Rating of
4/4
Hammer hit a homer
Bribaba - wrote on 05/03/11
Early (1963) Hammer production that marked the directorial debut of Freddie Francis. What a surprise this turned out to be, up there with the studio’s finest and not a monster in sight, except Oliver Reed. He plays an alcoholic psychopath who tries to scare his neurotic sister (Janette Scott) out of her inheritance, screws the French nurse and plays organ recitals for his late brother who may or may not have committed suicide. There’s another figure present at these musical interludes, one that just stands there wearing a weird mask pretending to be the dead brother. But then the ’dead’ brother shows up (but is it he?) and things start to go really nuts.
Arthur Grant‘s superb b&w Cinemascope photography adds a modernity to the proceedings while being a match for any of the noir classics. The main influences at play here are Hitchcock in general and Psycho in particular, but Francis and Grant create something they can truly call their own. The carefully overwrought script is played pitch perfect by the cast, particularly Reed who gives a seriously menacing performance. Maurice Denham is great, too, as the mad family’s feisty accountant. Despite all the mayhem and insane plot points, this is a tremendously accomplished film. Where has it been all these years?
