The Beast Must Die (1974)

Eight people are shrouded with the mystery behind the werewolf, and only one of them is! It's up to the viewer to find out!

Director:

Paul Annett

Writers:

Michael Winder (screenplay), James Blish (story),

Stars:

Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Calvin Lockhart	...	Tom Newcliffe
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Christopher Lundgren
Marlene Clark	...	Caroline Newcliffe
Charles Gray	...	Arthur Bennington
Anton Diffring	...	Pavel
Ciaran Madden	...	Davina Gilmore
Tom Chadbon	...	Paul Foote
Michael Gambon	...	Jan Jarmokowski
Sam Mansary	...	Butler (as Sam Mansaray)
Andrew Lodge	...	Pilot
Carl Bohen	...	1st Hunter (as Carl Bohun)
Eric Carte	...	2nd Hunter

Storyline

Tom Newcliffe, a rich businessman and expert hunter summons six guests to his huge country estate which he has rigged up with video cameras and a high-tech security system. He tells them and his surprised wife that they are all to stay over a weekend and that all of them will be kept on the estate during that weekend. For each guest, dead bodies have followed in their wake and the way that the dead have been murdered means that one of the guest is a werewolf and Tom has summoned his guests here to discover who it is and to hunt it down... The film has a clip at the beginning asking people in the audience to try to identify the werewolf and near the end there is a 30-second "Werewolf Break" for the audience to think over the evidence...

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Plot Keywords:

werewolf | guest | hunt | lycanthropy | exploding helicopter | 

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Taglines:

One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Werewolf

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions, British Lion Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to director Paul Annett the role of Caroline Newcliffe was intended for Shirley Bassey. However she proved unavailable and Marlene Clark was hired at the suggestion of Calvin Lockhart.

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Goofs

Tom Newcliffe invites several people to his estate because he is convinced one of them is a werewolf and intends to identify and hunt the one who is. After dinner the first evening, he explains this to the gathered people. Newcliffe goes from one guest to the next, explaining how he suspects each of being a werewolf. However, he does NOT indicate that he has conclusively (or at least to his satisfaction) confirmed the existence of one werewolf and determined that its normal human form must be one of his invitees, but instead outlines evidence that each person, independently of the others, might be A werewolf. Given the existence of such creatures, Newcliffe has presented a situation in which anywhere from none to all of his special guests might be werewolves rather than one, no more and no less.

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Quotes

Caroline Newcliffe: I'm terribly sorry about Tom
Arthur Bennington: There's a man I know on Harley Street. I think Tom should pay him a visit.

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits are over, there is a blue light flashing over the black screen at short intervals, revealing what seems to be a face in the dark. This goes on for about a minute.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Moonlight Sonata"
(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Douglas Gamley

User Reviews

Entertaining, Enjoyable Schlock!

A millionaire brings an assortment of characters to his heavily secured home and plenty of acreage around it. He then tells each that they were brought for a reason...that one of them is a werewolf. The rest of the story goes through the paces of finding out who the beast is and what must be done with it. I did not have the version with the game on it...my copy was called Black Werewolf(a poor job in renaming the film and it added awful title cards as well). This is the 70s film all around. The outfits, the hairstyles, and that awful-yet-appropriate soundtrack are all signs of the times. The movie is cheesy and yet fun to watch. Calvin Lockhart, as the lead, is like George Jefferson on steroids. The supporting cast is filled with stalwarts from the British stage and screen, amongst them Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, and the ever-affable Peter Cushing as the dispenser of knowledge dealing with lycanthropy. A pleasant diversion to watch!