Thanks for the memories!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Overlong and Overwritten, this is a Plodding and only Occasionally Interesting Psycho-Drama from Hammer Studios. it is Definitely a Lesser Film than the Other Psychological Pictures they made around this Time.After a Lurid and Effective Beginning things become Tedious with some Unnecessary Scenes and the Movie takes the Longest Time Setting-Up the Suspense and the Twist Filled Ending. The Middle Bit with all that Scenery makes for an Atmosphere of Expanse and is there, it seems, to be nothing more than Languishing on Location.The Ending too Suffers from the Ill-Advised and Badly Used Catacombs that do nothing but Distract from the Necessity of Piecing Together the Novel Conclusion. It all is Rendered Rather Routine the way the Climactic Confrontations are Played Out, as is Probably the Case of the Audience by the Time all is Said.

American artist Paul Farrell (Kerwin Mathews) is visiting France. He falls in love with hotel owner Eve Beynat (Nadia Gray). He helps her to get her husband George (Donald Houston) out of an asylum...and then everything falls apart.Well-directed with some beautiful b&w cinematography--but that's all this movie has going for it. The plot is old hat and the twists and turns that come fast and furious during the last half hour are now familiar and obvious. To make matters worse the acting is pretty terrible. Mathews is tall, handsome, hunky--and totally blank as Paul. His face NEVER changes expression. I actually smirked when he gives no reaction at all to finding a dead body. Even worse is Liliane Brousse as Annette and her thick French accent doesn't help. Gray and Houston are OK in their roles. This is OK to watch if you have nothing better to do but don't expect much. I give it a 6.

A good script from Hammer stalwart Jimmy Sangster who also wrote the excellent Paranoiac, and matched by sharp direction and photography. A shame, then, that the cast are such a let-down. The well-known ham Donald Houston lives down to his reputation - his voice was dubbed, a pity that his performance couldn't be erased. The French actress Lillian Brousse is excellent as the innocent daughter, but the American Kerwin Matthews makes for a very anodyne lead. The rest of the cast are British, utilizing French accents straight out of 'Allo 'Allo. Hammer have made some excellent non-horror movies such as Taste of Fear, and but for the dreadful acting this could have been one of them.

portrayed by the lovely Nadia Gray, Roumanian born actress. This suspenseful thriller is a nice surprise, and it has Polansky undertones to it which make it chilling.The idea of a maniac with a blowtorch, and no one knows who or what is his next target. The actor portraying said villain was very good, and menacing as well as believable.Eve has a daughter whose father is languishing in prison. He may be the blowtorch killer. He may have committed crimes. We don't know until the end.Some of the scenes with the outdoor markets reminded me of Montmartre. So real and well photographed. A must see for any suspense film fan. 9/10