The Forgotten (1973)

A young psychiatric nurse goes to work at a lonesome asylum following a murder. There, she experiences varying degrees of torment from the patients.

Director:

S.F. Brownrigg

Writer:

Tim Pope

Stars:

Bill McGhee, Jessie Lee Fulton, Robert Dracup

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bill McGhee	...	Sam (as William Bill McGhee)
Jessie Lee Fulton	...	Jane St. Claire
Robert Dracup	...	Ray Daniels
Harryette Warren	...	Jennifer D.
Michael Harvey	...	Dr. Stephens
Jessie Kirby	...	Danny
Hugh Feagin	...	Sgt. Jaffee
Betty Chandler	...	Allyson King
Camilla Carr	...	Harriet
Gene Ross	...	Judge Oliver W. Cameron
Annabelle Weenick	...	Dr. Geraldine S. Masters (as Anne MacAdams)
Rosie Holotik	...	Nurse Charlotte Beale
Rhea MacAdams	...	Mrs. Callingham

Storyline

Nurse Charlotte Beale arrives at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium to work, only to learn that Dr. Stephens was murdered by one of the patients and his successor, Dr. Geraldine Masters, is not very eager to take on new staff. Charlotte finds her job maddeningly hard as the patients torment and harass her at every turn, and she soon learns why Dr. Masters is so eager to keep outsiders out.

---

Plot Keywords:

lust | breasts | weeping | eyeglasses | psychopathic killer | 

---

Taglines:

They lived out their fantasies... Now they are dying for them!

---

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beyond Help

Filming Locations:

Tehuacana, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Camera 2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove a closeup shot of an axe blow to a woman's body and the film later found itself on the banned list of video nasties. The cut version was released on the UK HHO label in 2005 and the full uncut version (now rated 15) was released on the Stax label later the same year.

---

Goofs

When the people are chopping someone up with axes, one of the heads of the axes fall off.

---

Quotes

Mrs. Callingham: Up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen, we dare not go a hunting, for fear of little men!

---

Crazy Credits

The characters in the film are shown as the actor/actress' name appears at the end of the film, including the murdered characters!

---

Connections

Edited into Don't Look in the Basement 2 (2015)

User Reviews

A lovely little low-budget chiller

Charlotte Beal arrives at an isolated country mental hospital to become a full-time nurse there. She is confronted with a motley group of crazies and a seemingly crazier supervisor. Is Dr. Masters all she seems to be?

DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is one of the best low-budget movies in the genre and why people always put it down is beyond me. The acting is excellent, my favorite performance being by Betty Chandler as Allyson the nymphomaniac. The chills just jump right off the screen. You probably won't have to say "It's only a movie, it's only a movie", it isn't that scary, but it should appeal to any horror fan who respects the low-budget horror genre, which I do. It is very hard to make a creepy film on a low budget and few actually succeed. AXE is another cheap film that is looked down upon. Maybe people are so spoiled by the big budgets of recent films that any movie that doesn't have excellent effects and/or isn't considered a classic doesn't have a chance with an audience. But I think that after people see this movie, they will see how important the low-budget horror genre is and this movie is a classic that stands out among the other rubbish.