The Corpse (1970)

Director:

Viktors Ritelis

Writer:

Olaf Pooley (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

the nightmare never ends!

Plot:

A mother and daughter hatch a scheme to murder their family's domineering and sadistic patriarch. |

Plot Keywords:

Back From The Dead | Independent Film

Cast

Michael Gough	...	Walter Eastwood
Yvonne Mitchell	...	Edith Eastwood
Sharon Gurney	...	Jane Eastwood
Simon Gough	...	Rupert Eastwood
David Butler	...	Gregson
Olaf Pooley	...	Reid
Nicholas Jones	...	Benjy Smith
Mary Hignett	...	Servant
Howard Goorney	...	Petrol Pump Attendant

Also Known As:

Crucible of Horror (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent content and nudity. (originally rated GP in 1971)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Merton Park Studios, Merton, London, England, UK

Company:

Abacus Productions

Trivia:

Michael Gough's character's son and daughter in the film were played by Gough's real life son, Simon Gough, and daughter-in-law, Sharon Gurney. So Simon Gough and Sharon Gurney played brother and sister when they were in fact husband and wife

Movie Connections:

Version of House of Secrets (1993) (TV)

The Corpse Vanishes

**SPOILERS** A bit uneven but still interesting family drama with an overly strict father Walter Eastwood, Michael Gough, who's constant mistreatment of the women of his household his wife and daughter Edith and Jane, Yavnnoe Mitchell and Sharon Gurney, leads them to a plan and later make an attempt on his life.

We see earlier in the film how Walter's daughter drives him batty both with her screwing around and her kleptomania. Jane stealing of money from the local Golf Club has the club's manager Gregson, David Butler, show up at the Eastwood residence asking Walter for the money that she took. Gregson also seemed to have something going with the 16 year-old Jane that had nothing to do with putting a golf ball.

We later see that Jane also has something going on with local grease monkey Benjy, Nicholas Jones, who also has the hots for her but only from a distance. Later Walter, after Jane swore that she didn't steal the club's money, finds the stolen money in Jane's wig he gives her the beating of her life.

Even though we never see Walter abuse his wife Edith physically he does treat her as if she's a bit mad. Which we later find out that she is. Later Edith and Jane concoct a plan to murder Walter when he goes out to his country cottage hunting that weekend.

The "plan" doesn't go off well but in the end the two do in the overly drunk, which they made sure that he was, Walter. Leaving his body to be found later in bed dead from an apparent heart-attack. But later as the two murderesses don't get any call from the people that Walter was to meet hunting it's obvious that something went wrong in their hair-brained scheme.

The ending is a bit hard to take but overall the movie "The Corpes" is much better then you would have expected it to be because of the top notch acting by all involved in it, even the dog Sam did a good job of "acting". There were a number of really good dream-like sequences in the movie involving Edith that showed just who mentally unstable she was. There's also a flashback where we see Walter, again, brutally beat Jane in a lake with her almost nude.

Walter himself seemed to have this "Mister Clean" faddish where he would vigorously wash his hands every time he touched something or someone he felt had germs or dirt on it, or them. Walter's son Rupert, Simon Gough, was the only one in the family that he didn't abuse since he felt that he lived up to the very high standards that he set for his family members. Rupert was a combination insurance salesman and stock broker.