Barbara Shelley Movies

In this thriller, an imprisoned psycho killer's wife tries to start a new life. She changes her name and marries again. Her true identity is known only by her employer. The trouble begins when the killer escapes from prison. A detective pursues him and discovers that the killer is perfectly sane and is only trying to find the man who framed him. He then discovers that the woman's employer is the real murderer, and fortunately, he is killed during the final chase. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This not-so-subtle variation on Val Lewton's classic Cat People (1942) is enlivened by the presence of exotic Barbara Shelley -- who would later grace many Hammer Studios productions (most notably Terence Fisher's Dracula -- Prince of Darkness) with her feline beauty. Shelley plays Leonora, a woman who believes she has inherited a curse which will transform her spirit into the body of a ferocious, man-eating leopard. Though her disbelieving psychiatrist (Robert Ayres) tries to persuade her that this belief is merely a by-product of her rage toward her unfaithful husband, the vengeful "phantom" cat she releases from her subconscious triggers the curse and spells doom not only for those who betrayed her, but perhaps for Leonora's own soul as well. Despite a superb performance by the smoldering Shelley and noir-ish direction from Alfred Shaughnessy (though nothing to compete with that of Jacques Tourneur), it's hard to overlook the obvious parallels to Lewton's film, which outclasses it in nearly every respect and makes the entire effort seem unnecessary. Produced by British Lion, this film was later distributed in the United States by the ubiquitous American International Pictures, sometimes under the title Cat Woman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a famous model marries an agrarian who had been acquitted for killing his first wife. After the nuptials, she begins to wonder if he is as innocent as he claims to be. She becomes doubly suspicious when her life seems endangered. Three other people are suspected of the threats: the man's daughter, his first wife's love, and the town veterinarian. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Before Lee Patterson established himself as an American soap opera star, he made scores of minor-league British films. In Deadly Record, Patterson plays an aviator accused of killing his wife. The actual miscreant is obvious to the audience, but the dimwitted cops continue to persecute Our Hero. Finally, Patterson uncovers the evidence (see the title) that clears himself and points to the genuine murderer. This 58-minute timekiller was adapted from a novel by Nina Warner Hooke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A full thirty years before Look Who's Talking would hit the screens with its verbose little infant, Max Bygraves and Shirley Jones starred in this routine comedy about a talking baby. Little Bobbikins (Steven Stocker) is the 14-month-old son of Benjamin and Betty (Bygraves and Jones) who is perfectly normal until his father comes home from his stint in the Navy and decides to reprise a career in show business. When nothing seems to go right for him, little Bobbikins decides to give Dad a few helpful hints. He never talks to anyone else, and this leads others to think his father is hearing things. Soon the baby gives some hot tips when his Dad becomes friends with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, leading to a killing on the stock market. Now rich and definitely affected by it, this new Dad has baby wondering if there is something he could do to bring him back down to earth again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Under his cloak of invisibility, Peter Brady quietly investigates the possibility that Uranium-235 is being smuggled into Great Britain for the purpose of triggering an atomic war. Making Brady's task difficult is the presence of famed pacifist leader Waring (William Squire), who has been duped into helping the villains booby-trap the major capitals of the world. Edward Hardwicke, the son of Sir Cedric Hardwicke and the later "Dr. Watson" to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, appears in a featured role. This final episode of The Invisible Man was cowritten by The Avengers' Brian Clemens, pseudonymously billed as Tony O'Grady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Something is seriously amiss in the tiny British village of Midwich. At 11 a.m. one morning, every village resident suddenly falls asleep -- and then, just as suddenly, everyone wakes up, completely unaffected by the phenomenon. Well, not completely: virtually every woman of childbearing years has become pregnant. All the babies are born on the same night, at precisely the same moment. All look the same, weigh the same, and even have the same curious cross-hatched hair and underdeveloped fingernails. Four years later, the children have all prematurely reached the age of nine or so -- and all behave in a weird, conspiratorial manner, comporting themselves more like adults than kids. Resident scientist George Sanders, one of the fathers, surmises that the bizarre manner of the children -- from their zombie-like movements to their cold, staring eyes -- is the result of radioactivity, possibly extraterrestrial in nature. One thing is certain: the children possess powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. And they must be stopped. One of the most influential science fiction films of the 1960s, Village