Starring Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Maurice Kaufmann, Yootha Joyce
Directed by Silvio Narizzano
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
An engaged young woman visiting London decides to visit the mother of her former boyfriend who died tragically to give her closure, but the puritanical older lady wants to cleanse her of indecency.
Based on the novel by Anne Blaisdell, and effectively scripted by Richard Matheson, the film offers an ideal showcase for former Hollywood star Bankhead, and she turns in a bravura performance. Like Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck, among others, studios were tapping stars of Bankhead's era for suspense and horror films in the 1960s, and Bankhead's performance stands alongside the best of them. Playing a former actress "rescued" from her "sinful" life by a now-dead husband, the script's gradual revelations of just how prim her beliefs are add tension to the plot, and once she imprisons Powers' character, we're not sure quite how this will end. Powers is fine, although nowhere near as distinguished in her role, but has to play a number of difficult scenes where she's put through harrowing experiences, and should be credited for that. Produced by Britain's Hammer Films, it's surprising how many non-Brits are in the cast, including Bankhead, Powers, and a young Donald Sutherland, playing Bankhead's mentally challenged handyman. Narizzano, per IMDB, was to that point primarily known for directing for television, and makes a strong impact here on the silver screen.
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