274 Haunted House of Horror ( 1969 )

The  best  thing  I  can  find  to  say  about  this  early  teen  slasher  film  is  that  the  clumsy  title  at  least  gives  you  warning  that  it  isn't  going  to  be  much  cop. Tigon  worked  with  AIP  on  this  who  imposed  a  number  of  compromises  on  script  and  casting. The  result  is  an  illogical  plot  with  terrible  acting  and  clumsy  direction.

A  group  of  youngsters  led  by  Chris  (  29-year old  has-been  Frankie  Avalon )  spend  a  night  in  a  nearby  deserted  mansion  for  kicks. Gary  ( Mark  Wynter )  is  brutally  murdered  and  the  rest  decide  to dispose  of  the  body  because  one  or  two  of  them   have  had  minor  brushes  with  the  law  before. As  they  fret  over  the  police  investigation  the  group  decide  to  return  to  see  if  they  missed  something  crucial  before.

Jill  Haworth ( as  Sheila )

Sex : Nice  legs

Death : Survives

Jill  was  something  like  fourth  choice  for  the  role  with  Sue  Lyon, Jane  Marrow  and  Carol  Lynley  considered  before  her.

Gina  Warwick  ( as  Sylvia )

Sex : Sylvia  has  been  sleeping  with  an  older  married  man

Death : Survives

This  was  the  Warwickshire-born  actress's  last  film. She  died  in  Califonia  in  2001  aged  59.

Carol  Dilworth  (  as  Dorothy )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Carol's  only  substantial  film  role. She   went  on  to  be  a  hostess  on  The  Golden  Shot  and  Sale  of  the  Century.  She  married  Len  Hawkes  of  The  Tremeloes  and  is  the  mother  of  Chesney  Hawkes. She  is  now  69.

Veronica  Doran  ( as  Madge )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Plump  Veronica  found  her  niche  in  seventies  sex  comedies  which  became  a  bit  of  an  embarrassment  to  her  in  the  early  eighties  when  she  appeared  in  Coronation  Street  as  Eddie  Yeats's  girlfriend. She  is still  a  working  actress  but  hasn't  appeared  on  TV  sine  2000. She  is  now  69.

273 Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed ( 1969 )

This  fifth  Frankenstein  offering  from  Hammer  is  not  so  much  a  continuation  as  a  character  assassination. The  reckless  fanatic  of the  previous  films  is  now  a  blackmailer, rapist  and  serial  killer. Hammer  cross  a  line  with  this  one, into  the  nastier, grimmer  horror  of  the  seventies. It  is  a  fast-paced  and  exciting  film  though.

Frankenstein  is  continuing  his  experiments  under  cover, murdering  people  when  it  suits  him. On  discovering  that  a  former  colleague  in  brain  transplantaion  is  now  languishing  in  an  asylum,  he  blackmails  a  young  doctor  there  Karl  Holst  ( Simon  Ward )  and  his  fiance  Anna  into  helping  him  extract  the  man   and  put his  brain  into  the  body  of  another  man  ( Freddie  Jones ).   

  

Veronica  Carlson  ( as  Anna Spengler )

Sex : Fankenstein  rapes  Anna

Death : Stabbed  in  the  abdomen  by  Frankenstein

Both  Veronica  and  Cushing  objected  to  filming  the  rape  scene  which  was  inserted  after  the  rest  of  the  film  had  been  completed.

272 Eye of the Cat ( 1969 )

This  thriller  about  a  plot  to  kill  a  sick  woman  and  stop  her  leaving  everything  to  her  many cats   is  watchable  enough  but  you  do  get  a  bit  fed-up  of  trying  to  work  out  who's  double-crossing  who. The  debt  to  Hitchcock  is  obvious  but  he'd  have  made  sure  the  script  was  a  lot  tighter.

Wylie  ( Michael  Sarazzin )  is  a  bum  living  off  his  looks  while  his  less  charismatic  brother  Luke  ( Tim  Henry )  looks  after  sick  Aunt  Danny  ( Eleanor  Parker ).  Danny's  beautician,  Kassia,   looks  up  Wylie  with  a  scheme  to  get  her  Fortune  but  Wylie's  chronic  fear  of  cats  becomes  something  of  an  obstacle.

