The Witches (1966)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Cyril Frankel

Writers:

Nigel Kneale (writer)
Norah Lofts (novel)

Release Date:

February 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

A STRANGER IN A TOWN THAT HAS LOST ITS MIND ...IF SHE'S NOT CAREFUL, SHE MAY LOSE HER'S TOO!

Plot:

An English school teacher outposted in Africa has a run in with the local witch doctor and suffers a nervous breakdown...

Plot Keywords:

Witchcraft | Village | Schoolteacher | Voodoo | Hammer Horror

Cast

Joan Fontaine	...	Gwen Mayfield
Kay Walsh	...	Stephanie Bax
Alec McCowen	...	Alan Bax
Ann Bell	...	Sally Benson
Ingrid Boulting	...	Linda Rigg (as Ingrid Brett)
John Collin	...	Dowsett
Michele Dotrice	...	Valerie Creek
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies	...	Granny Rigg
Duncan Lamont	...	Bob Curd
Leonard Rossiter	...	Dr. Wallis
Martin Stephens	...	Ronnie Dowsett
Carmel McSharry	...	Mrs. Dowsett
Viola Keats	...	Mrs. Curd
Shelagh Fraser	...	Mrs. Creek
Bryan Marshall	...	Tom
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yemi Ajibade	...	Mark (uncredited)
Kitty Atwood	...	Mrs. McDowall (uncredited)
John Barrett	...	Mr. Glass (uncredited)
Roy Desmond	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Catherine Finn	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Prudence Hyman	...	Stephanie's Maid (uncredited)
Lizbeth Kent	...	First Villager (uncredited)
Artro Morris	...	Porter (uncredited)
Willie Payne	...	Adam (uncredited)
Charles Rea	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Ken Robson	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Brian Todd	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Don Vernon	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Rudolph Walker	...	Mark (uncredited)
Terry Williams	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Cyril Frankel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nigel Kneale		writer
Norah Lofts		novel "The Devil's Own" (as Peter Curtis)

Produced by
Anthony Nelson Keys	....	producer

Original Music by
Richard Rodney Bennett

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant

Film Editing by
Chris Barnes
James Needs

Casting by
Irene Lamb

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Art Direction by
Don Mingaye

Makeup Department
George Partleton	....	makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Charles Permane	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Tringham	....	assistant director
Terence Churcher	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roy Hyde	....	sound editor
Ken Rawkins	....	sound recordist
Charles Wheeler	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cecil R. Cooney	....	camera operator (as C. C. Cooney)
David Harcourt	....	camera operator
Tom Edwards	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe supervisor
Harry Haynes	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Tony Lenny	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Anne Deeley	....	continuity
Denys Palmer	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Associated British-Pathé (1966) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Own (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Joan Fontaine reportedly purchased the film rights to Peter Curtis' novel and brought the project to Hammer.

Intriguing Beginning, Terrible Conclusion

After being threatened by witchcraft in Africa, Gwen Mayfield (Joan Fontaine) has a nervous breakdown and returns to England. She is invited to teach in a private school, owned by the wealthy Alan Bax (Alec McCowen) and his sister Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), in the village of Heddaby. After a period in the place, she witnesses weird events with locals, and she realizes that the place is indeed a coven and her student Linda Rigg (Ingrid Brett) is being prepared for a sacrifice.

"The Witches" is a Hammer film that can be divided in two parts: the first one, with the arrival of Mayfield to Heddaby, is intriguing and suspenseful. Joan Fontaine, in her last work in the cinema, performs a fragile and vulnerable woman due to a trauma in Africa, and wondering if there are witches in the village. The second part, when she returns from the mental institution, is simply awful. The long ritual of the witches is disgusting and silly, and spoils a promising film. Kay Walsh, the former wife of David Lean, has a great performance, highly above the rest of the cast. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Bruxa A Face do Demônio" ("Witch The Face of the Demon")