The Hellfire Club (1961)

Years after fleeing his ancestral home with his mother, Jason returns home to claim his birthright, only to find his way blocked by his evil cousin Thomas. In order to reclaim his title, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (story), Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)

Stars:

Keith Michell, Adrienne Corri, Peter Cushing

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keith Michell	...	Jason Caldwell
Adrienne Corri	...	Lady Isobel
Peter Cushing	...	Mr. Merryweather
Peter Arne	...	Thomas - Earl of Netherden
Kai Fischer	...	Yvonne
David Lodge	...	Timothy
Bill Owen	...	Martin
Miles Malleson	...	Judge
Martin Stephens	...	Jason Junior
Jean Lodge	...	Lady Netherden
Francis Matthews	...	Sir Hugh Manning
Desmond Walter-Ellis	...	Lord Chorley (as Desmond Walter Ellis)
Denis Shaw	...	Sir Richard Benlow
Tutte Lemkow	...	Higgins
Rupert Osborne	...	Thomas Junior

Storyline

Years after fleeing his ancestral home with his mother, Jason returns home to claim his birthright, only to find his way blocked by his evil cousin Thomas. In order to reclaim his title, Jason must do battle with his cousin, who calls upon the members of the deadly Hellfire Club to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

ancestral home | nudity | skinny dipping | female nudity | bath | 

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Taglines:

[print ad] Her body was her membership card in THE HELL FIRE CLUB

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

De Duivelsclub

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The real Hellfire Club was a group of 18th century aristocrats dedicated to the violation of local virgins.

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Connections

Referenced in Demonlover (2002)

User Reviews

Fun to watch.

"The Hellfire Club" is an amiable swashbuckler. It's not among the best of its genre, but it's quite agreeable. It has a very fine pace, a respectable amount of energy, an appreciably high level of humor, and an extremely engaging cast.

The setting is England in the 1770s. Young Jason (Martin Stephens) and his mother (Jean Lodge) flee for their lives, from the tyranny of their cruel father / husband (Andrew Faulds). 15 years later, Jason is now a hunky, strapping adult (Keith Michell) living with a circus troupe. He receives word that his father has died, and decides to return to the family home to reclaim his birthright. But to do so, he will have to battle his sleazy and corrupt cousin Thomas (Peter Arne).

The action and the sword fights may indeed not be the slickest that you'll ever see, but they're still entertaining enough to watch. Lavishly photographed in widescreen by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman (who are also the producers and the directors), it's violent without ever being gory, and its sets and costumes are reasonably appealing. The music score by Clifton Parker is appropriate all the way through. As said before, the sense of humor helps a lot, especially during the sequence where Jason masquerades as a French Marquis (Bernard Hunter); Michell is hysterical in these scenes.

There are solid contributions from much of the cast: lovely Adrienne Corri as the grasping but honest Lady Isobel, ever delightful Peter Cushing as the lawyer Mr. Merryweather, David Lodge as Timothy, Miles Malleson as a judge, Francis Matthews as Sir Hugh Manning, and Skip Martin as Joey. Michell is a worthy hero, and Arne is an effectively slimy villain.

"The Hellfire Club" remains consistently diverting for its entire 93 minute run time.

Seven out of 10.