Gayle  Hunnicutt ( as  Kassia  Lancaster )

Sex : Kassia  has  sex  with  Wylie  but  no  naughty  bits  are  showing

Death : Kassia  falls  from  a  high  ladder  during  an  attack  by  the  cats

The  Texan-born  former  fashion  model  emerged  in  the  mid-sixties  and  became  a  hot  property  in  the  seventies.  In  the  eighties  she  worked  mainly  in  TV  culminating  in  a  regular  role  in  the  last  couple  of  series  of  Dallas . Since  that  finished  in  1991  she's  hardly  appeared  in  anything  and  now  lives  in  England  to  be  close  to  her  grandchildren. She  is  now  74.

Jennifer  Leak  ( as  Poor  Dear )

Sex : Poor  Dear  has  just  had  sex  with  Wylie  when  Kassia  disturbs  them. There  are  brief  glimpses  of  bum  and  breasts.

Death : Survives

Jennifer  was   born  in  Cardiff  and  this  was   her  second  film  having  recently  married  Tim  Matheson,  her  co-star  in  the  first  , Yours  Mine  And  Ours. She   worked  mainly  in  TV  and  retired  in  the  mid-eighties. She  is  now  69.

271 The Corpse ( 1969 )

This  one  is  more  psychological  thriller  than  horror  ; its  re-title  in  the  US  Crucible  of  Horror  is  nonsensical. Existing  prints  are  not  very  good  quality  but  its's  still  worth  a  glance  for  the   performances.

Michael  Gough  plays  Walter  Eastwood  the  tyrannical  and  sadistic  middle  class  family  man  who  enslaves  his  wife  Edith  ( Yvonne  Mitchell ) , physically  abuses  his  daughter  Jane  and  whose  son  Rupert  ( Simon  Gough, Michael's  real-life  son  )  is  becoming  a  chip  off  the  old  block. When  he  goes  away  for  a  weekend's  shooting  the  women  decide  to  murder  him  but  things  are  not  as  they  seem.

Sharon  Gurney  ( as  Jane )

Sex : Jane  goes  for  a  swim  in  the  nude. There  are  brief  glimpses  of  bum  and  breasts

Death : Survives

This  was  19  year  old  Sharon's  second  film  after  a  string  of  good  TV  parts. She  married  her  co-star  Simon  Gough  in  1970  and  a  few  years  later  abandoned  her  promising  career  to  raise  a  family  in  Norfolk . She  is  now  67.

270 Witchfinder-General ( 1968 )

This  was  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  trio  of  films  Michael  Reeves  directed  before  his  untimely  death  in  1969. Though  not  a  great  commercial  success  at  the  time  its  reputation has  only  grown  with  time. Vincent  Price  who  was  foisted  on  Reeves  by  AIP's  finance  gives  a  tremendous  performance  of  pure  evil  and  this  isn't  a  film  for  the  fainthearted  but  it's  one  you  remember.

Price  is  Matthew  Hopkins, a  true  historical  figure  who  operated  as  a  witchfinder  in  East  Anglia  during  the  lawlessness  that  accompanied  the  English  Civil  War. With  his  equally  sadistic  henchman  Stearne ( Robert  Russell )  he  finds  witches  in  every  village  they  ride  through  on  the  flimsiest   of  evidence , tortures  and  then  executes  them  for  money . When  they  eliminate  a  priest  ( Rubert  Davis )  and   abuse  his  neice  Sara  they  make  a  formidable  enemy  in  a  young  Roundhead  soldier,  Richard  Marshall  ( Ian  Ogilvy ).

Hilary  Dwyer  ( as  Sara  Lowes )

Sex : Sara  has  sex  with  Richard. She  then  sleeps  with  Hopkins  to  try  and  save  her  uncle. She  is  then  raped  by  Stearne

Death : Survives

This  was  Hilary's  first  film  and  she  so  impressed  AIP  that  she  starred  with  Price  in  several  subsequent  films. She  retired  in  the  mid-seventies  and  helped  her  husband,  Duncan  Heath,  run  a  talent  agency. In  the  eighties , she  began  a  new  career  as  a  film  and  TV  producer  which  is  ongoing. She  is  now  72.

