Vernon Campbell Sewell Movies

Roger Corman's New World Pictures took a stab at the tale of the nefarious real-life graverobbers -- and filled it with the studio's usual quota of nudity, softcore sex and tacky humor. The result is pretty much as one would expect -- nothing to rival the excellent Flesh and the Fiends, or even Tod Slaughter's campy The Greed of William Hart. Harry Andrews plays the unscrupulous Dr. Knox, who enlists the aid of grave-plundering dirtbags Derren Nesbitt and Glynn Edwards in obtaining fresh cadavers for the medical academy. When the demand increases and local cemeteries begin to run dry, the industrious pair turn to the living to keep the doctor supplied. This time out, Burke and Hare are particularly randy fellows, who spend more time carousing in Edinburgh whorehouses than stalking their prey. Despite the macabre subject matter, the producers opted for sexploitation over gruesome horror, but the end result is decidedly dull. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Set during the Victorian era, the film stars Peter Cushing as a Holmeslike detective on the trail of a serial killer. The mystery angle is minimal, since we know virtually from the beginning that the killer is a gigantic....moth! It seems that Wanda Ventham, daughter of addled scientist Robert Flemyng, has spent too much time in her dad's lab, and can turn herself into a malevolent moth at will. Flemyng tries to mollify Ventham by creating a playmate for her-and the result is two murderous moths. Blood Beast Terror was also released as The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British comedy, a gambler tries to win his fortune at the racetrack. While there he finds himself duped by a beautiful blonde con artist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this adaptation of an Edgar Wallace mystery, two youthful hoods try to rob a bookie as he is leaving the track with his daily winnings. Unfortunately, the two find that the fellow has chained the loot to his wrist and they are forced to take him along with the cash. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this spooky drama, newlyweds move into a charming old house and find that they share it with spirit who tells them of the house's grim, gory history. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a gentle old woman finds herself involved in a murder after she dials a wrong number and overhears a murderer telling how he killed a man during a robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Faith Domergue is the sweet-faced villainess in the murky British melodrama Spin a Dark Web. Domergue plays Bella Francesi, who with her brother Rico (Martin Benson) runs practically all illegal activities in London. The parallels between the Francesi and the Borgias are underlined at every possible opportunity, in the manner of the 1931 gangster flick Scarface. The erstwhile hero, one Jim Bankley (Lee Patterson), is the catalyst for Bella's ultimate downfall. Spin a Dark Web was based on Wide Boys Never Work, a novel by Robert Westerby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a trucker offers a hitchhiking girl a lift and ends up careening out of control when he is later accused of killing her. He decides that the only way to clear his name is to launch his own investigation and in so doing finds himself up to his axles in intrigue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this corny British comedy, a Cockney family inherits a rundown Devon farm. Not everyone is pleased by the prospect of leaving the city, but the father insists and off they go. With the help of a savvy housekeeper, the family puts the ramshackle farm in order. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this exciting drama, three people spy an empty yacht adrift at sea. They get on board and begin investigating, thinking it was used for smuggling. Not long afterwards, all of them develop radiation burns on their arms. They soon discover that the ship's mast is filled with stolen uranium. They radio the cops, but before they can get there, the crooks return and a chase ensues, culminating in a deadly explosion. In Great Britain, the film was titled Dangerous Voyage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Floating Dutchman was an early product of Merton Park Productions, a British firm best known for its "Edgar Wallace" series of the 1960s. Dermot Walsh stars as a detective who goes undercover to smash a jewel-smuggling ring. The head man is played by Victor Tafler, heretofore "untouchable" because of his connections in high places. The title refers to one of the smugglers' victims, an unfortunate Dutch gem specialist. As the film rushes to its conclusion, it appears as though the detective, too, is headed for a watery grave. The Floating Dutchman is based on a novel by Nicholas Bentley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vernon Sewell, a mercurial filmmaker who preferred to lens his pictures on chunks of his own property, was the director of Black Widow. We don't know which of Sewell's real estate holdings served as the locale for this amnesia meller. We can, however, tell you that the film was inspired by the BBC radio serial "Return from Darkness." Returning from you-know-where is Robert Ayres, who learns that his wife (Christine Norden) is planning to bump him off with the help of her boyfriend (Anthony Forwood). Ayres continues feigning a loss of memory until he is able to get the drop on his would-be murderers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide