The Beast Must Die (1974)

Director:

Paul Annett

Writers:

Michael Winder (screenplay) and
James Blish (story)
(more)

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

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!

Plot:

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!

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Guest | Hunt | Lycanthropy | Exploding Helicopter

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Valentine Dyall	...	Narrator of the werewolf Break (voice) (uncredited)
Bill Mitchell	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Annie Ross	...	Caroline (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Annett

Writing credits
Michael Winder		(screenplay)
Paul Annett		uncredited
James Blish		story "There Shall Be No Darkness"
Scott Finch		uncredited

Produced by
John Dark	....	associate producer
Robert H. Greenberg	....	executive producer
Max Rosenberg	....	producer
Milton Subotsky	....	producer

Original Music by
Douglas Gamley

Cinematography by
Jack Hildyard

Film Editing by
Peter Tanner

Casting by
Thelma Graves		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
John Stoll

Makeup Department
Paul Rabiger	....	makeup artist
Bobbie Smith	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John Davis	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Jenkins	....	assistant director
Vic Smith	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Herbert Westbrook	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Richard Langford	....	dubbing mixer
Ken Ritchie	....	sound mixer
Ean Wood	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Ted Samuels	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Derek V. Browne	....	camera operator
George Robinson	....	chief electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Hilling	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Douglas Gamley	....	conductor

Other crew
Andy Armstrong	....	production assistant
Phyllis Townshend	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Amicus Productions
• British Lion Film Corporation

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1981) (USA) (video) (Betamax)
• Impulse Productions (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Dark Sky Films (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Interglobal Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Video Releasing Organization (VRO) (19??) (Netherlands) (video) (Betamax)

Other Companies

• G.S.E.  titles
• Quail Services Company  services
• Technicolor  color

Also Known As:

"Black Werewolf" - USA (video title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

One of the unforeseen challenges of casting a black actor was that it caused problems lighting the numerous day-for-night sequences, a cost-cutting method where nighttime scenes were shot in the day with the addition of special filters to make it appear that it was filmed at night.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the alarm shows that the werewolf has left the estate and is prowling in the woods, Tom has his surveillance expert help him track the beast. He could have taken a few seconds to look in on all the guests via the spy cameras to see which one was missing from their room and so discover the werewolf's identity, but it doesn't seem to occur to him.

Quotes:

Pavel:She looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth
Tom Newcliffe:Maybe... She prefers MEAT

Movie Connections:

Featured in Directing the Beast (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Moonlight Sonata

The beast must die...sigh

what a great idea. badly executed. the best big game hunter in the world tries to kill a werewolf. seems to me like he was one of the worst shots, let alone one of the worst hunters in the world. not once did he use his skills, relying on everyone else around him to do the work for him, and he could just walk in for the kill. wheres the honour in killing your foe with a machine gun? i sat and watched as a film i'd wanted to see went plodding along until the end(though the ending was quite good). a weak film with some 'jazzy' music. what would terence fisher have done with it? made it fun at least. for once, a remake might do this idea justice. and make it scary this time, darnit!