Maggie  Kimberly  ( as  Elisabeth )

Sex : No

Death : Executed  by  burning

This  was  Maggie's  last  film  and  it's  a  pretty  thankless  role  to  say  the  least

Margaret  Nolan  ( as  Girl  at  Inn )

Sex :  Stearne  stuffs  something  down  her  cleavage

Death : Survives

Margaret  was  a  former  glamour  model  who  managed  to  make  a  success  of  acting  , mainly  in  comic  roles  exploiting  her  figure. She  became a  regular  in  the  Carry  On  films  of  the  early  seventies. She  retired  in  the  early  eighties but  has  returned  to  the  public  eye  as  a  visual  artist  in  the  last  decade  and  made  an  acting  comeback  in  the  2011  film  The  Power  of  Three . She  is  now  73.

269 Rosemary's Baby ( 1968 )

This  is  another  nailed-on  classic, the  film  that  really  cemented  director Roman  Polanski's  reputation. It's  lengthy  but  fully  justifies  that  by  gradually  building  the  tension  in  a  masterpiece  of  urban  paranoia.

Rosemary  and  her  husband, mediocre  actor  Guy  ( John  Cassavetes )  move  into  a  New  York  apartment  despite  the  building's  sinister  history  and  befriend  their  slightly  overbearing   new neighbours  Roman  and  Minnie  Castevets  ( Sidney  Blackmer  and  Ruth  Gordon ). Shortly  afterwards,  Rosemary  has  a  dream  in  which  she  is  raped  by  a  fiend  and  then  finds  she  is  pregnant. As  the  pregnancy  progresses, Rosemary  gets  more  doubtful  that Guy  is  actually  the  father.

Mia  Farrow  ( as  Rosemary  Woodhouse )

Sex : Rosemary  is  raped  by  Satan  in  a  dream  sequence. NB  the  boobs  and  bum  in  this  sequence  are  those  of  a  body  double.

Death : Survives

Mia's  life  story  is  pretty  well  known. She  came   to  prominence in  the  TV  soap  Peyton  Place  where  she  attracted  the  attention  of  Frank  Sinatra  and  married  him  in  1966  despite  a  30  year  age  difference. He  didn't  mind  her  going  off  to   India  with The  Beatles  in  1967  but  served  her  with  divorce  papers  while  she  was  filming  this. In  1970,  she  married  British  conductor  Andre  Previn  who  had  impregnated  her. They  divorced  in  1979  and  she  took  up  with  Woody  Allen  and  appeared  in  many  of  his  films  before  Hollywood's  most  acrimonious  break-up  in  1992  when  he  took  up  with  their  adopted  daughter  Soon-Yi. Since  then,  she's  never  stopped  bad-mouthing  him  including  accusations  of  child  abuse  though  these  have  never  been  tested  in  court. When  she  became  too  old  to  adopt  any  more  children, she  got  involved  with  international  children's  causes  with  her  acting  career  taking  a  back  seat. She is  now  72.

Angela  Dorian ( as  Teri  Gionoffrio )

Sex : No

Death : Jumps  or  is  pushed  from  a  high  window

Angela  was  originally  Victoria  Vetri  from  San  Francisco. She  took  the  new  name  when  she  started  modelling. She  posed  for  Playboy  in  1967. Her  acting  career  petered  out  in  the  mid-seventies. She  is  currently  serving  a  nine  year  prison  sentence  for   attempted  voluntary  manslaughter  after  shooting  her  fourth  husband  in  2010. She  is  now  72.

268 Night of the Living Dead ( 1968 )

We  go  back  to  black  and  white  for  this  famous  independent  horror  film  directed  by  George  Romero . The  special  effects  are  limited  but  it  certainly  scores  for  atmosphere  and  tension  plus  a  bleakly  ironic  ending.

Barbara  and  John  are  siblings  visiting  their  father's  grave  when  they  are  attacked  by  a  zombie  and  John  is  killed. Barbara  flees  to  a  house  where  she  meets  Ben  ( Duane  Jones)  and  subsequently  some  more  refugees  hiding  in  the  cellar. A  horde  of  flesh-eating  zombies  lay  siege  to  the  house  but  the  group  are  in  as  much  danger  from  each  other.

