'Would you like a drink, whiskey, Dubonnet?'
Welcome back to my Dark Corner of this Sick World.
The only reason I watched Corruption was its poster.
"Corruption is not a woman’s picture. "
"No woman will be admitted alone to see this super-shock film."#
Ah the 1960s. This comes from the tradition of The Brain that Wouldn’t Die –
which we reviewed an appalling number of years ago –
films in which mad doctors hunt down and kill hot women whom they cut up to rebuild their disfigured lovers.
‘The more you succeed the more you fear your failures.’
This version opens with Peter Cushing’s Dr John Rowan at a swinging party,
couldn’t be more at home,
making this the unlikely missing link between Eyes Without a Face and Austin Powers.
'That's it drape yourself up baby, that's it, freak out baby. Let's see those beautiful legs. Alright, give me the pretty girl bit.'
'That's it, that's beautiful. Now, let's get really kinky.'
Rowan’s young wife, Lynn is a model and part of this world,
flirting with photographer Mike.#
'What girl like you doing in a place like this.'
'How do you do.'
'This is the camera that made me famous.'
Played by Prime Ministerial father-in-law to be, Tony Booth.
'That's enough.'
'Let go, I'm just taking pictures.'
But in the ensuing fight...
'Go on, get out of here.'
'Call an ambulance, get me a blanket.'
#Scream intyo siren#
Bloody hell she could get a job =in Police Academy.
Rowan devotes his life to restoring Lynn’s face, slaving in the lab to inappropriately jaunty music.
And delving into his books.
‘Plastic surgeons are only beginning to rediscover the ground covered by the Egyptians thousands of years ago’
One of a few points where you can’t help thinking, this would be so much better if it was set a hundred years earlier.
He has a plan and returns to his hospital’s morgue.
'What the devil have you done.'
‘I’ve taken the pituitary.’
and it works.
‘But it’s incredible.’
Lynn is better than ever.
‘It could be the skin of a young child.’
What an incredibly creepy compliment.
‘What do you mean creepy?’
But they cut their celebratory holiday short.
‘I hope nothing’s gone wrong.’
I’d be stunned if it hasn’t.
'Darling welcome home.'
'Don't touch me.'
The problem is…
‘Whatever is the matter.'
'Matter?'
The pituitary came from a corpse, Lynn needs one from a living woman,
and in the great tradition of these films.
‘It’s a fiver.’
Rowan visits a prostitute.
‘Ring me back in ten minutes.’
That’s all you get for a fiver.
He cuts off her head and once again, Lynn is restored but it’s not going to hold, it never will.
And this is interesting.
‘I can’t do it, Lynn. Not again’
Unlike most versions of this story it’s not the man driving matters, it’s Lynn.
‘I want to be able to forget.’
by having regular operations for the rest of my life.
I mock, but this is an interesting twist, drawing on Lynn’s character.
‘I’ll never regain my looks.’
So this is closer to the story of Elisabeth Bathory, later filmed by Hammer as Countess Dracula.
Anyway, on the coast, Lynn scopes her next donor.
'She must be a hichhicker or something, such a shame, appears to be all alone.'
'Darking why don't you go down and talk to her.'
Hitchhiker, Terry, whom the couple invite to stay but who climbs out her window by night,
I can’t imagine why.
‘Is anything wrong.’
‘Goodnight Terry.’
Don’t blame her for leaving but she hasn’t exactly bothered the plot.
Instead, Lynn sends Rowan on a train journey.
Is no one else on this train?
Back at the house, Rowan begins to dissect the girl’s severed head when...
‘Hi, I came back’
That’s how it plays out, no preamble, no set-up, Terry just wanders in, then of course runs out again.
Now, in the film’s defence, there is something inherently ridiculous about a chase scene across slippery rocks.
But they’ve only themselves to blame for Rowan’s lack of peripheral vision.
Now, Terry’s sudden reappearance and the comical chase scene are anomalies in what has so far been missed opportunity
rather than an outright bad film
and Cushing himself, in a rare outburst, would later complain how the film was destroyed by the production company.
‘It says new clues in headless girl murder.’
There’s a reason there are so many films like this;
it’s a good story and this isn’t the worst version.
There’s much to recommend it, not least the performances of its leads.
It’s therefore quite hard to understand what happens next.
‘Call the police.’
‘What was that? Call the police call the fuzz.’
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Our chief weapon is surprise, and I do mean surprise,
I have no idea who these people are, they seem to have wandered in from an episode of the Avengers filming next door.
Even Peter Cushing’s confused.
‘Oh you’re Terry friends.’
Hi, we’re a narrative contrivance here to tie things up.
‘Turn the pad over’ ‘Great’
Yeah that’s really turning it over.
‘There’s no need to destroy the place.’
Destroy it? She’s practically tidying.
And who the hell thought comedy actor David Lodge would be a convincing or remotely threatening henchman,
‘He enjoys hurting things’
named Groper.
Lynn takes one man out to the cliffs looking for Terry.
'Where?'
I can’t imagine what’s going to happen now.
She then goes conveniently nuts.
Before the chaotic conclusion.
And in case all that hadn’t already won the Dark Corners Curse of the Golem award for third acts that drive the movie off a cliff.
What the hell, we’ve gone back to the start.
'I thought you'd never get here.'
'I'm sorry, I was more tired than I thought.'
It was all a dream, probably.
'The man whose camera made me famous.'
Can’t help thinking all those women who were refused admission to this dodged a bullet.
'How's your kiss of life.'
Thanks for watching. To see more Peter Cushing film reviews click here.
I haven’t mentioned Lynn’s sister and her doctor boyfriend who seem to get forgotten,
what other films set up characters who just vanish from the climax? Let us know in the comments below.
'I hope you're not thinking of staying the night, you're my last client.'