Straight on Till Morning (1972)

A timid, withdrawn woman meets a man she believes is finally the love of her life, unaware that he is a vicious serial killer.

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writer:

John Peacock (original screenplay)

Stars:

Rita Tushingham, Shane Briant, James Bolam

Cast

Cast overview:
Rita Tushingham	...	Brenda Thompson
Shane Briant	...	Peter Clive
James Bolam	...	Joey
Katya Wyeth	...	Caroline
Annie Ross	...	Liza
Tom Bell	...	Jimmy Lindsay
Claire Kelly	...	Margo Thompson (as Clare Kelly)
Harold Berens	...	Mr. Harris
John Clive	...	Newsagent
Tommy Godfrey	...	Mr. Godfrey
Mavis Villiers	...	Indian Princess
Lola Willard	...	Customer
Tinker	...	Tinker

Storyline

Shy Brenda Thompson writes naive children's stories to amuse herself. Stifled and desperate for a man of her own, she leaves Liverpool, telling her mom she's pregnant, and gets a job in a boutique in London. She moves in with the promiscuous but good-hearted Caroline but the mod set shuns her for her plain looks. Then she kidnaps a strange young man's dog, so as to perhaps get to know him while returning it. The young man turns out to be Peter, a psychopath with a predilection for killing beautiful things. He renames Brenda Wendy, and they start a hopeful, if strange, relationship. It might have a chance, if it weren't for Peter's murderous secrets.

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Plot Keywords:

liverpool | dog | serial killer | united kingdom | england | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dressed for Death

Filming Locations:

214 Earl's Court Road, Kensington, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of Paul Brooke.

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Goofs

When Peter leads Brenda/'Wendy' into her room for the first time, a crew member is clearly visible, crouching down from the doorway.

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Alternate Versions

The BBFC cut the film in 1972 for an X rating.

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Soundtracks

Straight On Till Morning
Music by Annie Ross
Lyrics by Annie Ross and John Peacock
Sung by Annie Ross

User Reviews

Great Hammer film

Brenda is extremely timid and has low self esteem. She see's herself as ugly and is desperate to fall in love and have a baby. She leaves her Mothers and vacates to London to search for her Prince. She meets Peter and thinks she has met the man of her dreams and he seems to be infatuated with her too.

It would be unfair to give too much away; you should see this film, recommended. An unusual diversion from Hammer, who was still making Dracula & Frankenstein films at the same time, this is a gem though and as always, Hammer don't disappoint. They sure can make films whatever genre they do.

Although this is a girl meets guy who is not what he seems type of film, it's not your average body at the bottom of the stairs that keeps getting up, or a big fire that kills the bad guys off, I suggest Halloween or a clichéd horror for that. This film is intelligent and well written, although does tend to be ambiguous.

Rita Tushingham and Shane Brent were both excellent and the former gives an audio commentary on the DVD if you look around carefully. Look out for James Bolam too.

9 out of 10, good old Hammer films.