Ellen (Georgina Cookson) is the shrewd and shrewish millionaire businesswoman, her husband Raymond (Gary Merrill), from whom she demands frequent sex, is a kept man, and she appears to have occult power, able to read minds, which keeps the larcenous-minded Dick in check, and has command of her own physical frailty - she walks with a stick - and can put herself in a trance to overcome occasional pain from her injured hip.
But when Raymond falls for Ellen's niece Alice (Jane Merrow), an artist returned from a year in Paris, he and Dick concoct a murderous plan. First he hires an actress to impersonate Ellen, known to go off to Italy on her own for spa treatments and with a knack for reckless driving, and then strangles Ellen, and allows Alice, at a distance from an airport viewing terrace, to see her "aunt", complete with walking stick, climbing up the steps of a plane. Faked cables and postcards arrive from Italy purportedly showing Ellen enjoying herself, even visiting the famous catacombs. In Italy Dick fakes a car accident to kill the actress.
And Raymond's plan to live happily ever after with Alice is marred by several creepy incidents, knocking, tapping, door handles turning, shadows, a depression the shape of a body in a bed, cigarettes smoking in ashtrays, lights going on and off, which indicate to the already nervous Raymond and the visibly frightened Alice that Ellen may not be dead after all.
Catacombs is a rather neatly made thriller with supernatural undertones that is quite gripping and benefits largely from the performances. Georgina Cookson steals the show as the imperious businesswoman, with everyone cowering under her glare, Gary Merrill looks suitably tired of her and is quite charming enough in the first half and Jane Merrow does well. She's so naturally pretty and charming. There's some fine twists along the way, though I did predict some of them. It ended with the last twist - this film is a fine example of a well-crafted thriller. Pity it's not well known.
