gavin6942 An American painter (Kerwin Mathews) has an affair with a bar owner (Nadia Gray) in a French village and agrees to help her murderer husband escape from a prison for the criminally insane.Something of a Hammer Horror, though not of the Gothic type (this killer prefers blow torches). This is constant suspense, with plenty of twists and turns, and you will definitely keep guessing throughout the plot. As Bosley Crowther wrote, it has "a plot of extraordinary cunning...(It) takes on a twitching suspense that simmers, sizzles and explodes in a neat backflip". Turner Classic Movies calls Jimmy Sangster's script "gimmicky and obvious", but they are dead wrong.Besides writing from Sangster, we have direction from Michael Carreras (the son of Hammer's founder). The cinematography is courtesy of Wilkie Cooper, who was raised under the wing of Ray Harryhausen on such films as "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad". He had previously shot this film's star, Kerwin Mathews, in that film (with Mathews as Sinbad, no less).Nadia Gray ("La Dolce Vita") plays the femme fatale, and does an admirable job, but she is overshadowed by Liliane Brousse, who plays her stepdaughter Annette. Her credits are short (this was her second to last film), but Hammer fans may have seen her in "Paranoiac" (1963) alongside Oliver Reed, which was also written by Sangster and directed by the visionary Freddie Francis.Although not well know, this is a must-see film for Hammer fans, and is available in the "Icons of Suspense" box set. Now if only Hammer would take a more active approach in releasing their back catalogue... hundreds of great treasures.

AaronCapenBanner Michael Carreras directed this complex mystery about an American painter and drifter named Jeff Farrell(played by Kerwin Mathews) who is stranded in a bar owned by a woman named Eve(played by Nadia Gray) who seduces him away from her daughter Annette in order to enlist him in an effort to spring her estranged husband from a mental asylum, where he had been committed for killing Annette's alleged rapist with a blowtorch. It turns out(of course) that there is much more to it than that, as Jeff will discover...Complicated but uninspired film seems to combine "Psycho" with "The Postman Always Rings Twice" with mostly tedious results.

kidboots ...see the movie for that alone!! Even though it has a bit more going on, like "Stop Me Before I Kill", it impresses more as a leisurely talk fest - until the last half hour. It begins with the attack of a young girl and her father's horrific revenge - the papers call it the "Blow Torch Killing" and he is committed to the local insane asylum. Enter American artist Jeff Farrell (Kerwin Matthews) stranded in an out of the way French village who befriends Annette, the initial attack victim, who works at the local tavern but the person who is really after him is stepmother Eve. And it doesn't take Jeff long to transfer his affections from friendly late night back gammon games with Annette to seductive horse rides along isolated beaches with Eve where he easily falls in with her plan to spring her husband from the asylum - ostensibly so he can disappear on a boat leaving Eve and Jeff to spend the rest of their life together. Annette is appalled at the betrayal she sees directed at her father.But Jeff turns out to be the dupe when he finds a body in the boot of the car that Eve convinces him is the guard the authorities are also looking for. It is somewhat confusing for Jeff as people are not who he thinks they are (confusing viewers as well) and I wouldn't recommend anyone viewing the trailer first ("Icons of Suspense" include the trailers from all six movies) as you will be awfully disappointed!!The most impressive part of the movie for me was the amazing location shootings - although the ending, shot at a huge dilapidated quarry looked very similar to the locations of "We Are the Damned". Not particularly edge of your seat entertainment but a nice movie to fill in an afternoon.

preppy-3 American artist Paul Farrell (Kerwin Mathews) is visiting France. He falls in love with hotel owner Eve Beynat (Nadia Gray). He helps her to get her husband George (Donald Houston) out of an asylum...and then everything falls apart.Well-directed with some beautiful b&w cinematography--but that's all this movie has going for it. The plot is old hat and the twists and turns that come fast and furious during the last half hour are now familiar and obvious. To make matters worse the acting is pretty terrible. Mathews is tall, handsome, hunky--and totally blank as Paul. His face NEVER changes expression. I actually smirked when he gives no reaction at all to finding a dead body. Even worse is Liliane Brousse as Annette and her thick French accent doesn't help. Gray and Houston are OK in their roles. This is OK to watch if you have nothing better to do but don't expect much. I give it a 6.