Judith  O  Dea  ( as  Barbara )

Sex : No

Death : Torn  apart  by  the  zombies

Judith  was  mainly  a  stage  actress  and  didn't  make  another  screen  appearance  for  a  decade  after  this . She  then  retired   to  raise  a  family  and  start  her  own  company  O  Dea  Communications. Over  the  last  decade  she  has  embraced  the  legacy  and  appeared  in  a  number  of  modern  horror  films. She  is  now  72.

Marilyn  Eastman  ( as  Helen  Cooper )

Sex : No

Death : Stabbed  with  a  trowel  by  her  zombie  daughter

Marilyn  was  actor-producer  Karl  Hardman's   girlfriend  and  had  many  other  roles  on  the  set  such  as  props  and  make-up. Most  of  her  acting  has  been  in  training  films  produced  by  their  company. She  is  now  83.

Judith  Ridley  ( as  Judy )  

Sex :   No

Death : Immolated  in  an  exploding  car

Judy  was  the  receptionist  for  Hardman's  company. She  later  arranged  food  for  commercials. She  is  now  71.

267 Dracula Has Risen From the Grave ( 1968 )

Christopher  Lee's  third  outing  as  Dracula  and  after  a  very  contrived  resurrection  he  has  more  screen  time  than  in  the  last  one  and  a  modicum  of  dialogue. It  is  a  bit  similar  to  the  previous  one  although  there's  more  emphasis  on  sex  and  religion  this  time  round.

Veronica  Carlson  ( as  Maria   Muller )

Sex : Has  sex  with  her  boyfriend ( offscreen)

Death : Survives

Veronica  had  one  or  two  small  roles  before  this   one  but made  her  name  here  and  went  on  to  star  in  a  number  of  other  horror  films. She  retired  from  acting  on  marriage and  emigration  to  America in  the  mid-seventies  but  made  a  brief  comeback  20  years  later. She  is  now  a  professional  artist  and  has  sold  paintings  of  her  former  co-stars. She  is  now  72

Barbara  Ewing  ( as  Zena )

Sex : Lots  of  cleavage

Death : Mauled  by  Dracula  when  he  has  no  further  use  for  her

Barbara  wears  a  red  wig  for  this  one.

266 The Devil Rides Out ( 1968 )

Hammer  had  been  toying  with  the  idea  of  filming  a  Dennis  Wheatley  novel  since  1963  but  were  fearful  of  the  censor's  reaction  to  an  overtly  Satanic  movie.  This  was  Christopher  Lee's  favourite  of  all  his  movies  and  he's  excellent  as  the  good  guy  battling  black  wizard  Mocata   ( Charles  Gray )  for  his  friend's  soul. Though  looking  slightly  dated  now  it  is  still  an  excellent  film  which  builds  the  tension  and  never  lets  up  until  the  climax.

Nike  Arrighi  ( as  Tanith  Carlisle )

Sex : Some  cleavage  but  she's  very  small-breasted

Death : Survives

Nikki  was  a  French  actress who  worked  in   the  UK  from  the  mid-sixties  to  the  early  seventies. She  retired  on  marrying  an  Italian  aristocrat and  turned  to  making  copperplate  etchings  of  Roman  scenery. She  is  now  70.

Sarah  Lawson  ( as  Marie  Eaton )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Though  she  has  the  smaller  female  role, Sarah  gets  to  be  the  heroine  in  this  one

Rosalyn  Landor  ( as  Peggy  Eaton )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Rosalyn  was  ten  when  she  made  this, her  first  screen  appearance. After  trying  out  a  retail  career  she  returned  to  acting  and  secured  some  good  TV  roles  including  Pru  Standfast  in  C.A,T.S.  Eyes . She  moved  to  the  USA in  the  late  eighties. In  the  late  nineties , she  retreated  from  the  cameras  and  became  a  voice  actress  for  video  games  and  audio  books. She  returned  to  the  UK  a  few  years  ago  and  is  now  58.

