Deadly Strangers

Deadly Strangers
British theatrical poster
Directed by Sidney Hayers
Produced by Peter Miller
Written by Philip Levene (original Story and Screenplay)
Starring Hayley Mills
Simon Ward
Sterling Hayden
Music by Ron Goodwin
Cinematography Graham Edgar
Edited by Barry Peters
Production
company
Distributed by Fox-Rank (UK)
Release date
 April 1975 (UK)
Running time
 88 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Deadly Strangers is a 1975 British psychological thriller film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Hayley Mills, Simon Ward and Sterling Hayden.[1]

Plot

The film starts with a dangerous patient escaping Greenwood Mental Hospital causing injury or death to two staff. Immediately afterwards a car is stolen and the owner killed by the thief.

The plot follows Stephen Slade (Simon Ward) who notices a pretty girl Belle Adams (Hayley Mills) in a bar and follows her when she is given a lift by a truck driver. He is driving a car the same color and make as seen in the earlier murder scene. The truck driver attempts to rape the girl but she escapes and is rescued by Slade.

Adams wishes to catch a train at a nearby station and Slade is wishing to take her there (really wishing to exploit her); he lies about delays in her train as a way of keeping her with him.

With roadblocks in the area and Slade not being too forthcoming on his own background, the trip focuses on what they are both hiding. The flashbacks gradually reveal that Stephen is a voyeurist deeply into sexual perversions, and Adams is an orphan who was a victim of sexual abuse on the part of her uncle. Somebody murders a girl who was an attendant at the filling station where the couple has dropped by.

On waking the next morning, Slade loses Adams and hurries off to find her, where she misses him and catches a lift from aging Malcolm Robarts (Sterling Hayden). However, within a short time Slade reunites with Adams, leaving Robarts alone. Having realized something, Robarts tries to chase them but doesn't succeed.

The film culminates with the couple spending the night at the hotel. In the last few minutes the truth is revealed: after massive sexual abuse Adams snapped and murdered her uncle which resulted in her having been confined to Greenwood Mental Hospital. Adams is finally arrested by the police, but not before she murders Slade. The title is explained: they were both deadly strangers.

Cast

  • Belle Adams - Hayley Mills
  • Stephen Slade - Simon Ward
  • Malcolm Robarts - Sterling Hayden
  • Jim Nicholls - Ken Hutchison
  • Belle's Uncle - Peter Jeffrey
  • Café Owner - Hubert Tucker
  • Petrol Station Attendant - Nina Francis
  • 1st Motorcycle Youth - George Collis
  • 2nd Motorcycle Youth - Ralph Arliss
  • Stephen's Girlfriend - Juliet Aykroyd
  • Motorcycle Policeman - Roger Nott
  • Hotel Receptionist - Norman Tyrrell

Critical reception

Time Out noted "old-fashioned psychopathic goings-on in the West Country" and its "sole redeeming feature is Hayley Mills, who suggests an actress capable of much better things than she has been offered recently. Hayers, to his credit, does exploit her best quality - an insolent, slightly offhand sex appeal" ;[2] while TV Guide found it an "occasionally intriguing tale," concluding that it was "well done, but it seems to bog down in its own cleverness"; [3] whereas The Terror Trap found it "a satisfying and well made British psycho thriller." [4]

References

  1. ↑ "Deadly Strangers". BFI.
  2. ↑ "Deadly Strangers". Time Out London.
  3. ↑ "Deadly Strangers". TV Guide.
  4. ↑ "Deadly Strangers (1974) - The Terror Trap". terrortrap.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.