The Snorkel (1958)

Although the police have termed her mother's death a suicide, a teenage girl believes her step-father murdered her.

Director:

Guy Green

Writers:

Peter Myers (screenplay by), Jimmy Sangster (screenplay by)

Stars:

Peter van Eyck, Betta St. John, Mandy Miller

Cast

Cast overview:
Peter van Eyck	...	Paul Decker (as Peter Van Eyck)
Betta St. John	...	Jean Edwards
Mandy Miller	...	Candy Brown
Grégoire Aslan	...	The Inspector (as Gregoire Aslan)
William Franklyn	...	Wilson
Marie Burke	...	Daily Woman
Henri Vidon	...	Italian Gardener
Flush	...	Toto - the dog

Storyline

Paul Decker murders his wife in her Italian villa by drugging her milk and asphyxiating her by gas. He cleverly locks the bedroom from the inside and hides inside a trapdoor in the floor until after the body is discovered by servants. He uses a scuba snorkel connected to tubes on the outside to breathe during the ordeal. Decker's stepdaughter Candy suspects him immediately, especially since no suicide note was found. She also is convinced that he murdered her father years before, but her accusations fall on deaf ears. The ruthless Decker even poisons the family spaniel when the pet takes too great an interest in the mask and realizes he will ultimately have to get rid of Candy too.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide note | trapdoor | servant | villa | snorkel | 

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Taglines:

Teenage Girl Vs. ... Killer-With-A-Gimmick!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

7 July 1958 (UK)

Also Known As:

De masker van Satan

Filming Locations:

Villa della Pergola, Alassio, Savona, Liguria, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clarion Films, Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mandy Miller's last film.

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Quotes

Candy Brown: Jean, is suicide a mortal sin?

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Connections

References Le monde du silence (1956)

User Reviews

Good Hammer suspense film.

Poor Candy Brown (Mandy Miller). She cannot get anybody to believe her. She's 100% certain that her cold blooded stepfather Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) has murdered her mother, despite the evidence seeming to indicate that the woman committed suicide. Mandy, who also believes in her heart that Paul had similarly murdered her father once upon a time, sticks to her guns. But the adults around her keep stubbornly insisting that she *must* be making all of this up.

It's easy to be on Candy's side here. With so many thick headed adult characters, you truly feel her frustration and desperation. Will she ever obtain the proof she needs that Paul is a creep? People like her chaperone Jean Edwards (Betta St. John, "The City of the Dead"), Mr. Wilson (William Franklyn), or the hearty police inspector (Gregoire Aslan) refuse to take her seriously, even though she doesn't seem to be the sort of girl who'd be prone to flights of fancy.

The suspense lies not in a "did he or didn't he" scenario - we see Paul murder Candy's mother in the quiet, ingenious opening set piece. The title object plays a pivotal role. Rather, the tension arises in Candy's predicament, and whether or not she'll be vindicated before the evil Paul strikes again. And we know it's possible. The looks he keeps giving her show that he thinks that he'll have to kill her just to shut her up.

Efficient direction by Oscar winning cinematographer Guy Green ("Great Expectations", 1946) and sharp black & white photography make this a fine entertainment, as well as strong performances from all concerned. Miller makes Candy a sympathetic character, and with his facial features van Eyck was obviously a natural for screen villainy.

This viewer would suggest that fans of Hammer horror give features like this a try, just to show that the famed British studio wasn't just a one trick pony.

Seven out of 10.