265 Curse of the Crimson Altar ( 1968 )

With  censorship  pretty  much  at  an  end  by  1968 ,  here's  where  we  start  seeing  a  bit  more  flesh  in  the  films. Curse  of  the  Crimson  Altar  was  another  Tigon  effort  which  stars  Christopher  Lee  as  the  apparently  avuncular  descendant  of  an  executed  witch. This  doesn't  win  any  prizes  for narrative  coherence  but  there's  a  fair  amount  of  female  flesh  on  show  to  compensate.

Mark  Eden  (  famous  as  Coronation  Street  villain  Alan  Bradley )  is    hero   Mark  Manning  investigating  his  brother's  unexplained   (  which   remains  so  after  the  final  reel  )  disappearance. One  of  the  writers  Henry  Lincoln  was later among  those   responsible  for  all  that  Da  Vinci  Code  nonsense. It's  one  of  Boris  Karloff's  last  films  and  he's  in  a  wheelchair  for  most  of  it.

Virginia  Weatherell  ( as  Eve  Morley )

Sex :  Eve  has  sex  with  Mark. Though  pretty  tame,  it's  the  first  real  sex  scene  we've  covered.

Death : Survives

Though  the  credits  claim  she  is  being  introduced, Virginia  already   had  a  few  film  appearances  under  her  belt  as  well  as  parts  in  Dr  Who  and  Crossroads. She  went  on  to  other  horror  films  but  after  1973  her  career  took  a  back  seat  to  that  of  husband Ralph  Bates. She  retired in  the  late  nineties  to  run  an  antiques  clothes shop  in  London  and  a  cancer  charity  in  Bates's  memory. She  is  now  74.

Barbara  Steele  ( as  Lavinia )

Sex : Nice  cleavage

Death : Originally  executed  by  burning  but  returns to  take  possession  of  her  descendant

I  can't  really  think  why  Barbara  took  this  part. It's  little  more than  a  cameo  and  she  has  to  wear  blue  body  paint  -at  least  on  the  visible  parts.

Rosemarie  Reede  ( as  Esther )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Rosemarie  was  a  bit  part  actress  with  this  her  only  credited  film  role  though  she'd  made  a  handful  of  TV  appearances. She  vanishes  after  this

Nita  Loraine  ( as  woman  with  whip )

Sex : The  woman  is  topless  though  her  large  breasts  are  smeared  with  black  paint

Death : Survives

Nita  was  a  bit  part  actress  active  in  the  sixties  and  early  seventies. She  is now  75.

Vivienne  Carlton ( as  sacrifice  victim )

Sex : The  victim  is  naked  but  her  genitals  are  obscured  by  a  belt  and  her  breasts  by  her  hair

Death :  Stabbed  by  Peter  Manning

This  was  Vivienne's  only  film.

Vikki  Richards  ( as  Belly  dancer  at  party )

Sex : She  pours  drinks  over  her  breasts

Death : Survives

Vikki  was  a  bit  part  actress  in  films, of  which  this  was  the  first  though  she  had  more  substantial  roles  on  TV. She  was  born  in  Trinidad. Her  last  acting  role  seems  to  have  been  a  one scene  cameo  in  Howard's  Way  as  Charles  Frere's  wife  in  1985  ( a  scene  I  actually  recall ). She  is  now  67.

Tasma  Bereton ( as  girl  who  is  painted )

Sex : The  girl's  breasts  are  being  painted

Death : Survives

Tasma  was  a  bit  part  actress  with  just  three  films  to  her  name.

Lita  Scott  ( as  girl  with  cockerel )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Most  of  Lita's  action  was  cut  leaving  just  a  couple  of  quick  glimpses

Nova  St  Claire  ( as  Girl  in  car  chase )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Nova's  only  film  appearance  though  she  made  a  few  TV  appearances  around  this  time.

264 The Blood-Beast Terror ( 1968 )

This  offering  from  Tigon  is  not  a  bad  story  although  if  you've  seen  The  Reptile  recently  , you'll  work   out  what's  going  on  long  before  Peter  Cushing's  droll  detective  assisted  by  Dave  from  Minder  ( Glyn  Edwards ) . It's  told  at  a  very  leisurely pace  though , with  a  long  extract  from  a  student  play  that's  barely  relevant  to  the  plot.  The  producers  show  real  faith  in  the  audience's  patience , tolerance  of  Roy  Hudd  as  a  jolly  mortuary  assistant   and  acceptance  of  biological  inaccuracy  like  moths  having  claws  and  teeth.

