Catacombs (1965 film)

1965 British film by Gordon Hessler

Catacombs

UK theatrical release poster

Directed by| Gordon Hessler
Screenplay by| Daniel Mainwaring
Based on| Catacombs
(1959 novel)
by Jay Bennett
Produced by| Jack Parsons
Neil McCallum
Starring| Gary Merrill
Georgina Cookson
Jane Merrow
Cinematography| Arthur Lavis
Edited by| Robert Winter
Music by| Carlo Martelli

Production
companies

Parroch-McCallum
Associated Producers International
British Lion

Distributed by| British Lion Films (United Kingdom)
Warner Bros. Pictures (United States)

Release date

* 5 May 1965 (1965-05-05)

Running time

| 84 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Catacombs (U.S. title: The Woman Who Wouldn't Die) is a 1965 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Gary Merrill, Georgina Cookson and Jane Merrow.[1][2] The screenplay was by Daniel Mainwaring based on the 1959 novel of the same title by Jay Bennett.

## Plot

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An astute business woman is murdered by her husband who intends to carry on with his affair with her niece after her death. However, he soon finds himself haunted by his late wife.

## Cast

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* Gary Merrill as Raymond Garth
* Georgina Cookson as Ellen Garth
* Jane Merrow as Alice Taylor
* Neil McCallum as Richard 'Dick' Corbett
* Rachel Thomas as Christine
* Jack Train as solicitor
* Frederick Piper as Inspector Murcott

## Production

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### Filming

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The film was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director George Provis.

### Distribution

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Warner Brothers picked it up for distribution in the US.[3]

## Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "One would have thought that the days of the murder story with the corpse buried in the potting-shed were long over, but the situation is revived here not entirely without effect. The preliminaries setting the domestic scene are much too long, but after the murder things perk up considerably, with one or two nice macabre effects. The acting is sound enough in general, with a striking performance by Georgina Cookson as the bitchy wife."[4]

Variety wrote: "What could have easily been on of those quickie, murder-on-the-moors thrillers which the British seem to turn out over a weekend, this Jack Parsons production comes off something better than average because of a very good performance by Georgina Cookson and taut direction by Gordon Hessler of Dan Mainwaring's spare but neat screenplay. There are few surprises in the basically simple plot but the cast acts with more inventiveness than is usually found in these programners."[5]

Leslie Halliwell wrote "Involved melodrama with rather too many twists."[6]

## References

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1. ^ "Catacombs". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
2. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | 'Catacombs' (1964)". 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
3. ^ "British film to be shown here". New York Times. 15 June 1964. ProQuest 115838142.
4. ^ "Catacombs". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 34 (396): 9. 1 January 1967. ProQuest 1305827919.
5. ^ "Catacombs". Variety. 238 (11): 6. 5 May 1965. ProQuest 962984313.
6. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 183\. ISBN 0586088946.

## External links

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* Catacombs at IMDb
* Catacombs at BFI
* Review of film at The New York Times

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Gordon Hessler

* Catacombs (1965)
* The Last Shot You Hear (1969)
* The Oblong Box (1969)
* Scream and Scream Again (1970)
* Cry of the Banshee (1970)
* Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)
* Embassy (1972)
* Medusa (1973)
* Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)
* The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
* Skyway to Death (1974)
* Hitchhike! (1974)
* A Cry in the Wilderness (1974)
* Betrayal (1974)
* Puzzle (1978)
* Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
* Secrets of Three Hungry Wives (1978)
* The Secret War of Jackie's Girls (1980)
* Pray for Death (1985)
* Rage of Honor (1987)
* The Misfit Brigade (1987)
* The Girl in a Swing (1988)

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