Cry of the Banshee (1970)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Gordon Hessler

Writers:

Tim Kelly (story)
Christopher Wicking (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 July 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

In Elizabethan England, a wicked lord massacres nearly all the members of a coven of witches, earning the enmity of their leader...

Plot Keywords:

Coven | Curse | Witchcraft | Massacre | Werewolf

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Lord Edward Whitman
Hilary Heath	...	Maureen Whitman (as Hilary Dwyer)
Carl Rigg	...	Harry Whitman
Patrick Mower	...	Roderick
Essy Persson	...	Lady Patricia Whitman
Marshall Jones	...	Father Tom
Elisabeth Bergner	...	Oona
Stephan Chase	...	Sean Whitman
Sally Geeson	...	Sarah
Hugh Griffith	...	Mickey
Robert Hutton	...	Party guest
Andrew McCulloch	...	Bully boy
Pamela Fairbrother	...	Margaret Donald (witch)
Quinn O'Hara	...	Magge (witch)
Jan Rossini	...	Bess

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and nudity.

Runtime:

USA:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | UK:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

Quotes:

Lord Edward Whitman: Oona. Of course. Once I showed her mercy. I should have killed her.... Burke. I don't care how you do it - bring Oona to me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Not One of Price's Best

This film has one of the most depraved, heartless, cold centers of any film I have seen in a long time. None of the characters are likable. I mean you will not care what happens to anyone. They are one dimensional characterizations that embody this repulsiveness aforementioned. Even Vincent Price...typically a wonderful villain who can make you like him despite his evil ways...is nothing more than an atypical English aristocrat who kills for no reason at all. The film bears a striking resemblance to The Witchfinder General, but this and that film, although in spirit have much in common, are very, very different films. The Witchfinder General was well-written, had excellent direction, and , at least, some depth of characterization. You can tell director Gordon Hessler feels the film lacks depth because of his repeated need to show totally unerotic nudity. No fewer than six breasts can be seen in the first fifteen minutes of the film. Each pair in a different scene. Each dealt with in a style that only the Marquis de Sade could possibly enjoy. I guess I am giving this film a negative review. I was filled with disappointment after seeing it, because I had liked The Witchfinder General a great deal and love Vincent Price in almost every vehicle he appears. Price has a couple moments in the film where he sparkles, but they are unfortunately few and far between. Cry of the Banshee is really much more of a test....a test to see how much of it you can sit through without getting up and turning it off.