Corruption (1968)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Robert Hartford-Davis

Writers:

Derek Ford (writer)
Donald Ford (writer)

Release Date:

19 July 1968 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

This is not a woman's picture! No women will be allowed in alone!

Plot:

A doctor goes to extreme lengths--even murder--to restore the badly burned face of his fiance.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Surgeon | Beautiful Woman | Laser | Decapitation

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Sir John Rowan
Sue Lloyd	...	Lynn Nolan
Noel Trevarthen	...	Steve Harris
Kate O'Mara	...	Val Nolan
David Lodge	...	Groper
Wendy Varnals	...	Terry
Billy Murray	...	Rik
Vanessa Howard	...	Kate
Jan Waters	...	Girl in the Flat
Phillip Manikum	...	Georgie
Alexandra Dane	...	Sandy
Valerie Van Ost	...	Girl in the Train
Diana Ashley	...	Claire
Victor Baring	...	Mortuary Attendant
Shirley Stelfox	...	Girl at the Party

Also Known As:

Carnage (USA)
Laser Killer (USA) (longer version)

Runtime:

UK:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Perfect)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:X (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Oakshire Productions

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 1 (2005) (V)

British take on Eyes Without a Face

After reading the plot description, I was expecting a British take on the French classic 'Eyes Without a Face'. There's a great deal of Eyes Without a Face rip offs going around; Jess Franco's pair The Awful Dr Orloff and Faceless being among the best of them, and there's nothing wrong with basing a film around that premise; but Corruption doesn't bring much, if anything, new to it and that's a shame as considering the people involved, this could have been a lot better. The film does carry the British style well, although clearly it was a much cheaper production than a lot of the Hammer films. The plot focuses on Sir John Rowan, a doctor who finds himself in a precarious position after an accident involving his wife. Unfortunately, the accident left her badly burned, and feeling responsible; the doctor tries to do something about it. He discovers that if he extracts fluid from women's pituitary glands, he can restore his wife's face - however, the effects are only temporary, leading the doctor to murder again and again to keep his wife beautiful!

Corruption is directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, a capable if not brilliant director behind decent horror 'The Black Torment' as well as rubbish such as Incense of the Damned. As mentioned, it's obvious that Hartford-Davis didn't have much of a budget to work with, although his direction is competent enough, if not particularly enthralling. The film's big draw is, of course, Peter Cushing who takes the lead role as the murderous doctor. Being a horror fan, I am naturally a big fan of the legendary Peter Cushing and always enjoy watching his movies. He doesn't put in a particularly great performance here, although he is still good to watch. It's really a shame he isn't better since the role is quite meaty and could have been made more of. The film was released in 1968 and considering that, the gore is fairly shocking; although the film hasn't aged too well and not a lot of the budget was spent on special effects. The film doesn't stay completely interesting for the duration but it never slows to a standstill or becomes completely boring. I can't recommend anyone goes out of their way to track this one down; but it's worth seeing if you can find it.