197 The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll ( 1960 )

Hammer's  take  on  the  Jekyll  and  Hyde  story  concentrates  more  on  the  sex  than  the  science and  for  the  most  part  it's  pretty  good  although  the  device  of  actor  Paul  Massie  putting  on  false  beard  and  sideburns  for  Jekyll  looks  a  bit  cheap. It  also  goes  on  a  bit  too  long, the  last  few  minutes  being  unnecessary. Oh  and  that  snake  isn't  nearly  big  enough  to  kill  an  adult.

Dr  Jekyll  ( Paul  Massie )  is  an  obsessed  scientist  neglecting  his  wife  Kitty  to  the  extent  of  not  noticing  she's  having  an  affair  with  his  friend  ( and  debtor )  Paul  ( Christopher  Lee ),  a  London  playboy. When  he  becomes  Hyde  he  manipulates  the  pair  to  his  own  advantage  as  well  as  enjoying  all  the  debauchery  London  can  throw  at  him.

Dawn  Addams  ( as  Kitty  Jekyll )

Sex :  Kitty  is  having  an  affair  with  Paul  for  which  she  is  raped  ( largely  offscreen ) by  Hyde

Death : Commits  suicide  by  falling  through  a  glass  ceiling

Dawn  ha  a  long  career  without  ever  quite  becoming  a  star. Her  film  cv  includes  The  Robe,  The  Moon  Is  Blue  and  A  King  In  New  York. After  1971  she  was  restricted  to  TV  where  her  credits  include  Triangle  and  Crossroads. She  died  of  cancer  in  1985  aged  55.


Norma  Maria   ( as  Maria )

Sex : Maria  has  sex  with  Hyde  and  appears  barebacked  afterwards. She  also  does  a  scantily-clad  erotic  dance with  a  snake

Death : Strangled  by  Hyde

Norma  ( who  doesn't  look  that  great  when  the  mask  comes  off ) made  only  one  other  film  and  is  completely  obscure.

Joy  Webster  ( as  Jenny )

Sex : Jenny  is  a  prostitute

Death : Survives

Joy  plays  a  tart  once  more  and  yes,  that  is  Oliver  Reed  as  her  minder.

Pauline  Shepherd  ( as  Mary )

Sex :  Mary  is  a  whore, part  of  a  plan  to  roll  Hyde

Death : Survives

Pauline  was  a  bit  part  actress  active  at  the turn  of  the  sixties. After  a  regular  part  in  the  TV  series  Home  Tonight  she  vanishes  from  view. She  would  now  be  78.

Janina  Faye  ( as  Jane )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Janina  plays  a  deaf  mute  girl  who  idolises  Jekyll

Magda  Miller  ( as  Sphinx  Girl )

Sex : Goes  off  with  Paul  and  another  girl  for  a  menage  a  trois. Awesome  boobs

Death : Survives

This  was  actually  the  last  of  Magda's  handful  of  films   but  her  TV  career  lasted  into  the  mid-eighties. She  is  now  81.

196 Tormented ( 1960 )

Another  Bert  Gordon  offering  and  as  usual  some  good  ideas  have  to  share  screen  space  with  high  camp  and  terrible  acting  so  it's  not  recommended.

Tom  Stewart  ( Richard  Carlson )  is  a  jazz  pianist who's  come  to  an  island  to  marry  a  rich  young  girl  but  is  followed  over  by  Vi,  a  bunny  boiler  from  his  past  who  won't  let  go. When  she  falls  through  a  rotten  railing  he  declines  to  help  her  and  she  dies  or  does  she  ?

Lugene  Sanders ( as  Meg  Hubbard )

Sex : Great  figure

Death : Survives

This  was  the  only  film  of  Lugene's  short  acting  career. She  is  remembered,  if  at  all, for  the  starring  role  in  the  TV  series  The  Life  of  Riley. She  has  been  married  since  1954  and  is  now  82.

