Let's Kill Uncle

I remember this movie from my youth. I must have seen it for the first and last time around the mid-70's. I too finally found a DVD copy on the internet. I have always been drawn to see this movie in it's entirety, for I do not remember much of the movie besides the old hotel and the shark in the swimming pool. (Cheesy clips of the shark really "age" this movie compared to today's fix capabilities.) Approaching the young age of 40, perhaps I was trying to recapture some of my youth. None the less, the movie was a thrill to see after all of these years. I will keep it in my collection and let my boys watch it as I did in my younger days. Nigel Green is quite good in this movie, I must admit.

Though it starts off somewhat slowly, things instantly pick up when Nigel Green enters the scene. He is a hoot as the coniving uncle, and his various activities (like practicing judo in the house) and dialogue are hilarious (the breakfast conversation with his nephew is the best such scene. I would say the movie gets better as it goes along, getting more twisted with its black comedy. However, the final minute of the movie is a real disappointment. It's as if the screenwriter was running out of time to submit the script to the studio, and wrote in an ending both strange and feeling unfinished.

It's still worth a look - if you can find it. It seems that Universal has withdrawn the movie for some reason, and currently the only way to watch the movie is through bootlegs. Perhaps the current owners of the studio are uncomfortable with the whole uncle-trying-to-kill-nephew/nephew-trying-to-kill-uncle thing, even though all this is never presented in a serious manner. Let's hope they eventually find a sense of humor.

Although I haven't seen the movie in well over twenty years, I distinctly remember some classically original scenes--a shark circling in the swimming pool is at the forefront of these scenes.

There is a charm to the movie hard to put one's finger on. Perhaps it's a film that begs (and succeeds) to bring out the adventurous core-child in each of us.

The problem: I've been searching for this movie for over twenty years. If I can buy a copy from someone, or if someone knows when it might be aired....PLEASE let me know.

Thank you, Jay

This seems among the hardest of Castle's efforts to come by: there is no legitimate home video release of it and, in fact, I had first acquired a poor-quality copy taken from a 16mm print but have now upgraded to a superior (if still rather soft) one sourced from TCM just in time for its inclusion in my ongoing centenary tribute to the director. The film, then, definitely takes him off the chiller course – opting for a black comedy vein which he would retain for his two subsequent efforts (both awaiting their turn, to be sure, in my current schedule), namely THE BUSY BODY and THE SPIRIT IS WILLING (both 1967). Besides, children are once again put at the forefront of the cast (and murder victim) list – as had been the case with the recently-viewed 13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS (1963) and I SAW WHAT YOU DID (1965).

The movie could well be confused with Nigel Patrick's HOW TO MURDER A RICH UNCLE (1957) but, here, we have a villainous relative trying to dispose of the rightful heir to a fortune – so the latter, a boy, decides to do the older man in himself before he can succeed in his nefarious scheme…hence the title and, by extension, the delightful irony of the central situation! Adding to the amusement is the fact that, though the child is ostensibly protected by a police sergeant, the latter is totally oblivious to the battle-of-wills going on around him! Besides, the kid is a compulsive liar, for which he is constantly berated by his girl companion – played by Mary Badham of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) fame – and of whose own female guardian the cop soon becomes enamoured. Most important of all, the uncle is a veritable (and published) WWII hero – so that his endeavours to get-rich-quick involve militaristic strategies, and a good deal of cold-bloodedness!

While the film is certainly no lost classic, it receives a definite boost once nominal star Nigel Green (in one of his best screen roles) gets his belated introduction; among the most inventive attempts by the protagonists to outdo each other are a precarious walk near a clifftop while under a hypnotic spell; a fall into a murky pool in which a shark is at large; the 'is it or isn't it?' poisoned mushroom sauce at dinner; a flight in a private plane with a low fuel supply; and a tarantula attack. The ending, then, which puts the deadly game squarely at a draw can be seen as a cop-out – but also that Castle was only pulling our leg throughout or, if you like, having some typically ghoulish fun at our expense…despite not having an accompanying gimmick this time around or, as it turned out, ever again!

Orphaned, imaginative youngster (Pat Cardi), living on an isolated (some say haunted!) island with his uncle (Nigel Green), learns that his bug-eyed relative wants him dispatched permanently in order to cash in on the lad's $5M inheritance. The boy then involves his bickering playmate (Mary Badham) in turning the tables on the nefarious grown-up, who seems to take delight in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Screenwriter Mark Rodgers, working from a novel by Rohan O'Grady, and Castle appear to be targeting the family audience with this thriller. Much like their goal, the film is curious and intriguing without being truly provocative. The kids plot to poison Uncle with mushrooms but are somehow thwarted, while Uncle--armed with a can of gasoline--attempts to set the two on fire (but how would he explain their deaths to the authorities?). You absolutely cannot look for logic in a Castle screamer, but imagine how good--if not great--his films might have been with a little smarts! *1/2 from ****