of the Damned was based on the equally eerie John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos. The more explicit 1995 remake was widely panned in comparison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A normally placid pussy turns into a ferocious feline hell-bent for revenge against the treacherous trio who murdered her mistress in this interesting horror film. One of the killers was the woman's husband; the other two were her servants. The woman was quite wealthy, and the avaricious trio killed her to get at her fortune. Unfortunately, the crime was witnessed by the cat. Later the husband tries to convince his niece that the cat and the will must be destroyed. Soon after, the killer kitty leaps out and literally scares him to death. The cat then takes the niece and her lover to her aunt's corpse. In the end, the three inherit the fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this routine, slapstick, frenetic tale, British comic Spike Milligan stars as Harold Petts, a rural mailman with a sudden promotion that ends up getting him into a lot of trouble. Harold is supposed to be trained behind the scenes at London's busiest post office but even after his first day in the city he is already in difficulties. He soon meets Jean (Barbara Shelley), a mediocre art student with big aspirations for her future. The duo eventually find themselves as top suspects in a mail-theft ring, with the police and the Post Office higher-ups close on their heels. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Man in the Dark is a quickie British suspenser geared for double-feature bills. William Sylvester stars as a blind composer of hit songs. Sylvester's wife Barbara Shelley hates him beyond measure. She contrives with her lover, artist Rickie Seldon, to kill Sylvester, but the composer has the last ha-ha. The so-called popular songs heard on the soundtrack of Man in the Dark, including the title number, suggest that William Sylvester is not only blind but tone-deaf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A small German town falls prey to an unseen monster that turns its victims into lifeless statues in this mid-'60s outing from Hammer Studios. When the girlfriend of bohemian artist Bruno Heitz (Jeremy Longhurst) becomes the latest townsperson to turn up dead, her corpse transformed to stone, Bruno hangs himself, leaving the town to assume his guilt. But when his father, Prof. Heitz (Michael Goodliffe), comes to investigate, he too encounters the Gorgon and turns to stone. Just before dying, the professor dashes off instructions to his other son, Paul (Richard Pasco), about how to exonerate Bruno. Suspicion falls on Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing), proprietor of the local madhouse, although one of his patients (Joyce Hemson) seems just as likely a culprit. Then along comes Prof. Carl Maister (Christopher Lee), a folklore expert from the University of Leipzig, who claims that the murderer is actually a human possessed by the spirit of Magaera, one of Medusa's snake-haired sisters from Greek mythology. Together, Paul and Dr. Namaroff attempt to root out the incognito Gorgon while Paul courts lovely amnesiac Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley). Directed by Hammer veteran Terence Fisher, The Gorgon is one of several films to feature British horror mainstays Lee and Cushing side by side. In the States, the film appeared with The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb on a double bill promoted by the distribution of a unique giveaway item: black stamps. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Steed and Emma are called on the scene when several members of the British Venusian Society, an astronomical organization, suddenly die of extreme old age. It turns out that all of the dead stargazers had been looking directly at Venus, which, according to "expert" testimony, is poised to invade the Earth. The truth is a bit more prosaic, but no less threatening for our hero and heroine. The first full-color Avengers episode, "From Venus with Love" was also the initial offering of the series' fifth season. Written by Philip Levene, the episode first aired in England on January 14, 1967; six days later, it was seen on American network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Christopher Lee dons the evil Count's cloak once again after an 8-year hiatus for this first "authentic" sequel to Hammer Studios' Horror of Dracula (the literal 1960 follow-up Brides of Dracula did not feature Lee). The story begins when two stuffy vacationing couples make an ill-fated stopover at Castle Karlsbad in the Carpathian mountains -- despite the warnings of the mysterious Fr. Sandor (Andrew Keir) and the near-destruction of their coach when the terrified driver runs for his life. After a slightly tedious stretch, one of the men (Charles Tingwell) is sacrificed in a bloody Satanic ritual, orchestrated by the Count's loyal manservant Klove (Philip Latham) to bring the legendary vampire back to life. The revived Count immediately sets his sights on the man's wife (Barbara Shelley), making her his undead bride; the surviving pair seek refuge in Fr. Sandor's abbey, with the undead bloodsuckers in hot pursuit. This stylish and chilling production is imbued with Gothic atmosphere by director Terence Fisher (one of his last films for the studio) and remains one of the classier entries from Hammer's heyday. Also known as Revenge of Dracula. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide