Diana Ashley Movies
- 1968
Sir John Rowan (Peter Cushing), a prominent surgeon, meets and falls in love with twenty-something fashion model Lynn Nolan (Sue Lloyd). Despite the difference in their lives and ages -- he a respected medical professional in his fifties, she the toast of Carnaby Street, running in a circle of poseurs, pretenders, and people famous for being famous -- he is madly in love with her, "madly" being the operant word here. His jealousy leads to a fight at a photo shoot, which results in Lynn's disfigurement. Driven by combination of guilt and love, Rowan violates medical protocols with a procedure, involving the transplant of tissue and pituitary secretions from a female cadaver -- that restores Lynn's beauty, and rescues their romance. But it turns out that his success is only temporary, and soon her face is deteriorating, requiring another operation -- only this time, without a cadaver available, Rowan must secure a "donor" himself. He chooses a prostitute, whom he kills and decapitates, rationalizing her death to himself rather unconvincingly. Oblivious to the terrible cost of her surgery, Lynn is relieved to see her beauty restored. But Rowan is unhinged by the murder he has committed, and fearful that the police will eventually trace it back to him. And his colleague Dr. Steve Harris (Noel Traverthen), who is engaged to Lynn's sister (Kate O'Mara), is becoming suspicious over Rowan's furtiveness about his achievement -- if his success with Lynn is half what it seems to be, why does he seem to be in no hurry to publish an account of his procedure and its results? The couple finally decide to go off on holiday to a seaside cottage and forget their worries -- until her face starts to show signs of deterioration. Now they need a new "donor," and first attempt to entice a young girl (Wendy Varnals) they meet at the beach back to their home. But complications ensue, first because Rowan doesn't want to commit another murder, and then because this girl isn't what she seems, and disappears -- soon the doctor has to look for yet another victim, whom he find on a train. And then their home is invaded by the gang of hippie/thieves led there by the girl. And little does anyone, including Rowan, realize that Lynn has gradually gone even crazier than her doctor/fiance. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Cushing, Sue Lloyd, (more)
Together with Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and John Singleton's Boyz 'n the Hood, director Peter Bogdanovich's Targets is among the most impressive first features ever made. When Bogdanovich's cinematic mentor Roger Corman suggested that Bogdanovich might want to make his directorial debut, he offered to "donate" 20 minutes worth of footage of the Corman-directed The Terror and the services of Boris Karloff, who owed Corman two days' worth of work (at a cost of $22,000). Karloff became so caught up in the 29-year-old Bogdanovich's enthusiasm that he agreed to work an additional two days at a bare-minimum salary.
The script, by Bogdanovich and his then-wife, Polly Platt, was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie.
Inevitably, Bobby also shows up at the drive-in, hiding himself behind the huge screen and shooting down the patrons as they sit complacently in their cars, watching the latest Byron Orlock film (actually The Terror, in which Karloff also starred). Once the reality of the situation sets in, panic ensues, leading to the ultimate confrontation between the escaping Bobby and the bewildered Orlock. ("Is this what I was afraid of?" Orlock ruefully exclaims as Bobby cowers at his feet.) The tension never lets up throughout Targets' jam-packed 90 minutes. The film was virtually thrown away by its distributor, Paramount Pictures, which was uncertain about packaging a film about a sniper in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations. Only when it was reissued to college campuses and film societies did Targets begin building up its much-deserved reputation. Though Targets was not, technically, Boris Karloff's last film, it serves as a worthy valedictory for this cinematic giant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The script, by Bogdanovich and his then-wife, Polly Platt, was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie.
Inevitably, Bobby also shows up at the drive-in, hiding himself behind the huge screen and shooting down the patrons as they sit complacently in their cars, watching the latest Byron Orlock film (actually The Terror, in which Karloff also starred). Once the reality of the situation sets in, panic ensues, leading to the ultimate confrontation between the escaping Bobby and the bewildered Orlock. ("Is this what I was afraid of?" Orlock ruefully exclaims as Bobby cowers at his feet.) The tension never lets up throughout Targets' jam-packed 90 minutes. The film was virtually thrown away by its distributor, Paramount Pictures, which was uncertain about packaging a film about a sniper in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations. Only when it was reissued to college campuses and film societies did Targets begin building up its much-deserved reputation. Though Targets was not, technically, Boris Karloff's last film, it serves as a worthy valedictory for this cinematic giant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Tim O'Kelly, (more)
- 1967
Dirk Bogarde is a no-good rotter who returns to his family after several years' absence. Only his seven children are present to greet Bogarde as he enters his shabby London home, and they're somewhat vague as to the whereabouts of the mother. What Bogarde doesn't know is that his wife had died some time ago. The kids (including future stars Pamela Franklin and Mark Lester) decided amongst themselves that they didn't want to be broken up and sent to orphanages; thus, they secretly buried their mother and went on about their business, pretending that mom was still alive. Money-hungry Bogarde threatens this cozy set-up, leaving the children little recourse but to prepare a second grave. Our Mother's House was based on a novel by Julian Gloag; one of the screenwriters was Haya Harareet, who eight years earlier had been Charlton Heston's leading lady in Ben-Hur (59). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Brooks, (more)
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