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. ***. 

THE SECRET PLACE

THE SECRET PLACE (1957). Director: Clive Donner.

Gerry Carter (Ronald Lewis) is the head of a gang planning a diamond heist. Knowing that a little boy, Freddie (Michael Brooke), has a crush on Gerry's girlfriend, Molly (Belinda Lee), he asks her to importune Freddie to "borrow" his father's cop uniform. This all leads to numerous complications. The best thing about The Secret Place is the robbery itself, which is quite suspenseful and well-handled. Unfortunately, the bulk of the movie is turned over to a lot of running around after the boy through "secret places." The performances are good, with the very talented little Brooke taking top honors, although Lewis is sharp, as usual, and Michael Gwynn [Never Take Candy from a Stranger] scores as Steve, an associate of Gerry's. Belinda Lee [Blackout] is not bad as Molly, and neither is David McCallum [The Man from U.N.C.L.E.] as her rather weird brother. But this falls apart because the second half drags so much and has little suspense.

Verdict: One half of a good crime thriller. **1/2.

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER

Patrick Allen, Budd Knapp, and Bill Nagy

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER (aka Never Take Sweets from a Stranger/1960). Director: Cyril Frankel.

High school principal Peter Carter (Patrick Allen of Night Creatures) and his wife Sally (Gwen Watford) have moved to a new community with their young daughter, Jean (Janina Faye), and her grandmother, Martha (Alison Leggatt). One afternoon Jean tells her parents that she and her friend Lucille (Frances Green) were given candy by an elderly man in a house nearby who told them to take off their clothing. Peter wants to confront the old man, Sally wants to call the police, and the grandmother advises caution -- they aren't completely sure what if anything happened and the old man, Clarence Olderberry Sr. (Felix Aylmer) has a lot of clout in the town. Because of this the Carters find a lot of opposition when they have the man arrested and a trial ensues. Will the entire town turn against them and will Olderberry get away with his inappropriate behavior or get the help he clearly needs? Never Take Candy from a Stranger is a non-sensational look at a repellent subject, and is generally well-done and well-acted; Leggatt is especially good, as are Michael Gwynn [The Revenge of Frankenstein] as the prosecutor and Bill Nagy as Olderberry's son. This absorbing and distressing film leads up to a tragic and hard-hitting finale. One of the film's flaws, however, is that the "pervert" in question seems rather feeble and to be suffering from Alzheimer's, making some of his actions possibly unlikely, and his behavior perhaps more demented than criminal. A more menacing and younger antagonist, a more formidable and devious pedophile, might have given the film even more dramatic heft, although the ending is nevertheless uncompromising. Freddie Francis' cinematography gives the film a nice look, and there is a fine musical score by Elisabeth Lutyens [Paranoiac].

Verdict: Sobering look at a town's dirty secret. ***.

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN

Peter Cushing

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958). Director: Terence Fisher.

In this sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein, the dear baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), about to be executed for his crimes in the first film, manages to have a priest beheaded instead of himself [so he's obviously not all bad!] Using the name of "Victor Stein" -- now that's a sensible pseudonym -- he becomes a doctor in a clinic for the indigent in Germany and distinguishes himself with his complete lack of a bedside manner. A promising young doctor, Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews), assists the baron in his new-old experiments, and affects a brain transplant involving Karl (Michael Gwynn) and a patient in the clinic played by Richard Wordsworth of The Quatermass Xperiment/Creeping Unknown, with predictably unpleasant results. Lionel Jeffries almost steals the picture with his gritty portrayal of a grave robber. As nurse Margaret, Eunice Gayson is very pretty but makes little impression otherwise. Followed by The Evil of Frankenstein.

Verdict: That baron never learns! ***