Review by Matt Harries
In 2014 it is fitting that we focus on Catacombs – a supernatural thriller made way back in 1965, originally released in the States as The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die – for it was earlier this year in January that saw the sad passing of director Gordon Hessler, aged 83. Those of us of a certain vintage will remember Hessler’s work fondly, especially perhaps 1973’s The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (the one with the Harryhausen animated sword-wielding Kali statue). Fans of vintage horror may recall some of his 70’s work in the horror medium, such as The Oblong Box, Scream and Scream Again, and Murders In The Rue Morgue, all based on the works of Poe.
Despite its supernatural billing, Catacombs has much more of a distinctly Hitchcockian lineage behind it. It is unsurprising to note that Hessler cut his teeth under the Master of Suspense himself, on his TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962). Sure enough Catacombs, itself a novelette by Jay Bennett, was originally rejected by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. A few years later it became Hessler’s directorial debut, one in which he displays an almost reverential devotion to the familiar Hitchcockian tropes of murder, betrayal and shocking denouement.
The story focuses on another familiar Hitchcock favourite – the domineering female. In this case it is Ellen Garth (Georgina Cookson), an astute and successful businesswoman who is most definitely the trouser-wearer in her marriage to the rather hapless Raymond (Gary Merrill). Mrs Garth is a striking woman of somewhat aristocratic bearing, but she suffers from debilitating pains which regularly afflict her, requiring the ever-obliging Raymond to carry her to bed and ease her suffering as best he can. Mrs Garth herself possesses an uncanny ability to use a mirror to reflect light into her eyes, thus placing herself into a kind of trance within the depths of which she feels no pain. Despite her ailments she also enjoys a powerful sex-drive, and thus completes her dominance over Raymond, who of course obliges her in bed as he does in general – with an almost stooped and world-weary countenance.
Completing the scene at the Garth residence is Mrs Garth’s secretary Dick Corbett (Neil McCallum) and maid Christine (Rachel Thomas). While Christine dotes upon Mrs Garth and frequently speaks softly to her as she enters her trance states, Corbett has an altogether more reluctant relationship with his employer. In fact he only remains in her employ because she owns evidence of an earlier attempt to defraud her – ensuring he remains bound to her service. So we have two men who are closer to her than perhaps anyone else, but who both harbour a growing resentment, and a mutual desire to free themselves from her service.
Into this scene of dubious domestic bliss enters Alice (Jane Merrow), the niece of Mrs Garth, who much to Raymond’s obvious astonishment has blossomed into a rather comely young woman while studying art in Paris. Poor Raymond – he is helpless in the face of such sweet, young womanhood. Infatuation quickly follows. What is more surprising is that Alice seems to reciprocate Raymond’s lusty advances. Very soon, the tensions bubbling away beneath the powerful influence of Mrs Garth result in whispered plans of betrayal, and of the possible rewards for the inheritors of her substantial wealth. Sure enough, Raymond and Corbett begin to devise a plot to murder her, making it appear as if she has succumbed to a motoring accident while holidaying in Italy. However as Raymond and Dick eventually discover, killing someone is one thing – keeping them dead is quite another.
One of the great joys in watching a film such as Catacombs is the capturing, albeit in cinematic form, of a time and place long since changed beyond all recognition. 1965 was of course a time of great social change in the western world in particular, and in cinema there were only another couple of years before colour became the norm. Catacombs has its foot in both camps, as it were; on one hand it is a delightful anachronism, with Georgina Cookson’s clipped tones and Gary Merrill’s increasingly outdated old school presence; on the other hand we can see the encroachment of a new era of sexual freedom, embodied by the returning Alice – who may or not be as innocent as she at first seems – now finished with her education in Paris and ready to strike it out on her own in London’s artistic society. In cinematic terms it very much looks to the past, albeit the relatively recent; 1955 French thriller Les Diaboliques and Hitchcock in particular.
Despite feeling dated as you’d expect, Catacombs is rather enjoyable nonetheless. Director Gordon Hessler shows that far from being a copyist, he had full understanding of the ideas of tension, suggestion and misdirection as espoused by Hitchcock. Approached with an open mind it is not too obvious which way the serpentine plot will go, right until the ending, which brings another little twist. This is all achieved with a relatively tiny cast of just seven. Of these, Georgina Cookson stood out as Ellen Garth. Ever demanding, rude, and rather highly sexed, she seems to have great fun with the role and as a personality towers above husband Raymond. Gary Merrill is fine as her hen-pecked husband, although admittedly for a long while I couldn’t get my head around the rather cringe-inducing romance between him and Alice. He is easily old enough to be her father, and yet come the ending it all becomes clear that poor Raymond was used, both before and after his wife’s death. Knowing his guilt allows us to rather enjoy the second half of the film, in which he and partner to be Alice are apparently haunted by the vengeful shade of Ellen Garth.
All in all this is a well directed, well acted and at times subtly creepy slice of cinematic history, restored to an excellent standard. A worthy addition to Network’s release of ‘The British Film’ collection.
Catacombs is out now on DVD from Network.