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Stars: Robert Flemyng, Maria Teresa Vianello, Barbara Steele, Silvano Tranquilli, Maria Teresa Vianello, Harriet Medin, Lamberto Antinori, Aldo Cristiani | Written by Ernesto Gastaldi | Directed by Riccardo Freda

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, directed by Riccardo Freda under the pseudonym “Robert Hampton,” is a lurid and atmospheric Gothic horror film that exemplifies the Italian cinema’s talent for crafting macabre yet elegant tales during the golden age of Euro-horror. This genre gem, drenched in decadent visuals and infused with a morbidly psychological undertone, manages to unnerve and captivate in equal measure.

The story unfolds in 19th-century London, where the titular character, Dr. Bernard Hichcock (played with unnerving restraint by Robert Flemyng), is a celebrated anesthesiologist with a dark secret: his fetishistic obsession with necrophilia. After accidentally causing the death of his first wife, Margaretha (Maria Teresa Vianello), during a disturbingly intimate experiment with a powerful sedative, Hichcock disappears, only to return years later with a new wife,...

The Blood Beast Terror

Blu-ray

Kino Lorber

1968 / 1.85: 1 / 88 Min.

Starring Peter Cushing, Wanda Ventham, Robert Flemyng

Written by Peter Bryan

Directed by Vernon Sewell

A serene British countryside is rocked by a series of brutal murders with a common thread; each victim has been mutilated and drained of their blood. All eyes are on a nearby university and its resident eccentric, the mysterious Dr. Mallinger, an entomologist with a fascination for Death’s-head moths. His daughter Clare shares his interests but her concerns are more personal than academic—Clare is a shapeshifter, transformed into a deadly butterfly when her blood is up and romance is in the air.

Directed by Vernon Sewell, this not so thrilling thriller features Robert Flemyng as Mallinger, and Wanda Ventham as Clare, whose blank-faced beauty suggests an otherworldly nature or a general lack of enthusiasm for the project—if it’s the latter she’s...

By Lee Pfeiffer

"The Deadly Affair", directed by Sidney Lumet, is the 1967 film based on John Le Carre's 1961 novel "Call for the Dead". Le Carre was riding high during the Bond-inspired Bond phenomenon of the 1960s. Unlike the surrealistic world of 007, Le Carre's books formed the basis for gritty and gloomy espionage stories that were steeped in realism and cynicism. The film adaptation of Le Carre's "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" had been released the previous year to great acclaim. Lumet, who made "The Deadly Affair" for his own production company, rounded up top flight British talent including screenwriter Paul Dehn, who had written the film adaptation of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and  co-wrote the screenplay for "Goldfinger".

As with all Le Carre film adaptations, the plot is complex to the point of being confusing. There are many intriguing characters of dubious allegiance to one another,...

It’s the granddaddy of British cop dramas of the modern era. The most popular English picture of 1950 introduced PC George Dixon, a warm-hearted constable who would become a staple on BBC TV for 21 years. T.E.B. Clarke’s screenplay of a murder manhunt is stocked with actors American fans know well — Dirk Bogarde, Bernard Lee — and some we should know better — Jack Warner, Robert Flemyng, Dora Bryan. The show was made by the top craftsmen of Ealing Studios, and its fast pace and Brit sensibility will definitely impress. And remember — the Bobbies on the beat don’t even carry guns.

The Blue Lamp

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 85 min. / Street Date June 1, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Bruce Seton, Meredith Edwards, Dora Bryan, Gladys Henson, Tessie O’Shea, Betty Ann Davies, Jennifer Jayne, Sam Kydd,...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Charles Cohen, the founder of the Cohen Film Collection, not only finances and distributes acclaimed independent films, but he also controls the rights to an impressive number of largely forgotten British films. Instead of letting them languish, Cohen has invested in bringing some of these titles to Blu-ray with stunning new transfers. The latest release is a Blu-ray double feature consisting of two modestly-budgeted murder-themed sagas. First- and most impressive- is "Cast a Dark Shadow", a 1955 noirish production with up-and-comer Dirk Bogarde in the lead role. He plays Edward Bare, a handsome and charismatic young man who, when we first meet him, is improbably newly wed to Monica (Mona Washbourne), an elderly woman with a sizable fortune who Edward dotes over and manipulates. Monica's lawyer Phillip Mortimer (Robert Flemyng) smells a rat but Monica is too delusional to believe Edward is manipulating her. When she turns up...

Epics — everybody wants to make them but the studios are naturally wary. Richard Attenborough’s ode to the youthful ambitions of Sir Winston Churchill was a big hit in England but didn’t make a dent here. Although a dead ringer for the young Winston, Simon Ward didn’t take off as a star either, leaving Anne Bancroft and Robert Shaw in a sidebar drama that will mostly be remembered for an Std. Correspondent-soldier Churchill sees action in India, The Sudan and South Africa, thanks to the intervention of his socially adept mother. It’s a beautiful, ‘safe’ production with plenty of national pride. Its American premiere served as the Grand opening screening for the second Filmex film festival.

Young Winston

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 154 min. / Street Date October 28, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99

Starring: Simon Ward, Robert Shaw, Anne Bancroft, Jack Hawkins, Patrick Magee, Edward Woodward, John Mills,...

Michael Anderson directs a classy slice of ’60s spy-dom. In West Berlin, George Segal’s Quiller struggles through a near- existential battle with Neo-Nazi swine more soulless than his own cold-fish handlers. Harold Pinter supplies the circular dialogue, Alec Guinness the charming insincerity and Max von Sydow a devilish menace. Quiller is mesmerized by the seductive ambiguity of lovely Senta Berger. Does she love Quiller? Or is love dead in this brave world of deceit and subterfuge?

The Quiller Memorandum

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date March 19, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger, George Sanders, Robert Helpmann, Robert Flemyng, Peter Carsten.

Cinematography: Erwin Hillier

Film Editor: Frederick Wilson

Original Music: John Barry

Written by Harold Pinter from the novel by Adam Hall

Produced by Ivan Foxwell

Directed by Michael Anderson

The ’60s spy movie craze was a copycat game.

"Death will take you as you sleep! A sleep as deep as Death!" Barbara Steele doesn't realize that her husband is using her to recover a forbidden sexual thrill. Riccardo Freda's film plays games with Alfred Hitchcock's filmography, but it also generates a Euro-horror spell like no other. Outrageous in 1962, it was a Technicolor ode to funereal surrealism. New in this review -- a crazy theory that might upend story assumptions about L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock. The Horrible Dr. Hichcock Blu-ray Olive Films 1962 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 77 88 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock; Raptus The Secret of Dr. Hichcock, The Terror of Dr. Hichcock / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Barbara Steele, Robert Flemyng, Montgomery Glenn (SIlvano Tranquili), Teresa Fitzgerald (Maria Teresa Vianello), Harriet White (Harriet White Medin), Spencer Williams, All Christianson, Evar SImpson, Nat Harley. Cinematography Donald Green (Rafaele Masciocchi) Film Editor Donna Christie...

A pure-gold Savant favorite, Sir Richard Attenborough's first feature as director is a stylized pacifist epic of the insane tragedy of WW1, told through contemporary songs, with the irreverent lyrics given them by the soldiers themselves. And one will not want to miss a young Maggie Smith's music hall performance -- luring young conscripts to doom in the trenches. It's the strangest pacifist film ever, done in high style. Oh! What a Lovely War DVD The Warner Archive Collection 1969 / Color / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 144 min. / Street Date September 22, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 16.99 Starring: Too many to name, see below. Cinematography Gerry Turpin Production Design Donald M. Ashton Art Direction Harry White Choreography Eleanor Fazan Film Editor Kevin Connor Original Music Alfred Ralston Written by Len Deighton from the musical play by Joan Littlewood from the radio play by Charles Chilton Produced by Richard Attenborough, Brian Duffy, Len Deighton Directed...

Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, and Ingrid Bergman: The 'Notorious' British (Hitchcock, Grant) and Swedish (Bergman) talent. British actors and directors in Hollywood; Hollywood actors and directors in Britain: Anthony Slide's 'A Special Relationship.' 'A Special Relationship' Q&A: Britain in Hollywood and Hollywood in Britain First of all, what made you think of a book on “the special relationship” between the American and British film industries – particularly on the British side? I was aware of a couple of books on the British in Hollywood, but I wanted to move beyond that somewhat limited discussion and document the whole British/American relationship as it applied to filmmaking. Growing up in England, I had always been interested in the history of the British cinema, but generally my writing on film history has been concentrated on America. I suppose to a certain extent I wanted to go back into my archives,...