Susan  Gordon  (  as  Sandy  Hubbard )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Susan  was  given  quite  a  substantial  role  in  this  one  and  she  acquits  herself  very  well.

Juli  Reding  ( as  Vi  Mason )

Sex : Awesome  boobs

Death : Either  drowns  or  gets  smashed  on  rocks

The  Texan  blonde  acted  with  her  chest  and  her  career  was  more  or  less done  by  the  end  of  the  sixties  although  she  did  have  a  couple  of  TV  roles  in  the  mid-eighties. she  is  now  81.

Lillian  Adams  ( as  Mrs  Ellis )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Lillian  had  a  very  long  career  as  a  character  actress,  working  right  up  to  her  death. Her  films  include  Private  Benjamin, Magnolia  and  Bruce  Almighty. She  died  in  2011  aged  89.

195 The Tell-Tale Heart ( 1960 )

This  is  a  rare  Bitish  adaptation  of  a  Poe  story, not  terribly  exciting  but  worth  a  look  for  the  performances. There  is   a  plot  hole  where  the  heroine  hears  a  lamp  smash  in  the  house  across  the  street  but  didn't  hear  the  noisy  murder  there  the  night  before.

Edgar  Marsh  ( Laurence  Payne  )  is  a  shy,  porn-obsessed  librarian  who  spies  on  his  new  neighbour  Betty  undressing  in  the  house  across  the  street. He  is  encouraged  by  his  friend  Carl  ( Dermot  Walsh )  to  make  contact  with  her  and  a  relationship  of   sorts  is  formed. However  when  Carl  is  introduced  to  her   they  become  lovers. Edgar  doesn't  take  it  very  well.

Adrienne  Corri  ( as  Betty )

Sex : Betty  sleeps  with  Carl , observed  by  Edgar

Death :  Survives

Adrienne  looks  lovely  in  this  but  it's  a  pity  the  undressing  scenes  are  filmed  from  so  far  away.

Rosemary  Rotheray ( as  Jackie )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

An  obscure  bit  part  actress  active  in  the  early  sixties.

Elisabeth  Paget  ( as  Elsie )

Sex : Elsie  is  a  prostitute

Death : Survives

This  is  Elisabeth's  only  film  although  she  made  a  couple  of  TV  appearances  in  the  late  sixties.

194 The Stranglers of Bombay ( 1960 )

This  is  an  unusual  early  Hammer  offering, more  of  an  historical  adventure  film  although  the  nature  of  the  events  is  horrific  enough. It's  not  that  good  though, difficult  to  follow  and  the  characters  are  pure  cardboard.

Captain  Lewis  is  a  soldier  in  India  investigating  the  wholesale  disappearance  of  merchant  caravans. Expecting  a  commission  to  take  it  further , he  is  disappointed  when  the  Colonel  ( Andrew  Cruickshank )  appoints  Connaught-Smith  ( Allan  Cuthbertson ) , a  public  school  ponce  who  doesn't  know  his  arse  from  his  elbow. The  culprits  are  actually  a  death  cult, the  Thugees  whose  agents  are  everywhere.

Jan  Holden  ( as  Mary  Lewis )

Sex : Great  cleavage

Death : Survives

Jan  was  originally  Valerie  Wilkinson  from  Southport  but  her  early  childhood  was  spent  in  India. She  was  a  popular  TV  actress  up  to  the  end  of  the  eighties. Her  life  was  marred  by  personal  tragedies  and  poor  health  but  she  survived  until  2005  when  she  died  aged  74.

Marie  Devereux ( as  Karim )

Sex : No

Death : Her  fate  is  left  in  the  air

It's  hard  to  know  what  the  point  of  Marie  in  this  film  is. Her  role  is  pure  decoration  yet  you  never  get  a  good  look  at  her.

193 Psycho ( 1960 )

In  what  was  a  seminal  year  for  horror  films  this  one  topped  the  lot. Alfred  Hitchcock's  masterpiece  singlehandedly  invented  the  slasher  genre  and  introduced  horror  tropes  such  as  death  being  the  penalty  for  sexual  transgression, ambushes  in  the  shower, quick  jump  cuts etc  that  are  still  being  used  today.

