187 The City of the Dead ( 1960 )

This  was  a  British  film  although  as  it's  set  in  New  England, the  actors  are  all  attempting  American  accents. It's  not  bad  and  the  setting  seems  like  it  may  have  influenced  Silent  Hill  but  it  overdoes  the  dark  shadows  making  it  a  bit  dour  to  watch. It's  also  the  first  offering  from  Hammer's  rival, Amicus.

The  film's  narrative  structure  is  very  similar  to  Psycho.  A   keen  young  history  student  Nan  Barlow  is  directed  by  her  tutor  Professor  Driscoll ( Christopher  Lee ) to  the  small  town  ( I'm  not  sure  where  the  titular  city  is  and  in  the  US  it  was re-titled  "Horror  Hotel" )  of   Whitewood  which  burned  a  witch  bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  her  hotelier  three  centuries  earlier. When  Nan  disappears  her  family  and  friends  come  looking  for  her.

Patricia  Jessel  ( as  Elisabeth  Selwyn / Mrs  Newless )

Sex : No

Death : Burned  at  the  stake  but  takes  some  time  to  actually  perish

Patricia  was  born  in  Hong  Kong. She  appeared  in  a  few  films  and  did  a  fair  amount  of  TV  but  was  primarily  a  stage  actress. She  died  of  a  heart  attack  in  London  in  1968  aged  47.

Betta  St  John  (  as  Patricia  Russell )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Betta's  last  film  role. Her  character  doesn't make  much  sense  though, an  innocent  living  in  a  town  populated  by  Satanists. Why  haven't  they  sacrificed  her  before  now ?


Venetia  Stevenson  ( as  Nan  Barlow )

Sex :  Strips  down  to  a  bodice

Death : Stabbed  by  Mrs  Newless  as  a  sacrifice

Venetia  was  born  in  London  but  moved  to  Hollywood  with  her  film  director  father  when  she  was  a  baby. She  was  tipped  for  stardom  as  a  teenage  model  and  married  dancer/actor  Russ  Tamblyn  when  she  was  17. They  divorced  in  1957. In  1962 she  married  Don  Everly  and  retired. Their  daughter  Erin  was  married  to  Axl  Rose. Venetia  had  some  credits  as  a  film  producer  in  the  eighties. She  is  now  79.

Ann  Beach  ( as  Lottie ) 

Sex : No

Death : Throttled  by  Mrs  Newless's  sidekick  Jethro

Ann  had  a  long  career  as  a  character  actress  mainly  on  stage  and  TV, her  best  known  role  being  in  eighties  comedy  Fresh  Fields. She  was  also  the  mother  of  actresses  Charlotte  and  Lisa  Coleman. She  died  a  couple  of  months  ago  aged  78.

Maxine  Holden ( as  Sue )

Sex : Some  cleavage

Death : Survives

Maxine  was  mainly  a  TV  actress, only  appearing  in  this  and  Lolita.  She  disappeared  from  view  in  the  mid-sixties.