guests" in Dracula's castle (which is not musty and full of cobwebs but quite beautiful and handsomely appointed) and given every courtesy by the late count's helpful manservant, Klove (Philip Latham). It isn't long before Dracula is no longer dead, however, and a cat and mouse game ensues between him and Klove and the two horrified couples. With top notch photography [Michael Reed], direction and acting -- Christopher Lee makes quite an impression as Dracula despite the fact he hasn't a line of dialogue --  this is one classy horror film, superior to its predecessor Horror of Dracula, good as that was. (Neither Lee nor Dracula actually appeared in the first follow-up, The Brides of Dracula.) Creepy and suspenseful, this one works every step of the way. As usual, James Bernard's music is a bonus. Peter Cushing's brief appearance at the opening is taken from a previous film.

Verdict: One you can really sink your teeth into. ***1/2.

RASPUTIN, THE MAD MONK

RASPUTIN, THE MAD MONK (1966). Director: Don Sharp.

"This is only a house -- and she has all of Russia!"

Rasputin (Christopher Lee) -- whom everyone calls RasPOOtin -- may be a monk but he refuses to live like one, being given to love of drink and women -- and power. With his almost mesmeric command over women, he gets a a smitten Sonia (Barbara Shelley), lady-in-waiting to the Tsarina (Renee Asherson), to arrange for him to curry the latter's favor by ministering to her injured little boy. The Tsarina rewards him with a house, and entry into her charmed royal circle. But some of Rasputin's actions alarm Boris (Richard Pasco) even after Rasputin has arranged for him to take over as the royal family's doctor. Others are jealous of Rasputin's influence, and Sonia's brother (Dinsdale Landen) is furious at the monk's treatment of his sister. This all culminates in a lively final battle where Rasputin proves quite difficult to kill. While it's debatable how historically accurate this is, it's entertaining and fast-paced, with Lee giving a vivid performance, albeit one with a few hammy moments. The other cast members are good; few of them attempt a Russian accent. This has a few lurid Hammer studio touches: a hand lopped off; acid thrown in a man's face, but is not really a horror film.

Verdict: Rasputin through the Hammer lens. ***.

THE GORGON

THE GORGON (1964). Director: Terence Fisher.

In 1910 a European village is beset by one of the mythological gorgons who has inexplicably taken up residence in the ruins of a local castle, possessed the body of a local woman, and emerges periodically to turn men and women into stone. This Hammer production has atmosphere to spare, as well as handsome art direction and adroit color schemes, all of which serve to enhance the ominous proceedings. Whatever its illogic, the film is also bolstered by good performances, and a cast that includes Peter Cushing as a village doctor, Christopher Lee as a visiting professor and friend to more than one of the literally petrified victims, and Barbara Shelley as Cushing's assistant Carla Hoffman, who falls for Paul Heitz (Richard Pasco) whose father (Michael Goodliffe) and brother were turned to stone by the gorgon. The Gorgon has the strange quality of a fantastic tragic operetta, with its doomed love story and an effective enough score by James Bernard. The monster may be a little disappointing, but the premise is certainly unique.

Verdict: Worthwhile horror fantasy. ***.

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE (1958). Director: Henry Cass.

Donald Wolfit plays an unusual kind of vampire, Dr. Callistratus, in this interesting variation on a theme. Although mistaken for a traditional vampire a la Dracula, Wolfit actually has a rare blood disease and needs frequent transfusions, making him seem demonic to the superstitious townspeople. After being dispatched via a stake through the heart, he is brought back to life by a heart transplant (not being an actual vampire, simply removing the stake won’t do the trick – the damaged heart has to be replaced). A few years later he’s the head of a prison for the criminally insane. One of the prisoners is a doctor (Vincent Ball) who’s been framed for killing a patient, and Wolfit has him help him with his experiments -- hiding from him the more dastardly stuff going on in the cellar. The doctor tries to escape to disastrous results, his girlfriend (Barbara Shelley) gets a job as a maid in the asylum, and Wolfit tries to drain the latter’s blood as his love-sick (for Shelley) hunchback helper Carl (Victor Maddern) looks on in horror and ultimately gets his revenge. Wolfit is fine and the other performances perfectly credible in a "vampire" movie with perhaps a more interesting plot than usual. Wolfit’s large, upraised eyebrows seem to have a life of their own. Absorbing and fast-paced, if directed by Cass with no special flair. Written by the prolific Jimmy Sangster.

Verdict: Good old horror film. ***.