Given that the production codes of the time prevented the film-makers from presenting anything like the full horror of what Sweeney and his female accomplice got up to on screen, this British film is surprisingly entertaining.
A lot of that's down to the performance of Tod Slaughter as the barbarous barber who wrings every ounce of black humour from the script and makes for a splendid villain. Every other character seems rather dull by comparison. The plot's a bit creaky.; Sweeney doesn't recognise the girl he's been lusting after when she changes into a boy's clothes and puts a bit of ash on her cheeks, nor does he seem to notice she's got boobs when she takes her jacket off.
Eve Lister ( as Joanna Oakley )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This was Eve's only horror film and her penultimate movie. She had a long theatrical career and appeared on TV up to the mid-sixties. She died in 1997 aged 83.
Davina Craig ( as Nan )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Davina was a bit part actress often playing maids as here. Her film career ended in the mid-forties and she later emigrated to New Zealand. She died there in 1969 aged 83.
No comments:
Post a Comment