THESE ARE THE DAMNED

THESE ARE THE DAMNED (aka The Damned/1963). Director: Joseph Losey.

"Nothing that's warm can live with you."

It's amusing to contemplate how people who went to see this film because of the poster to the left -- which makes it seem like another Village of the Damned -- must have felt when they had to sit through this tedious non-horror film which was nothing like the advertisement suggested -- too bad! Losey combines a story of children held at a military base because they were born radioactive -- due to their mothers' accidental irradiation -- with a romantic triangle consisting of vacationing American Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey), a much, much younger gal named Joan (Shirley Anne Field), and her gang-member brother, King (Oliver Reed), who seems to have incestuous feelings for her among other problems. Other characters include sculptress Freya Neilson (Viveca Lindfords), who lives near the military base and is friends with Bernard (Alexander Knox), who is in charge of the children. Had Losey stuck to scenes in the base, focusing on the plight of the children, this might have amounted to an interesting picture, but the poor kids show up late in the game, after the audience has had to endure tedious scenes of Carey's unconvincing romance with Field, and Reed's smoldering and childish antics. The movie presents a completely contrived scenario in which the triangle characters and the ice cold children wind up together in a natural cave below the base. What can you say about a movie that begins with British teddy boys marching down the street whistling their own theme song [West Side Story anyone?] and gets progressively worse? The final scenes with the children are somewhat moving, but it's far too late to save the movie. Oliver Reed [The Triple Echo] gives another one of his patented intense "I'm Mean and I'm Weird" performances, and is as tiresome as the movie itself, whereas Lindfors [The Exorcist III] acquits herself nicely in an underwritten role. Some of the children are talented as well and Knox is fine as the unpleasant Bernard. This was obviously meant to be seen as something profound and deeply affecting, but it just doesn't work. Arthur Grant's cinematography is superb, however. The film was severely cut (which couldn't have hurt it that much) upon release, but the DVD I saw has the complete version. Losey also directed Knox in The Sleeping Tiger.

Verdict: Interesting premise -- too bad it's a movie you'll probably want to sleep through. **.

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (1962). Director: John Gilling.

"I'm not a man of action. Perhaps I think too much to be brave."

Jason Standing (Andrew Kier), a magistrate at a 17th century Huguenot settlement on the isle of Devon, sends his own son Jonathon (Kerwin Mathews) to a penal colony for the alleged crime of adultery. Jason manages to escape and falls in with a group of French pirates run by a Captain LaRoche (Christopher Lee). Being assured that the pirates represent no danger to his people, Jonathon leads them back to Devon, and discovers you can't quite trust the word of a pirate. Other characters caught up in the action include Jonathon's sister Bess (Marla Landi), and her fella, Henry (Glenn Corbett of Homicidal). Michael Ripper and Oliver Reed [Paranoiac] play other pirates. This is a very handsome non-horror Hammer production, with Lee, unfortunately, being more subdued than usual in trying to avoid the stereotype of the fire-breathing pirate chief. There is an unconvincing attack by piranha, but Gary Hughes' score is a plus, as is the photography of Arthur Grant [The Terror of the Tongs]. Andrew Kier offers the most memorable performance.

Verdict: Not bad Hammer historical melodrama with an interesting cast. **1/2.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF

Oliver Reed

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961). Director: Terence Fisher.

In a prologue, we meet a miserable landowner, the Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson), who wrongly imprisons a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain), simply because she won't respond to his repulsive advances. In her cell the poor woman is raped by another prisoner (Richard Wadsworth), and then dies in child birth. Her son, Leon (Oliver Reed), is raised by the gentlemanly and compassionate Alfredo (Clifford Evans). Leon goes off to work for a wine merchant, and falls for the man's daughter, Christina (Catherine Feller). Christina's father objects to their romance, but Leon has a more serious problem -- when the moon is full the cursed man turns into a werewolf, running home to commit flesh-tearing murders. Director Fisher has done some excellent Hammer horror pictures, but somehow this misses, a victim of awkward continuity and Reed's overwrought performance, although the other cast members are good, especially Feller, and Hira Talfrey as the servant Teresa. Benjamin Frankel's musical score is a decided plus. This was based on Guy Endore's "Werewolf of Paris."

Verdict: A lesser Hammer despite the talent involved. **. 

NIGHT CREATURES

NIGHT CREATURES (aka Captain Clegg/1962). Director: Peter Graham Scott.