A  summary  of  the  plot  seems  unnecessary  but  for  passing  Martians  it  goes  like  this. Marion  Crane  an  office  worker  steals  a  client's  money  to  finance  an  elopement  with  lover  Sam ( John  Gavin ). Driving  to  meet  up  with  him,  she  pulls  into  an old  fashioned  motel  to  escape  a  rainstorm. The  proprietor  is  Norman  Bates ( Anthony  Perkins )  a  pleasant,   slightly  callow,  young  man,  apparently  in  thrall  to  a  dominating  mother. Marion  decides  to  have  a  shower...

Vera  Miles  ( as  Lila  Crane )

Sex : No

Death  :  Survives  ( but  cops  it  in  Psycho  II )

Vera's  real  surname  is  Ralston  but  when  the  former  beauty  contestant   began  her  film  career  there  was  already  an  actress  of  that  name. She  got  her  big  beak  in  The  Searchers  in  1956  then  committed  herself  to   Hitchcock  as  a  mooted  replacement  for  Grace  Kelly.  She  didn't  achieve  that  status - pregnancy  cost  her  the  female  lead  in  Vertigo   but  she  was   always  gainfully  employed  in  film  or  TV  until  her  retirement  in  1995. She  is  now  87.

Janet  Leigh  ( as  Marion  Crane )

Sex : Marion  has  just  had  sex  with  Sam  as  the  film  opens  and  is  wearing  a  bra  and  underskirt. There  are  quick, blurred  glimpses  of  her  breasts  in  the  shower  scene.

Death :  Do  I  really  need  to  say ?

Janet  was  originally  Jeanette  Morrison . She  was  already  an  experienced  actress  having  been  in  films  since  the  late  forties. She  married  Tony  Curtis  her  third  husband  in  1951. She  took a  break  from  acting  after  their  divorce  in  1962  but   returned  as  a  character  actress  and  was  working  down  to  her  death  in  2004  aged  77.

Pat  Hitchcock  ( as  Caroline ) 

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Pat  was  the  director's  only  child  and  although  she  was  genuinely  an  actress  she  did  little  work  for  anyone  else. She  is  now  88  and  has  been   married  for  65  years.

192 Peeping Tom ( 1960 )

I've  heard  a  lot  about  this  film  but  couldn't  help  being  a  bit  disappointed  by  it  now I've  finally  seen  it. It's  loved  by  film  buffs  because  it's  a  film  about  film  with  a  finger  pointing  at  the  audience  for, as  much  as  the  perpetrator  of, the  murders  committed. There's  a  film- within- a- film  and  references  to  Hitchcock, all  very  clever  but   as  a  horror  film  it  fails  to  be  very  exciting  through  a  lack  of  gore - the  third  murder's offscreen - and  the  casting  of  unattractive  actresses.

Mark  Lewis  ( Carl  Boehm ) is  an  attractive  but  socially  awkward  young  man  who  is  at  once   a  landlord, a  pornographer's  assistant  and  a  film  cameraman. He  has  been  seriously  abused  by  his  father  using  him  as  a filmed  guinea  pig  for  his  studies  in  fear. Mark  takes  it  one  step  further  by  concealing  a  spike  in  a  leg  of  his  tripod  and  murdering  women  so  that  he  can  film  the  fear  in  their  faces  at  the  point  of  death. Despite  this  he  is  portrayed  as  a  sympathetic  character  in  thrall  to  his  ingrained  obsessions.

Anna  Massey  ( as  Helen   Stephens )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

The  bird-faced  Massey, in  only  her  second  film  here, was  the  Gail  Platt  of  her  generation  and  any  film  which  has  her as  the  love  interest  has  an  immediate  problem. Nonetheless  she  became  a  formidable  character  actress  on  TV  right  up  until  her  death  from  cancer  in  2011 aged  73.

