IMDb on iPhone and iPod touch Learn more Learn more Download from the App Store
IMDb > The Witches (1966)

The Witches (1966) More at IMDbPro »

Videos
The Witches (1966) -- US Home Video Trailer from Hammer

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   446 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Nigel Kneale (writer)
Norah Lofts (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Devil's Own on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
February 1967 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A STRANGER IN A TOWN THAT HAS LOST ITS MIND ...IF SHE'S NOT CAREFUL, SHE MAY LOSE HER'S TOO! more
Plot:
An English school teacher outposted in Africa has a run in with the local witch doctor and suffers a nervous breakdown... more | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
User Comments:
"Half-baked but fair fun!" more (19 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Joan Fontaine ... Gwen Mayfield
Kay Walsh ... Stephanie Bax
Alec McCowen ... Alan Bax
Ann Bell ... Sally Benson
Ingrid Boulting ... Linda Rigg (as Ingrid Brett)
John Collin ... Dowsett
Michele Dotrice ... Valerie Creek
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies ... Granny Rigg
Duncan Lamont ... Bob Curd
Leonard Rossiter ... Dr. Wallis
Martin Stephens ... Ronnie Dowsett
Carmel McSharry ... Mrs. Dowsett
Viola Keats ... Mrs. Curd
Shelagh Fraser ... Mrs. Creek
Bryan Marshall ... Tom
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Devil's Own (USA)
more
Runtime:
90 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This is Joan Fontaine's last big screen film. more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
"Half-baked but fair fun!", 17 October 2003
8/10
Author: jamesraeburn2003 from Poole, Dorset

Schoolteacher Gwen Mayfield (Joan Fontaine) suffers a breakdown in Africa brought on by witchdoctors who wanted her out of the country. Having returned to England and recovered fully, she accepts the job of headmistress at a private church school in a remote village. Here she discovers that ancient voodoo rights are still being practiced, and that one of her pupils is to be sacrificed so that someone may have an after life.

Hollywood actress Joan Fontaine had won an Oscar in 1940 for her appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, which also starred Cary Grant but by this stage parts worthy of her talents were hard to come by. In the early sixties she brought the rights to a novel called The Devil's Own by Peter Curtis (the pseudonym for Nora Lofts) and suggested that Hammer should make it in the hope of re-establishing her career. However, the film turned out to be a box office disappointment and she made only a few TV movies thereafter. Fontaine is the sister of another veteran Hollywood actress Olivia De Haviland. Joan Fontaine had director approval for The Witches and she subsequently worked with Frankel on the stage. Frankel began his film career as a documentarist for the "Crown Film Unit" and had previously worked for Hammer on the critically acclaimed Never Take Sweets From A Stranger. During the sixties he was kept busy on TV working on a number of cult shows such as A Man In A Suitcase, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased and The Champions.

The Witches comes across as being somewhat half-baked. The script by Nigel (Quatermass) Kneale fails to generate enough tension or horror to really get the juices going, and insufficient character development prevents Fontaine from getting the most out of her part but I must be fair and say that with what she does have to do she does extremely well. Kay Walsh (Nancy in David Lean's Oliver Twist) is excellent as the laid back journalist Stephanie Bax. The film is also let down by the risible voodoo sabbat climax, which provides more giggles than shudders but there is still a lot to enjoy here. Director Cyril Frankel directs the picture with skill and the appeal of dastardly deeds going on in the seemingly tranquil and remote English countryside comes off very well in the picture's favour. Frankel is greatly aided by veteran Hammer cameraman Arthur Grant whose lighting uses the picturesque locations to full effect.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (19 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Witches (1966)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Tight thriller becomes a bit loose toward the end. onnanob2
SPOILER question McArthur2005
The Witches UK DVD release jamesraeburn2003
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The City of the Dead Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel Village of the Damned Blackboard Jungle
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Horror section IMDb UK section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.