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And Soon the Darkness

  • 1970
  • GP
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès, and Pamela Franklin in And Soon the Darkness (1970)
Two young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?
Play trailer0:47
1 Video
54 Photos
Suspense MysteryCrimeMysteryThriller

Two young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?Two young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?Two young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?

  • Director
    • Robert Fuest
  • Writers
    • Brian Clemens
    • Terry Nation
  • Stars
    • Pamela Franklin
    • Michele Dotrice
    • Sandor Elès
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    4.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Fuest
    • Writers
      • Brian Clemens
      • Terry Nation
    • Stars
      • Pamela Franklin
      • Michele Dotrice
      • Sandor Elès
    • 90User reviews
    • 73Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro

    • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 0:47
    Trailer

    Photos54

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    + 48
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    Top Cast10

    Edit
    Pamela Franklin
    Pamela Franklin
    • Jane
    Michele Dotrice
    Michele Dotrice
    • Cathy
    Sandor Elès
    Sandor Elès
    • Det. Paul Salmon
    John Nettleton
    John Nettleton
    • Gendarme
    Clare Kelly
    Clare Kelly
    • Schoolmistress
    Hana Maria Pravda
    Hana Maria Pravda
    • Madame Lassal
    • (as Hana-Maria Pravda)
    John Franklyn
    • Old Man
    Claude Bertrand
    • Lassal
    Jean Carmet
    Jean Carmet
    • Renier
    André Maranne
    André Maranne
    • Radio DJ
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Fuest
    • Writers
      • Brian Clemens
      • Terry Nation
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews90

    6.64.7K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    stevelen

    Great build up

    I first saw this film in the mid 70's one night when I was babysitting.I found it thrilling and deliciously scary.There's something very natural about the girls performances.A shame Pamela Franklin retired from acting some years ago. Great to see it on DVD.Have to get a copy!.It pops up now and then on late night tv.Well worth a look.
    analoguebubblebath

    Worth a look

    Very menacing atmosphere throughout. The two girls, Franklin and Dotrice look wonderfully vulnerable and add a sexual frisson to the film. The pace is leisurely and the lack of subtitles deliberately enhances the confusion and sheer terror that is building up in Jane's mind. Sadly unavailable on this side of the world but thank God for Region 1 DVDs.

    7/10
    9EDDIEBLKMR

    A WELL CRAFTED LITTLE GEM

    I remember seeing this on late night television years ago, and had very fond memories of it. Recently i caught up with it on dvd, and found that my memory had not let me down. Every aspect of this film demonstrates film making talent of the very highest order. The script is superb, keeping you guessing right up to the end. The acting of the leads is faultless, but the icing on the cake is the amazing direction by Fuest. He manages to turn the open, sunny, French countryside into a nightmare landscape. Gradually cranking up the tension, alienation, and paranoia with the skill of a master. He really should have been a massively successful director. Pure craftsmanship, with a very creepy edge.
    chad478

    Well-acted, atmospheric British thriller.

    Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice are British nurses on a cycling holiday in France. The two women have a disagreement and Franklin splits, while Dotrice stays behind. When Franklin returns a few minutes later to the spot where she left her friend, she discovers that the woman has mysteriously vanished. As if that weren't distressing enough, she learns from the local people that the site where her friend disappeared from is the same place where a lady tourist was found murdered a few years before. Moody, suspenseful British thriller with good performances, particularly by Franklin as the worried heroine.
    8HumanoidOfFlesh

    Pretty creepy.

    "And Soon the Darkness" is a slow-moving,but still surprisingly spooky horror film about a pair of women bicycling through rural France who run into a vicious rape-killer.Most of the movie is set on a sunny road,but the settings provide a claustrophobic atmosphere.The acting is okay,and Robert Fuest("The Abominable Dr.Phibes")directs with a sure hand.It's nice to see also horror regular Sandor Eles in the cast.8 out of 10.Recommended.

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    Related interests

    James Stewart in Rear Window (1954)
    Suspense Mystery
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
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    Mystery
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The movie was made, more or less, by the same production team that made The Avengers (1961) TV series. The screenplay was written by Brian Clemens and Terry Nation, both of whom had contributed to The Avengers, as had producer Albert Fennell and director Robert Fuest. Clemens says they "needed a change" after The Avengers and decided to make a thriller film.

      Clemens said "after deciding to do a thriller we made things difficult for ourselves by insisting that all the action take place in broad daylight ... It's very easy to frighten people in the dark because darkness itself is frightening but we thought it would be nice to frighten people in daylight." He reportedly wrote the script in two days. They attached the director Fuest who Clemens said "had a great sense of style and color in his direction."
    • Goofs
      (at around the 8 minute mark) When the man is watching the two girls cycling past him on the road, the camera and camera operator can clearly be seen reflected in his sunglasses.
    • Quotes

      Cathy: Hey, I must say, this is the best place we've hit so far. It's - not exactly swinging, but it is dangling.

    • Connections
      Referenced in End Roll (2012)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 9, 1971 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Y pronto vino la obscuridad
    • Filming locations
      • Beauce-la-Romaine, Loir-et-Cher, France(Wood where Cathy disappears)
    • Production companies
      • Associated British Productions (ABP)
      • EMI Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • £260,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 34m(94 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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