Moira  Shearer  ( as  Vivian )

Sex : No

Death : Receives  a  spike  in  the  throat  from  Mark

Moira  was  best  known  as  a  ballet  dancer  and  was  miscast  here  as a  film  extra  and  Mark's  second  victim  after  making  her  name  in  director Michael  Powell's   earlier  film  The  Red  Shoes. She  is  also  remembered  as  the  wife  of  campaigner  and  broadcaster  Ludovic  Kennedy. She  died  in  2006  aged  80.

Pamela  Green  ( as  Milly )

Sex : Appears  topless  in  some  cuts  of  the  film

Death : Receives  a  spike  in  the  throat  from  Mark

This  was  Pamela's  first  mainstream  film  and  she  basically  played  herself, a  glamour  model. She  took  a  businesslike  approach  to  her  work  and  set  up  her  own  company  Kamera.She  later  became a  photographer's  assistant. She  died  in  2010  aged  81.

Shirley  Anne  Field  ( as  Diane  Ashley )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Shirley  Anne  plays  a  meta-role  as  the  actress  in  the  film  on  which  Mark  is  assisting,

Brenda  Bruce  (  as  Dora )

Sex : Dora  is  a  prostitute

Death : Receives  a  spike  in  the  throat  from  Mark

Brenda  was  another  very  popular  British  character  actress  who  kept  working  right  up  to  her  death  in  1996  aged  76.

Margaret  Neale  ( as  Mark's  stepmother ) 

Sex : Appears  in  a  bikini

Death :   Not  covered  

This  is  Margaret's  only  film  but  she  had  a  regular  TV  role  in  a  series  called  Object  Z  and  its  sequel. She  disappeared  from  view  in  the  late  sixties.

Susan  Travers  ( as  Lorraine )

Sex :  Appears  with  a  hat  and  drape  but  otherwise  nude

Death :  Survives

Susan  was  originally  Jennifer  Leon  from  Chelsea  and  she  is  the  niece  of  Virginia  McKenna. We'll  find  her  in  other  horror  films  and  she  was  Barry  Foster's  wife  in  Van  der  Valk. She  is  now  78.

191 The Leech Woman ( 1960 )

This  cheap  and  cheerful  B-movie  which  went  out  as  a  companion  to  The  Brides  of  Dracula  is  watchable  but  does  suffer  from  a  dearth  of  sympathetic  characters.

Paul  Talbot  ( Philip  Terry )  is  an  endocrinologist  with  a  spiteful, alcoholic  wife  June. When  an  old  African  woman  Malla  ( Estelle  Hemsley  ) arrives  at  his  office  and  promises  to  reveal  her  tribes'  secret  of  eternal  youth  , the  couple  and   Garvey, a  guide  follow  her  to  Africa. June  is  the  only  one  to  survive  the  trip  and  return  with  the  secret  but  it  requires  her  to  kill  to   maintain  her  regained  youth.

Coleen  Gray  ( as  June  Talbot ) 

Sex : June  has  sex  with  Garvey  in  the  jungle  ( offscreen ) . She  attempts  to  seduce  her  young  attorney

Death :  Throws  herself  out  of  a  window  to  avoid  arrest

Coleen  had  to  spend  a  lot  of  time  with  the  make-up  lady  for  this  one  as  her  appearance  is  constantly  changing. Apparently  the  animosity  beteween  her  and  Terry  was  for  real.

Gloria  Talbott  (  as  Sally )

Sex :  No

Death : Killed  by  June  in  a  struggle

This  was  Gloria's  last  horror  picture, her  remaining  films  being  Westerns

Kim  Hamilton  ( as  young  Malla )

Sex : No

Death :  She  is  due  to  die  on  the   same  night  she  takes  the  potion  but  we  don't  see  it  happen

Kim   was  originally  Dorothy  Aiken  from  L.A. Her  career  spanned  well  over  50  years  though  it  was  more  in  TV  than  films. She  died  in  2013  aged  81.