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The Witches | Year: 1967 Classification: Horror Directed: - Cyril Frankel Actors/Actresses: - Joan Fontaine - Kay Walsh That voodoo that you do. The Witches is more mystery than terror. Joan Fontaine returns to England as a school marm after a frightening run in with witch doctors in Africa. True to Hammer form wierd things start happening in this charming English country side. Great movie with great mystery until the orgy of the witches. The firey head dress, and choreographed convulsions are a bit much, and I don't even want to think about that brown stuff they cram into their mouths. If you are a collector you definitely want this in widescreen. Joan Fontaine in a superb performance A classic Hammer chiller, THE WITCHES, which is also known as THE DEVIL'S OWN, is an engrossing story of the occult set in the seeemingly harmless English countryside. Haunted by the terrors she saw in Africa, schoolteacher Gwen Mayfield (Joan Fontaine) accepts a teaching position in a local Haddaby School run by Alex Bax (Alec McCowan) and his sister Stephanie (Kay Walsh). Soon, however, as mysterious occurances start, such as a boy falling into a coma, a headless doll found impaled with pins, Gwen starts re-living her African nightmare again. Very good story, although the climactic witch-coven scene draws more laughs than gasps, with the Witch Queen looking like a cross between Edina from AB FAB and Bullwinkle the Moose. In deluxe widescreen (aspect ratio of 1.66:1), and original trailers of the film under the DEVIL'S OWN title, and paired with another Hammer film PREHISTORIC WOMEN. Joan Fontaine and the Coven of the Kooky In her last appearance on the silver screen, Joan Fontaine, who won an Academy Award for her performance in Suspicion (1941), stars in this Hammer Studios release of The Witches (1967). While the material here is certainly not of the caliber of some of the previous films she's appeared in, it is fun to watch. Maybe I have some lurid fascination of seeing once great stars reduced to appearing in roles they probably would have never considered in their prime. Joan plays Gwen Mayfield, a teacher who has just been accepted to assume a position as head teacher of a private school in a small English village. The film starts off with Gwen teaching at a mission school in Africa, and, after an incident with a native witch doctor that caused Gwen to have a nervous breakdown, she has now returned to England to put the pieces of her life back together. After formally meeting with her employers, Alan and Stephanie Bax, played by Alec McCowen and Kay Walsh respectively, the well-to-do resident benefactors of the town who are also brother and sister, Gwen settles into her new surroundings. The situation seems idyllic, a nice, quiet position in a small town where little happens, but, as the saying goes, still waters sometimes run deep. The oddness begins when two of her pre-teen students, a boy and a very weird girl, exhibit closeness to each other, one borne of a budding romance. This causes consternation among some of the townspeople, and soon the boy falls ill of a mysterious coma. Apparently there was more than just a passing concern about what might happen if the relationship between these two continued, specifically in respect to the girl. Rumors of witchery begin to reach Gwen, and the deeper she probes, the more ominous the proceedings. As the notion of witchery becomes more and more viable, the idea that there may be more than one witch, a coven, operating within the town, involving various members of the small village. Gwen soon finds herself at odds with unseen forces, and suffers a relapse, forcing her to be institutionalized. She has also lost her memory of everything that's transpired after leaving Africa. She does regain her memory, bits at a time, and the horror begins to return as she understands what is about to transpire, and rushes back to the town in an attempt to save the girl from an unknown fate, and ultimately learn that witchery is not limited to third world peoples but is alive and well here in this small, English village. Joan Fontaine does a great job here, still exhibiting the sheen of a Hollywood star, even if some of that sheen has dulled since her prime. I have to say, even pushing 50 she still looked pretty good, despite the oddish, bowl bouffant she sported through most of the film. Fontaine's older sister, Olivia de Havilland, didn't fare as well, career wise, in my opinion, starring in dubious films like Lady in a Cage (1964), and Irwin Allen 70's disaster pics like Airport '77 (1977) and The Swarm (1978) Buy The Witches at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Witches Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Witches This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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