Based on the Dr. Syn novels that first appeared in 1915 [also the basis of Walt Disney's Dr. Syn, the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh], this interesting Hammer feature takes place in the village of Dymchurch in 1792. British sailors led by Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) come to town hunting for smugglers who want to bypass the high taxes on liquor and other items. The whole town leads Collier and his men on a merry chase as they do their best to hide the taxable items and outwit the revenue men. The supernatural aspects of the film -- the phantoms of Romney Marsh or the "night creatures" of the American title -- are a bit of a cheat, but the film is suspenseful and entertaining enough in its own right. Peter Cushing is excellent, as usual, as the reverend Dr. Blyss, who may have a secret or two up his sleeve, and Martin Benson [The Cosmic Monsters] and Michael Ripper also offer superior performances as two of his co-conspirators; Allen is also fine as Collier. Oliver Reed [Paranoiac] is as intense as ever as young Harry, who has fallen in love with barmaid Imogene (Yvonne Romain), who is the secret daughter of the supposedly dead and notorious pirate Captain Clegg. Jack MacGowran [The Giant Behemoth] offers another of his flavorful portrayals as a villager who tries to mislead Collier and his band, and Milton Reid is vivid as the "mulatto" who hates Clegg and causes all manner of mischief. Dan Banks' exciting musical score helps keep things percolating.

Verdict: Something different! ***.

BURNT OFFERINGS

BURNT OFFERINGS (1976). Director: Dan Curtis. 

A married couple with a young son rent a mansion for the summer for a ridiculously low price, with the "catch" that they have to prepare meals for the reclusive matriarch of the house, who stays alone in her room in the attic. The occupants of the house -- who are going on vacation -- also include Roz Allardyce [an effective Eileen Heckart] and her brother Arnold [Burgess Meredith, who is also effective, although for some reason he plays the role as a total gay stereotype]. Karen Black and Oliver Reed, both giving good performances, are the married couple, and Lee H. Montgomery also does a fine job as their son, David. As their Aunt Elizabeth, Bette Davis is at first as "grand lady-ish" and affected as she usually was in her older days, but eventually settles in to give one of her better latter-day performances. And we mustn't forget Anthony James, who makes an impression as the sinister nightmare chauffeur without ever saying a word. [James has over 75 credits in movies and television.] Burnt Offerings is an entertaining horror flick, even if it's not always convincing as to the [confusing] supernatural aspects of the storyline. Nonsense the movie may be, yes, but it still builds up to tragic consequences and the ending packs a small wallop. You might say that Burnt Offerings does for the haunted house story what Rosemary's Baby did for witches. William F. Nolan and Curtis scripted from Robert Marasco's novel. 

Verdict: Disquieting -- and depressing -- in its own mostly quiet way. ***.

THE TRIPLE ECHO

THE TRIPLE ECHO (1972). Director: Michael Apted.

Alice (Glenda Jackson) is running a farm in WW2 England while her husband is held in a Japanese POW camp. She becomes friends with a young soldier, Barton (Brian Deacon), whom she finds trespassing upon her property. Barton comes around to help on the farm and get some home-cooked meals and the two eventually become lovers. When Barton decides to go AWOL so that he can stay with Alice, she gets the idea of dressing him in drag as her sister, "Katie," so that nobody will suspect. Then a certain Sergeant (Oliver Reed) from the nearby Army base comes a calling, and takes a shine to "Katie" -- and maybe vice versa? At least "Katie" agrees to go to a dance at the base with the sergeant ... No, this isn't a comedy, but a decidedly unusual drama that has its interesting moments but somehow never quite hits the mark. Jackson and Deacon are fine, but Reed plays the sergeant as if he thinks he's appearing in a comic opera. Triple Echo never quite comes to grips in a frank or satisfying fashion with all of the psycho-sexual elements that are at its core. The movie also lifts a major plot device, including its ending, from the far superior Of Mice and Men. You want to be moved by the picture and Barton's plight but it comes off more as a dirty joke. Nice score by Marc Wilkinson.

Verdict: Be careful who you go to the prom with. **1/2.

THE BROOD

THE BROOD (1979). Director: David Cronenberg. 

Frank Carveth (Art Hindle) has a young daughter Candy (Cindy Hinds) and a wife, Nola (Samantha Eggar) who is getting a bizarre form of therapy from a psychological wunderkind named Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) who runs an outfit called Psychoplasmics. Carveth has no idea that Nola's treatment has some odd side effects. First her mother is killed, and then her father, by what appears to be a little boy in a hood but actually turns out to be an odd creature with no naval -- meaning it wasn't born in the usual sense ... what's going on? There are some interesting concepts and dialogue in this movie as there generally are in Cronenberg's films, but the film is awfully draggy and talks itself out long, long before the not-very-thrilling wind-up. Even the murder sequences aren't handled with that much flair. Busy actor Henry Beckman gives a terrific performance as Nola's father, Barton. Eggar is fine in a thankless, somewhat embarrassing role. Hindle and Reed are also good, as are some of the supporting players, but this picture just doesn't move. 

Verdict: If you need a good night's sleep ... *1/2.