The Damned (1962)

An American tourist, a youth gang leader, and his troubled sister find themselves trapped in a top secret government facility experimenting on children.

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writers:

Evan Jones (screenplay), H.L. Lawrence (novel)

Stars:

Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Macdonald Carey	...	Simon Wells
Shirley Anne Field	...	Joan
Viveca Lindfors	...	Freya Neilson
Alexander Knox	...	Bernard
Oliver Reed	...	King
Walter Gotell	...	Major Holland
James Villiers	...	Captain Gregory
Tom Kempinski	...	Ted (as Thomas Kempinski)
Kenneth Cope	...	Sid
Brian Oulton	...	Mr. Dingle
Barbara Everest	...	Miss Lamont
Allan McClelland	...	Mr. Stuart (as Alan McClelland)
James Maxwell	...	Mr. Talbot
Rachel Clay	...	Victoria
Caroline Sheldon	...	Elizabeth

Storyline

The middle-aged American Simon Wells sails in his boat to Weymouth and stumbles with the twenty year-old Joan on the street. He believes that she is a prostitute but she is actually part of a scheme of a motorcycle gang to rob tourists. Simon is brutally beaten up by her brother King and his gang. The policemen find the wounded Simon and take him to a bar to recover, where he meets the military Bernard and his mistress Freya Neilson. On the next morning, Joan challenges King and meets Simon in his boat, and King and his gang hunts Simon down. Joan and Simon spend the night together in an isolated house and on the morning, they are located by the gang. They try to flee and stumble in a top-secret military facility managed by Bernard. They are helped by children and brought to their hideout in a cave. King falls in the sea while chasing the couple and is also helped by a boy and brought to the same place. Soon Joan finds that the children are cold as if they were dead. What is the ...

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Plot Keywords:

child horror | psychotronic film | motorcycle gang | cornwall | minack theatre | 

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Taglines:

Come At Your Own Risk ... If You Come Alone!

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was delayed for two years and was not shown in Britain until the Spring of 1963, when it was released as the lower half of a "Hammer Films" double-bill with Maniac (1963). It had been cut a little by "Hammer" (against Joseph Losey's wishes) and was cut further to 87 minutes when it was finally shown in America in 1965. However, the missing footage has been fully restored to the film for the DVD and Blu-ray versions and for 21st-century television showings.

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Goofs

A shadow of a crew member can be seen moving after King shoots the soldier in the lab.

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Quotes

Joan: Whoever I am, I'm not who you think... You never even asked my name!
Simon Wells: With a figure like that, you don't need a name!

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Crazy Credits

The credit "JOSEPH LOSEY director", unlike the others, recedes and vanishes.

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Alternate Versions

Cut prior to 1961 X rated cinema release over child concerns. It was further cut for US theatrical release. The cuts were restored in 2010 for UK 12 rated DVD and 2019 Blu-ray release.

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Connections

Referenced in Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood! (1987)

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Soundtracks

Blues in the Night
(uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Whistled by the gang in the night coast scene to signal each other

User Reviews

Creepy Sci-Fi

The middle-aged American Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) sails in his boat to Weymouth and stumbles with the twenty year-old Joan (Shirley Anne Field) on the street. He believes that she is a prostitute but she is actually part of a scheme of a motorcycle gang to rob tourists. Simon is brutally beaten up by her brother King (Oliver Reed) and his gang. The policemen find the wounded Simon and take him to a bar to recover, where he meets the military Bernard (Alexander Knox) and his mistress Freya Neilson (Viveca Lindfors). On the next morning, Joan challenges King and meets Simon in his boat, and King and his gang hunts Simon down. Joan and Simon spend the night together in an isolated house and on the morning, they are located by the gang. They try to flee and stumble in a top-secret military facility managed by Bernard. They are helped by children and brought to their hideout in a cave. King falls in the sea while chasing the couple and is also helped by a boy and brought to the same place. Soon Joan finds that the children are cold as if they were dead. What is the secret of the children and the military staff?

"The Damned" is a creepy sci-fi with a very dark and hopeless conclusion in the summit of the Cold War. In this period, people were paranoid with nuclear attack and the British research in understood by those that lived in that period. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Malditos" ("Damned")

Details

Official Sites:

Hammer Films

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

These Are the Damned

Filming Locations:

Chesil Beach, Dorset, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 96 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1