The Reptile (1966)

In a Cornish village, various locals die from mysterious snake bites, but the coroner rules the deaths as heart attacks, until a family of newcomers starts an investigation.

Director:

John Gilling

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder)

Stars:

Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Ray Barrett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Noel Willman	...	Dr. Franklyn
Jennifer Daniel	...	Valerie Spalding
Ray Barrett	...	Harry George Spalding
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Anna Franklyn
Michael Ripper	...	Tom Bailey
John Laurie	...	Mad Peter
Marne Maitland	...	The Malay
David Baron	...	Charles Edward Spalding
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	The Vicar
Harold Goldblatt	...	The Solicitor
George Woodbridge	...	Old Garnsey

Storyline

Harry Spalding and his wife Valerie inherit a cottage in a small country village after his brother mysteriously dies. The locals are unfriendly and his neighbor Dr. Franklyn (a doctor of theology) suggests they leave. They decide to stay only to find that a mysterious evil plagues the community.

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Plot Keywords:

snake bite | old mansion | last will and testament | inheritance | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

And the Terror of ... "The Reptile"

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jacqueline Pearce said in an interview that she was called into a producer's office and told that she had a good face for movies. Then she was asked to play the titular character in "The Reptile (1966)." She could never understand that.

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Goofs

Anna as the Reptile bites her father on the neck and his face immediately turns black instead of doing so slowly.

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Quotes

Dr. Franklyn: I could kill you!
The Malay: Possibly, but you could never be free then, could you?

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'X' rating. It is believed all cuts were waived in 1994 when the film was granted a '15' certificate for home video. However Hammer have put out a call trying to locate lost or censored footage from the following scene: An extended knife in neck/snake bite scene (this is thought to exist, but no known evidence). This rather suggests that this is the footage censored from the 1966 cinema release and that it is still missing from home video releases. The BBFC cut was described in The DarkSide magazine as: A gloating close-up during the lancing of a snake bite.

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Connections

Edited into Tela Class: Boquinha de Cemitério (2007)

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Soundtracks

Sitar Music
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Philip Martell

User Reviews

Sssssmashing fun!

Made back-to-back with Plague of the Zombies, and using many of the locations, the same director, and some of the cast from that film, The Reptile isn't quite as good as Hammer's only zombie movie, but is still splendid fun nonetheless.

Ray Barrett plays Harry Spalding, an ex-soldier who moves to Cornwall with his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel), after he inherits a country cottage from his recently deceased brother.

Unfortunately, the Spaldings' new life in the West country is far from idyllic: the locals are less than friendly (with the exception of Tom Bailey, the pub landlord, played by Hammer regular Michael Ripper); their new neighbours—Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman), his beautiful daughter Anna, and their manservant—are more than a little creepy; and some kind of extremely venomous creature is on the loose and claiming victims right, left and centre.

Don't expect too much in the way of blood and boobs in this offering from Hammer: there is very little of both. What you do get, however, is a decent cast giving some fine performances (Michael Ripper, in particular, gets a chance to shine), some suitably atmospheric direction from John Gilling, and a memorable monster which, despite being kinda silly looking, is still pretty freaky.

And that's good enough for me!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Reptile

Filming Locations:

Oakley Court, Bray, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP100,599 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films, Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1