Wanda  Ventham  ( as  Clare  Manninger )  

Sex :  Nice  cleavage

Death : Burns  to  death  in  a  bonfire

Wanda's  had  a  long  career  mainly  on  TV  with  perhaps  her  most  well-known  role  being  Rodney's  mother-in-law  in  Only  Fools  and  Horses . She  is  currently  in  Sherlock  playing  mother  to  her  real-life  son  Benedict  Cumberbatch. She  is  now  82.

Vanessa  Howard  ( as  Meg  Quennell )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Vanessa  plays  an  uninteresting  innocent  in  this  one.

263 Torture Garden ( 1967 )

This  was  the  latest  Amicus  portmanteau  film  although  funded  by  Columbia  hence  the  presence  of  Burgess  Meredith  and  Jack  Palance  in  the  cast.  Burgess  plays  Dr  Diablo, a  fairground  hustler  who  invites  a  number  of  sceptical  customers  into  his  torture garden  to  discern  their  possible  fate. As  always  the  stories  are  variable, the  best  concerns  an  ambitious   Hollywood  starlet  who   breaks  into  the  big  time  but   gets  more  than  she  bargained  for,  but  it's  fairly  entertaining  throughout.

Beverly Adams  ( as  Carla  Hayes )

Sex :  No

Death :  ( in  the  vision )  She  is  put  to  death  medically  in  order  to  place  her  brain  in  a  cyborg.

Beverly  was  a  former  beauty  queen  from  Canada   who  came  to  prominence  in  the  role  of  Lovey  Kravezit  in  the  Matt  Helm  movies. She  married  Vidal  Sassoon  in  1966  and  retired  from  acting  not  long  afterwards  to  raise  a  family  and  help  promote  his  business. In  the  eighties  she  launched  her  own  pet  care  products  business. She  made  a  comeback  in  the  nineties  but  has  been  out  of  the  public  eye  since  her  daughter's  death from  a  drug  overdose  in  2002.  She  is  now 76.

Barbara  Ewing  ( as  Dorothy )

Sex : No

Death : ( in  the  vision ) Dorothy  is  pushed  out  of   a  window  by -wait  for  it - a  jealous  piano

This  was  New  Zealand-born  Barbara's  first  film  in  a  very  varied  career  on  stage  and  screen. Her  best-remembered  TV role  was  as  the  pneumatically-bosomed  Agnes  Fairchild  in  Brass. She  is still  a  working  actress  but  in  recent  years  acting  has  taken  a  back  seat  to  crime  writing  with  nine  well-regarded  novels  published  to  date. She  is  now  73.

Nicole  Shelby  ( as  Millie )

Sex : Millie  appears  in  her  underwear

Death :  Survives

Nicole  was  a  bit  part  actress  born  in  Louisiana. She  stayed  in  England  for  a  while  and  appeared  on  The  Benny  Hill  Show  in  the  early  seventies  after  which  she  disappears.

Clytie  Jessop  ( as  Apropos )

Sex : No

Death : Immortal

This  was  a  silent  part  for  spooky-looking  Clytie  and  was  her  last  film  role.






  

262 Theatre of Blood ( 1967 )

This  film  was  re-titled  Blood  Fiend in  the  US  in  case  you  might  want  to  avoid  it. It  stars  Christopher  Lee  as  the  tyrannical  director  at  a  Paris  theatre  specialising  in  sketches  about  horror  and  death. It's  OK  until  his  departure  halfway  through  when  it  deflates  like  a  leaky  balloon  and  proceeds  mainly  by  interminable  conversations  between  police  surgeon  Charles  Maquis ( Julian  Glover )  and  his  actress  girlfriend  occasionally  interrupted  by  a  random  murder. The  denouement  is  OK  if  you  manage  to  stay  awake  for  it.

Leila  Goldoni  ( as  Dani  Gireaux )  

Sex : Offscreen  with  Maquis

Death : Survives

The  New  York  actress  has  been  working  since  the  late  forties  and  isn't  done  yet. She  is  probably  best  known  for  Alice  Doesn't  Live  Here  Anymore  in  1974. She  is  now  80.

