Death Line
Encyclopedia
Death Line is a 1972 British
horror film
, distributed as Raw Meat in the United States. The film stars Donald Pleasence
as Inspector Calhoun, and was directed by the American
filmmaker Gary Sherman.
tube network. The last member of the family frequently visits the neighbouring Russell Square
and Holborn stations to pick off passengers for food, then takes them back to the gruesome 'pantry' at an incomplete station. When the cannibal kidnaps and kills an important politician, he is hunted by a detective
as well as an American college student and his English girlfriend who were the last to see the victim in the tube station. Donald Pleasence and Norman Rossington star as the two investigating police inspectors. At the climax, when finally cornered and with his wife and the last of his family members dead from disease, the cannibal screams a corrupted form of "Mind the doors!
", having picked it up parrot-fashion from the guards on the Underground trains.
Christopher Lee
appears as a shady MI5 agent whom the detectives meet during their investigation.
was mentioned in the film, but it is not the station portrayed as being the cannibal's home. The station in question is named "Museum" and is stated as being between Holborn
and British Museum in a conversation between Pleasence's character and a colleague. Signs in the abandoned station also state "Museum" as the name. Location filming took place at both Holborn and the now disused Aldwych
station.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, distributed as Raw Meat in the United States. The film stars Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as Inspector Calhoun, and was directed by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker Gary Sherman.
Plot
The film's plot concerns a family of cannibals descended from Victorian railway workers dwelling in the disused lines of the London UndergroundLondon Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
tube network. The last member of the family frequently visits the neighbouring Russell Square
Russell Square tube station
Russell Square is a London Underground station on Bernard Street, Bloomsbury in the London Borough of Camden. It is a small but busy station, often used by office workers and by tourists who are staying in Bloomsbury's numerous hotels. The station is a Grade II listed building.-History:The station...
and Holborn stations to pick off passengers for food, then takes them back to the gruesome 'pantry' at an incomplete station. When the cannibal kidnaps and kills an important politician, he is hunted by a detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
as well as an American college student and his English girlfriend who were the last to see the victim in the tube station. Donald Pleasence and Norman Rossington star as the two investigating police inspectors. At the climax, when finally cornered and with his wife and the last of his family members dead from disease, the cannibal screams a corrupted form of "Mind the doors!
Mind the gap
"Mind the gap" is a warning to train passengers to take caution while crossing the gap between the train door and the station platform. It was introduced in 1969 on the London Underground...
", having picked it up parrot-fashion from the guards on the Underground trains.
Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
appears as a shady MI5 agent whom the detectives meet during their investigation.
Cast
- Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as Inspector Calhoun - Norman RossingtonNorman RossingtonNorman Rossington was an English actor best remembered for his roles in The Army Game, the Carry On films and the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.-Early life:...
as Detective Sergeant Rogers - David LaddDavid LaddDavid Ladd is an American producer and former actor.-Personal life:Ladd was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the son of Alan Ladd and Sue Carol and brother of Alana Ladd...
as Alex Campbell - Sharon Gurney as Patricia Wilson
- Hugh Armstrong as The 'Man'
- June Turner as The 'Woman'
- Clive SwiftClive SwiftClive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
as Inspector Richardson - James CossinsJames CossinsJames Cossins was an English character actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he became widely recognised as the abrupt, bewildered Mr. Walt in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Hotel Inspectors"...
as James Manfred, OBE - Heather Stoney as W.P.C. Alice Marshall
- Hugh Dickson as Dr. Bacon
- Jack WoolgarJack WoolgarJack Woolgar was a British character actor working in television and film in the 1960s and 1970s.He began acting towards the end of the Second World War and turned professional shortly afterwards, working in repertory theatre and touring around the UK...
as Platform Inspector - Ron PemberRon PemberRon Pember is a British actor, best known for his role as Alain Muny in the 1970s BBC drama series Secret Army.Pember played the part of the psychopathic taxman in the Red Dwarf episode "Better Than Life"...
as Lift Operator - Colin McCormackColin McCormackColin McCormack was a professional Welsh actor who enjoyed considerable success in classical stage performances and television shows over a career approaching fifty years from his debut as a child actor in a BBC TV's Dixon of Dock Green episode, a show he returned to twenty years later when he...
as Police Constable - James CullifordJames CullifordJames Culliford was a British actor on stage, film and television.He met his life partner, the actor Alfred Lynch at theatre acting evening classes. Some of his noted roles are The Entertainer , Quatermass and the Pit and The Trygon Factor...
as Publican - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Stratton-Villiers, MI5
Production
The disused British Museum tube stationBritish Museum tube station
British Museum tube station was a station on the London Underground's Central Line, located on Bury Place, close to the British Museum in central London, England.-History:...
was mentioned in the film, but it is not the station portrayed as being the cannibal's home. The station in question is named "Museum" and is stated as being between Holborn
Holborn tube station
Holborn is a station of the London Underground in Holborn in London, located at the junction of High Holborn and Kingsway. Situated on the Piccadilly Line and on the Central Line , it is the only station common to the two lines, although the two lines cross each other three times elsewhere...
and British Museum in a conversation between Pleasence's character and a colleague. Signs in the abandoned station also state "Museum" as the name. Location filming took place at both Holborn and the now disused Aldwych
Aldwych tube station
Aldwych is a closed London Underground station in the City of Westminster, originally opened as Strand in 1907. It was the terminus and only station on the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The disused station building is close to the...
station.