Although Hammer Films will always be associated with British horror, the studio did have stiff competition. Amicus specialised in the successful horror anthologies and Us counterparts American International Pictures established a permanent UK base in the mid sixties. Other smaller independents took their own bite from the cherry tree of horror with some success, the best known being Tigon Films.

Tigon has received some belated recognition in recent years. Andy Boot’s book on British horror Fragments of Fear devotes a chapter to the company while John Hamilton’s excellent book Beast in the Cellar covers the varied career of Tigon’s charismatic founder Tony Tenser.

Like Hammer’s Sir James Carreras, Tenser was one of the British Film Industry’s great entrepreneurs. Born in London to poor Lithuanian immigrants and a movie fan since childhood, he was an ambitious man with a natural talent for showmanship. Combining shrewd business...

24-Hour Tribute to Include Taylor.s Academy Award®-Winning Performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who.s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), Plus Memorable Roles in Nine Films

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember the life and career of two-time Academy Award®-winning actress and beloved humanitarian Elizabeth Taylor on Sunday, April 10. Ms. Taylor died at the age of 79 at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital on March 23, 2011. The 24-hour memorial tribute, which is set to begin at 6 a.m. (Et/Pt), will include both of Taylor.s Oscar®-winning performances, with Butterfield 8 (1960) at 8 p.m. (Et) and Who.s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) at 10 p.m. (Et).

TCM.s tribute will also feature Taylor in such memorable films as the family classics Lassie Come Home (1943) and National Velvet (1944); the delightful comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and Father.s Little Dividend (1951); the historical epic Ivanhoe (1952); and the powerful dramas Giant (1956), Raintree County (1957) and...

Earlier today screen legend Elizabeth Taylor passed away due to congestive heart failure. She was 79. People deal with death in different ways. If you’re one of those people who needs to wallow in good memories afterward, or it you are just woefully undereducated when it comes to the career of the late actress, then TCM is putting on a marathon of Taylor movies that should be essential viewing. The marathon will begin April 10th, starting at 6 am Et, and it is set to run for a full 24 hours. Over the course of the marathon many of Taylor’s best remembered performances will be aired, including the two that won her Oscar statues, her sexy portrayal of femme fatale Gloria Wandrous in BUtterfield 8, and her tortured performance as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The marathon in tribute of the great actress will run as follows: 6:00 a.m...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember the life and career of two-time Academy Award-winning actress and beloved humanitarian Elizabeth Taylor on Sunday, April 10. The 24-hour memorial tribute, which is set to begin at 6 Am (Et/Pt), will include both of Taylor's Oscar-winning performances, with Butterfield 8 (1960) at 8 Pm (Et) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) at 10 Pm (Et).

TCM's tribute will also feature Taylor in such memorable films as the family classics Lassie Come Home (1943) and National Velvet (1944); the delightful comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951); the historical epic Ivanhoe (1952); and the powerful dramas Giant (1956), Raintree County (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Also included is the spy drama Conspirator (1949), with Taylor in her first adult role.

The following is a complete schedule of TCM's April 10 memorial tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (all times Eastern):

6 Am - Lassie Come Home (1943), with Roddy McDowall and Edmund Gwenn; directed by Fred M. Wilcox.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the sad news by now… I stumbled upon this 2007 Turner Classic Movies (TCM) video tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, narrated by none other than Paul Newman, who also passed away in recent years.

And by the way, TCM will remember the life and career of the two-time Academy Award-winning actress on Sunday, April 10, in a 24-hour retrospective tribute. The full press release announcing the tribute follows underneath.

TCM Remembers Two-Time Oscar®-Winning Actress and Beloved Humanitarian Elizabeth Taylor on Sunday, April 10

24-Hour Tribute to Include Taylor’s Academy Award®-Winning Performances

In Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966),

Plus Memorable Roles in Nine Films

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember the life and career of two-time Academy Award®-winning actress and beloved humanitarian Elizabeth Taylor on Sunday, April 10. The 24-hour memorial tribute, which is set to begin at 6 a.m. (Et...

Turner Classic Movies announced a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor that will include 24 hours of movies from the late star’s career.

The tribute will begin Sunday, April 10 and will include Taylor’s Oscar-winning performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), as well as screenings of Father of the Bride (1950), Father’s Little Dividend (1951), Ivanhoe (1952), Giant (1956), Raintree County (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Full schedule below:

Read more:

Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79

All About Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor: 11 Roles for the Ages

Elizabeth Taylor: What’s your favorite role?

Elizabeth Taylor: The unpublished photos from Life.