Jenny  Till  ( as  Nicole  Chapelle )

Sex : No

Death :  Accidentally  speared  whilst  hiding  under  the  stage

Jenny  was  an  extra  in  The  Masque  of  the  Red  Death  but  came  to  the  fore  in  1967  with  this  and  playing a  fake  Marian  in  A  Challenge  for  Robin  Hood. Most  of  her  subsequent  work  was  on  TV  with  her  last  appearances  in  The  Good  Old  Days  in  1980. She  seems  to  have  retired that  year  on  turning  40. She  is  now  77.

Dilys  Watling  ( as  Heidi )

Sex : Nice  cleavage

Death : Survives

Dilys  made  this  picture  just  after  a  short  spell  in  Coronation  Street.   She  became  a  well  known  comic  foil  on  TV  to  Dick  Emery, Mike  Yarwood, Benny  Hill  and  The  Two  Ronnies.
She  retired  in  the  early  nineties. She  is  now  75.

Lita  Scott  ( as  Voodoo  Dancer )

Sex : Performs  her  routine  wearing  very little

Death : Survives

 Lita's  real  name  was   Sandra  Hobson. She  made  another  dancing  appearance  in  one  more film.

261 The Sorcerers ( 1967 )

This  is  a  rather  nasty  effort  from  director  Michael  Reeves  but  original  and  inventive. It  also  gives  an  authentic  flavour  of  Swinging  London .

Boris  Karloff   looking  all  his  eighty  years  is  Professor   Marcus  Monserrat, a  medical  hypnotist  who  has  devised  a  way  to  enter  minds  and  control  them with  the  aid  of  his  wife  Estelle  ( Catherine  Lacey ). They  find  a  subject  in  the  arrogant  and  bored  young  man  Mike  Roscoe ( Ian  Ogilvy ).  Marcus   wants  to  use  his  findings  for  good  but  Estelle  is  enjoying  feeling  the  sensations  of  youth  and  wants  to  take  things  further.

Elisabeth  Ercy  ( as  Nicole )

Sex : Nicole  strips  down  to  her  underwear  for  a  swim

Death : Survives

Elisabeth  was  a  German  actress  who  worked  mostly  in  France. She  had  disappeared  by  the  end  of  the  sixties.She  is  now  73.

Sally  Sheridan  ( as  Laura  Ladd )

Sex :  No

Death : Throttled  by  Roscoe

Sally  was  more  of  a  TV  actress. She  became  the  girlfriend  of  Telly  Savalas  and  bore  his  son  Nick. She  retired  at  the end  of  the  seventies  to  raise  her  family  but  returned  to  acting  in  the  nineties  as  well  as  running  a  talent  agency. She  has  been  largely  inactive  since  2006. She  is  now  70.

Susan  George  ( as  Audrey  Woods )

Sex : Audrey  wears  a  short  tight  dress  exposing  her  knickers

Death : Stabbed  to  death  by  Roscoe

Susan  was  just  16  and  a  rising  star  when  she  made  this. She  relished  controversial  parts  including  the  notorious  Straw  Dogs  which  won  her  some  Hollywood  roles  in  the  seventies. Along  with  actor  husband  Simon  McCorkindale,  she  became  a  successful  horse  breeder. Since  a  stint  in  Eastenders  in  2001, her  appearances  have  become  rarer  but  she  has  a  couple  of  films  in  post-production. She  is  now  67.

260 The Shuttered Room ( 1967 )

This  is  an  H P  Lovecraft  adaptation  set  in  the  US  but  filmed  in  Norfolk. It  seems  like  the  bastard  child  of  The  Ghoul  and  Straw  Dogs  although  it pre-dates  both  of  them. If  you  can  tolerate  Oliver  Reed's  posing  and  terrible  accent  it's  pretty  good.

Mike  Kelton  ( Gig  Young)  a   magazine  editor  ( and  seemingly  a  martial  arts  expert  on  the  sly )  brings  his  young  wife  Suzanna  back  to  the  island  home  she  was sent  away  from  as  an  infant  following  a  scary  nocturnal  visitation. They  intend  to  make  the  house  a  summer  home  but  everyone  from  her  Aunt  Agatha  ( Flora  Robson )  downwards  tells  them  to  go  home  apart  from  cousin  Ethan  ( Reed )  who  has  his  own  reasons  for  wanting  her  to  stay.

