''Dark Places'' is a 1973 British

psychological horror film Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgen ...

directed by

Don Sharp Donald Herman Sharp (19 April 192114 December 2011) was an Australian film director. His best known films were made for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer in the 1960s, and included ''The Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963) and ''Rasputin, the Mad Monk' ...

and starring

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

and

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

Plot

After the previous owner Andrew Marr dies, Edward Foster inherits his mansion. Despite attempts to scare him out of the house, that is rumoured to be haunted, he decides to renovate and inhabit it. Unbeknownst to him, Marr’s former physician Dr Ian Mandeville and his sister Sarah compete with solicitor Prescott in trying to locate two suitcases of money rumoured to be hidden on the large estate, that he hopes to claim for himself. Edward, later revealed to have been recently released from an asylum, soon starts hearing voices and begins to have flashbacks of the life of Andrew Marr, slowly witnessing the latter’s marriage to his mentally unstable wife Victoria fall apart. Andrew had planned to leave her for the younger and more attractive governess Alta. In desperation Victoria had encouraged the two equally psychotic children to murder the governess whilst she attempted to seduce Andrew in the bedroom. Hearing the children murder Alta, Andrew strangled his wife and killed the children with a sword before bricking all four corpses up behind a wall with the two cases of money. Edward, driven mad by the constant flashbacks and unable to distinguish between himself and Andrew, accidentally strangles Sarah while experiencing the murder of Andrew’s wife. He kills Dr Mandeville with a pick axe and attempts to kill Prescott before being arrested and led away by police, who also seize the money.

Cast

- Doctor Ian Mandeville *

- Sarah Mandeville *

- Prescott *

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, Order of British Empire, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She als ...

- Alta *

- Edward Foster / Andrew Marr *

Jean Marsh Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

- Victoria *

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (1952–1969), ...

- Old Marr *

Roy Evans Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool. He eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become the team manager. While predominantly plyi ...

- Baxter *

Martin Boddey Albert Martin Boddey (16 April 1907 – 24 October 1975) was a British film and television actor. He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity. Boddey started acting when he was nearly 40, often portraying irritable authority fig ...

- Sgt. Riley *

John Glyn-Jones John Glyn-Jones (28 August 1908 – 21 January 1997) was a British stage, radio, television and film actor. His father, William Glyn-Jones, was a Member of Parliament and he was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and Oxford University. He ...

- Bank Manager *

John Levene John Levene (born John Anthony Woods; 24 December 1941) is an English actor, producer, entertainer and singer. Although he has appeared in a large number of films and television series, Levene's best-known role is that of Sergeant Benton, of UNI ...

- Doctor *

Jennifer Thanisch Jennifer Thanisch (born 24 April 1964) is an English former child actress, most active during the 1970s. Life Jennifer Thanisch is a native of Laleham, Middlesex, where her parents owned the Three Horseshoes, a public house. Her first role was in ...

- Jessica * Michael McVey - Francis * Barry Linehan - Asylum Gatekeeper

Production

Don Sharp was under contract to a studio at the time, Scotia, who loaned him out to make this film. He said "apart from one slow sequence" near the beginning, the movie "had some super stuff". Sharp said it was "a very strange production all the way through" in part because producer James Hannah was eccentric. "Nobody could figure out why he was making a movie," recalled Sharp, who said there were rumours the film was being made as a tax loss. The film was shot at an old asylum near Uxbridge.

Release

There were delays in releasing the film. "There were rumours it had disappeared," said Sharp, who said twenty years after filming was completed he started receiving cheques from the film being sold to cable in Switzerland.

Home media

The film was released for the first time on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by Film 2000 on 20 November 2006.

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

awarded the film 1/5 stars, calling it 'mediocre in all respects'. Dave Sindelar from ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's "sluggish" pacing, repetition, and final act. Sindelar did however, commend the film's performances.

References

External links

* * * {{Don Sharp 1973 films 1973 horror films 1970s horror thriller films British horror thriller films Films directed by Don Sharp Films set in psychiatric hospitals 1970s English-language films 1970s British films