Catacombs (1965 film) explained

Catacombs
Director:Gordon Hessler
Producer:Jack Parsons
Neil McCallum
Screenplay:Daniel Mainwaring
Starring:Gary Merrill
Georgina Cookson
Jane Merrow
Music:Carlo Martelli
Cinematography:Arthur Lavis
Editing:Robert Winter
Studio:Parroch-McCallum
Associated Producers International
British Lion
Distributor:British Lion Films (United Kingdom)
Warner Bros. Pictures (United States)
Runtime:84 minutes
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English

Catacombs (U.S. title: The Woman Who Wouldn't Die) is a 1965 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Gary Merrill, Georgina Cookson and Jane Merrow.[1] [2] The film was based on the 1959 novel of the same title by Jay Bennett.

Plot

An astute business woman is murdered by her husband who intends to carry on with his affair with her niece after her death. However, he soon finds himself haunted by his late wife.

Cast

Production

Filming

The film was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director George Provis.

Distribution

Warner Brothers picked it up for distribution in the US.[3]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "One would have thought that the days of the murder story with the corpse buried in the potting-shed were long over, but the situation is revived here not entirely without effect. The preliminaries setting the domestic scene are much too long, but after the murder things perk up considerably, with one or two nice macabre effects. The acting is sound enough in general, with a striking performance by Georgina Cookson as the bitchy wife."[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Catacombs . 1 August 2024 . British Film Institute Collections Search.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20090115034048/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/28931 BFI.org
  3. News: Jun 15, 1964 . British film to be shown here . New York Times . .
  4. 1 January 1967 . Catacombs . . 34 . 396 . 9 . ProQuest.