Urge to Kill (film)
Encyclopedia
Urge to Kill is a 1960
British B-movie
serial killer film, directed by Vernon Sewell
and starring Patrick Barr
, Ruth Dunning
and Terence Knapp
. The film is based on the novel Hughie Roddis and play Hand in Glove, both by Gerald Savory
. It is regarded as a minor cult film
thanks to its unrelenting shabby grimness and some unintentionally comic, dated and politically-incorrect dialogue – one suspect is repeatedly referred to as "a mental case", while the police, trying to work out why one hapless victim was selected for her grisly fate, speculate "perhaps she was a Jezebel."
Hughie lives in the lodging house run by his aunt (Dunning), along with a selection of boarders including a kindly elderly gent with a penchant for Bible-bashing (Wilfrid Brambell
) and a smooth-talking ladies man (Howard Pays). Hughie is questioned by the police, but Superintendent Allen (Barr) releases him as there is no firm evidence against him. A few days later another girl is killed in the town, and the locals make up their minds that Hughie is responsible and launch a witch-hunt against him. Believing the police are failing to do their job properly, they start issuing death threats against him after gathering in the pub to discuss the case, and the front window of the lodging house is put through by a large rock. Again, Allen's instincts tell him that Hughie is basically a harmless if odd soul, and is not responsible for the killings. He starts to look more closely at other individuals connected to Hughie, in the belief that somebody is going out of their way to set him up. While the townsfolk continue their vendetta, Allen quietly observes and finds his attention focussed on a likely suspect. He shadows the individual as he walks the streets of the town one night and catches the guilty party almost in the act, narrowly saving another young woman from a murderous attack.
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
British B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
serial killer film, directed by Vernon Sewell
Vernon Sewell
Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, screenwriter, producer writer and, briefly, an actor. Sewell was born in London, England in 1903. He was educated at Marlborough College. He directed over 30 films during his career, starting with Morgenrot in 1933...
and starring Patrick Barr
Patrick Barr
Patrick David Barr was a British film and television actor.Born in Akola, India, Patrick Barr went from stage to screen with The Merry Men of Sherwood . He spent the 1930s playing various beneficent authority figures and "reliable friend" types...
, Ruth Dunning
Ruth Dunning
Ruth Dunning was a Welsh actress of stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence in the role of Gladys Grove in BBC Television's The Grove Family , also portraying that character in the 1955 film It's a Great Day...
and Terence Knapp
Terence Knapp
Terence Richard Knapp is an English actor, director, educator, and author. He is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa, a Churchill Fellow and a Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Associate....
. The film is based on the novel Hughie Roddis and play Hand in Glove, both by Gerald Savory
Gerald Savory
Gerald Savory was an English playwright and screenwriter specialising in comedies.The son of actress Grace Lane , he was educated at Bradfield College and worked as a stockbroker's clerk before turning to the stage , first as an actor then a writer.His first work for movies was writing dialogue for...
. It is regarded as a minor cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
thanks to its unrelenting shabby grimness and some unintentionally comic, dated and politically-incorrect dialogue – one suspect is repeatedly referred to as "a mental case", while the police, trying to work out why one hapless victim was selected for her grisly fate, speculate "perhaps she was a Jezebel."
Plot
While making her way home from the cinema one night in a particularly grey and drab town, a young woman is murdered in an unusually brutal and sadistic manner. Local suspicion immediately falls on Hughie (Knapp), a strangely-behaved and not very bright local youth who has a habit of wandering aimlessly around the town at all hours randomly collecting stray bits and pieces, with a particular fondness for broken glass – which unfortunately for Hughie happens to have been one of the weapons used in the fatal attack.Hughie lives in the lodging house run by his aunt (Dunning), along with a selection of boarders including a kindly elderly gent with a penchant for Bible-bashing (Wilfrid Brambell
Wilfrid Brambell
Henry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
) and a smooth-talking ladies man (Howard Pays). Hughie is questioned by the police, but Superintendent Allen (Barr) releases him as there is no firm evidence against him. A few days later another girl is killed in the town, and the locals make up their minds that Hughie is responsible and launch a witch-hunt against him. Believing the police are failing to do their job properly, they start issuing death threats against him after gathering in the pub to discuss the case, and the front window of the lodging house is put through by a large rock. Again, Allen's instincts tell him that Hughie is basically a harmless if odd soul, and is not responsible for the killings. He starts to look more closely at other individuals connected to Hughie, in the belief that somebody is going out of their way to set him up. While the townsfolk continue their vendetta, Allen quietly observes and finds his attention focussed on a likely suspect. He shadows the individual as he walks the streets of the town one night and catches the guilty party almost in the act, narrowly saving another young woman from a murderous attack.
Cast
- Patrick BarrPatrick BarrPatrick David Barr was a British film and television actor.Born in Akola, India, Patrick Barr went from stage to screen with The Merry Men of Sherwood . He spent the 1930s playing various beneficent authority figures and "reliable friend" types...
as Superintendent Allen - Ruth DunningRuth DunningRuth Dunning was a Welsh actress of stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence in the role of Gladys Grove in BBC Television's The Grove Family , also portraying that character in the 1955 film It's a Great Day...
as Auntie B. - Terence KnappTerence KnappTerence Richard Knapp is an English actor, director, educator, and author. He is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa, a Churchill Fellow and a Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Associate....
as Hughie - Howard Pays as Charles Ramskill
- Anna Turner as Lily Willis
- Christopher TraceChristopher TraceChristopher Leonard Trace was an English actor and television presenter, best remembered for his nine years as a presenter of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter.-Career:...
as Sgt. Grey - Wilfrid BrambellWilfrid BrambellHenry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
as Mr. Forsythe - Margaret St. Barbe West as Mrs. Willis
- Yvonne Buckingham as Gwen
- Rita WebbRita WebbRita Webb was an English character actress, mainly in comedy roles.Born Olive Webb in Willesden, Middlesex, England, she is best known for her appearances as a stooge for Benny Hill in his long-running Thames Television series...
as Charwoman
External links
- Urge to Kill at BFI Film & TV Database