Short Sharp Shocks

An absolute rarity, this collection of British short films takes us right back to the golden era of cinema when supporting programmes were screened before the feature presentation. Nine sought-after short films made between 1949 and 1980, ranging from the bizarre and spooky to the downright unsettling, are included in this carefully curated collection – the first of its kind anywhere!

We begin with two supernatural tales by Algernon Blackwood: both ‘Lock Your Door’ and ‘The Reformation of St Jules’ (Anthony Gilkison, 1949) are re-told by the master himself, with Blackwood placed in suitably Victorian surroundings (fireplace, armchair, assorted books and so forth). The first story concerns an elderly spinster who, staying in a remote country cottage, is overcome by ghostly voices. In the second story Sci-fi and religious revelations collide with strange goings-on in the sky… As arresting as the stories might be, unfortunately the same can’t be said for Algernon’s rather lacklustre story telling skills, not helped by the fact that he avoids looking into the camera and occasionally even seems to mumble.

‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ (J. B. Williams, 1953) has got be the highlight of the entire collection, with a youngish Stanley Baker delivering a tour-de-force performance as Edgar Allan Poe, recounting Poe’s famous tale of horror by candlelight. Thanks to Basil Emmott’s photography and Wilfred Arnold’s art direction the atmosphere remains tense throughout, what with Poe’s barely furnished room lit in doom-laden Expressionist manner, further emphasized by Hans May’s score. Modern audiences will struggle to understand why this short film was given a ‘H’ certificate (H for Horror) by the British Board of Film Censors, seeing how Stanley Baker is the only actor in it and neither is there any violence but hey, all the more kudos for Baker… clearly the film censors were terrified enough by his chilling performance.

In ‘Death was a Passenger’ (Theodore Zichy, 1958), a male passenger (Terence Alexander) on a train somewhere in England seems to recollect his opposite female passenger (Harriette Johns), a nun, from the past. After a brief exchange of words it turns out they’ve indeed met before, namely when said male passenger was a former British wartime escape trying to outwit the Gestapo… with one of the nuns offering a helping hand (no prices for guessing she wasn’t really a nun…). No supernatural elements here though!
Also directed by Theodore Zichy is the rather far-fetched ‘Portrait of a Matador’ (1958) – a supernatural yarn in which English painter David Crane (Anthony Tankred) falls prey to the curse of Spanish bullfighter Manuel Suarez (David Ritch in an ott performance) after the temperamental Spaniard is displeased with the portrait. It’s down to Manuel’s sister Maria to lift the curse.

It’s no exaggeration to call ‘Twenty-Nine’ (Brian Cummins, 1969) a somewhat confusing affair in which promiscuous Baird (Alexis Kanner) wakes up in a strange flat, badly hangover and with only vague memories of his visit to a strip club. And who is 21-year old Priscilla who insists that 29-year old Baird is an ‘old’ man? This is a trip down memory lane set in Swinging London, with a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo by ‘psychedelic band’ Tuesdays Children.
Equally bizarre (and sexually explicit) is ‘The Sex Victims’ (Derek Robins, 1973) in which the strange appearance of a Godiva-like, naked woman on horseback draws brutish lorry driver Jack Piper (Ben Howard) down a path he had better not entered – nonetheless the twist in the tale is perhaps even more unpleasant than Jack’s attitude.

‘The Lake’ (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1978) is a slow-burning tale in which terror gradually unfolds to the effect of it being the most unsettling short among this collection. When young lovers Barbara (Julie Peasgood) and Tony (Gene Foad) embark on a romantic picnic in the rural countryside, Tony reveals a horrific tale of multiple murders which took place nearby – with the killer never found. Just as the scene is set for a lovey-dovey afternoon by the lakeside, the pair’s dog begins barking… at it’s not because he wants a piece of pie. This is a truly creepy ghost story which deserves to be aired at Halloween!
On a par (although creepy in a different way) is the final short ‘The Errand’ (Nigel Finch, 1980) with a screenplay by David McGillivray. Why is it that certain soldiers at an elite military institution are sent on errands from which they never return? When another soldier is sent to collect something from a young woman a nightmare begins from which he won’t escape alive.

This 2-disc Blu-ray release furthermore comes with insightful Bonus Features including interviews with Kate Lees, script supervisor Renée Glynne, Julie Peasgood and producer Peter Shillingford to name but a few, image and script galleries, ‘first pressing only’ illustrated booklet and new sleeve artwork.