Carol  Lynley  ( as  Suzanna  Whateley )

Sex : Ethan  twice  gets  close  to  raping  her

Death :  Survives  

Carol  was  a  former  child  model  who  progressed  to  Playboy  in  1965. She  had  an  intermittent  affair  with  David  Frost. She  divided  her  time  fairly  equally  between  film , stage  and  TV  but  hasn't  been  active  in  the  last  decade. She  is  now  75.

Judith  Arthy  ( as  Emma )

Sex : Emma  is  fooling  around  with  Ethan

Death : Clawed  to  death  by  who's  in  the room  while  trying  on  Suzanna's  stockings

 Judith  was  an  Australian  actress  who  worked  in  Britain  for  a  decade  between  1965  and  1975. The  buxom  blonde then  returned  to  Australia  but  retired  from  acting  around  1978  to  become  a  teacher  and  later   a  writer. She  made  a  return  to  stage  acting  in  2002. She  is  now  76.

Ann  Bell  ( as  Mrs  Whateley )

Sex : No

Death : Struck  by  lightning  ( offscreen )

Ann  has  another  very  minor  part  in  this  one.

259 Quatermass and the Pit ( 1967 )

Hammer  returned  to  the  Quatermass  serials  for  this  third  adaptation, this  time  in  colour. It  takes  a  while  to  get  going  but  builds  steadily  to  an  exciting  climax. Andrew  Keir  replaced  Brian  Donlevy  in  the  title  role.

Quatermass  is  unwillingly  assigned  the  pigheaded  Colonel  Breen  ( Julian  Glover )  to  his  Rocket  Group  and  they  are  on  the  way  to  dinner  when  called  to  investigate  what  is  assumed  to  be  an  unexploded  bomb  at  an  archaeological  dig   at  a   tube  station  led  by  Professor  Roney  ( James  Donald ). It  slowly  becomes  clear  that  it  is  actually  a  Martian  spaceship  and  has  been  there  since  prehistoric  times. The  aliens  inside  it  are  dead  but  the  ship  itself  is  not.

Barbara  Shelley  ( as  Barbara  Judd ) 

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Barbara's  last  picture  for  Hammer.

Sheila  Steafel ( as  female  journalist )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Sheila  was  born  in  South  Africa. She  had  had  regular  parts  on  TV  since  the  late  fifties  and  was  recently  divorced  from  Harry  H  Corbett  when  she  made  this. Her  forte  is  comedy. She  is  still  working  at  82.

258 Night of the Big Heat ( 1967 )

This  sci-fi  horror  isn't  very  original, a  force  of  super-hot  aliens  start  taking  over  an  island    but  it  is  well  done  with a  good  cast  playing  well-rounded  characters.

Jeff  Callum  ( Patrick  Allen )  is  a  writer  who  retreats  to  an  island,  Fara,  where  he  owns  a  pub,  to  escape  his  mistress  but  she  follows  him  there, posing  as  his  new  secretary. That's  not  all  though, the  island  is  experiencing  tropical  heat. Perhaps  their  mysterious  guest,  rude  scientist  Hanson  ( Christopher  Lee )  has  some  answers

Jane  Merrow  ( as  Angela  Roberts )

Sex : Angela  has  been  Jeff's  mistress.  An  overheated  villager  tries  to  rape  her  but  she  fights  him  off

Death  : Survives

Jane  has  had  a  long  career  with  spells  as  a  successful  TV  actress  in  both  the  UK  and  US . She  is  still  a  working  actress  at  75.

Sarah  Lawson  ( as  Frankie  Callum )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Sarah  was  a  former  Rank  starlet. She  was  Patrick  Allen's  wife  in  real  life  having  married  him  in  1960. She  appeared  in  many  British  films  in  the  fifties   then  appeared  more  on  TV  in  the  sixties. She  had  a  lead  role  in  the  series  Within  These  Walls.  She  retired  at  the  end  of  the  eighties.She  is now  88.