Matushka

Lind and Borrow, two film students in the very first in-take at Britain's National Film School,pooled their funds in order to afford to make a period piece feature drama in 35mm. The main location, doubling as a Russian rural palace, was the haunted Harlaxton manor in Lincolnshire, England. Several of the film crew had sleepless nights and strange experiences. Nevertheless, the shooting was completed within the last ten minutes of the scheduled single week of principal photography, and the cinematographer Dennis Borrow claimed that the light level for the interiors had been inexplicably boosted from a mysterious source. Matushka, played by Lalla Ward, went on to star in the Doctor Who (1979-1981) TV series.