Monday 21 August 2017

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.






  

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