The Vulture (1967 film)

1966 Canadian film by Lawrence Huntington

The Vulture

Theatrical poster.

Directed by| Lawrence Huntington
Written by| Lawrence Huntington
Produced by| Lawrence Huntington
executive
Jack O. Lamont
Starring| Robert Hutton
Akim Tamiroff
Broderick Crawford
Diane Clare
Edited by| John S Smith
Music by| Eric Spear

Production
companies

Homeric Films
Iliad Films
Film Financial Co Ltd

Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release dates

| December 23, 1966 (Deming premiere)
May 3, 1967

Running time

| 91 minutes
Countries| Canada
United Kingdom
United States
Language| English
Budget| £50,000[1]

The Vulture is a 1967 American/Canadian/British horror film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Robert Hutton, Akim Tamiroff, Broderick Crawford, and Diane Clare.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

One stormy night in Cornwall, schoolteacher Ellen West becomes hysterical when she sees a gigantic bird with a human face fly out of the open grave of Francis Real, an 18th-century seaman. Real, buried alive with a huge, murderous bird he had found in the South Pacific, had sworn vengeance on all descendants of Squire Stroud, the man who ordered his interment; nevertheless, Brian Stroud, the present squire, is unconcerned by the prophecy of doom.

American scientist Eric Lutyens, husband of Brian's niece Trudy, is troubled when he finds the mutilated body of a sheep in what appears to be a vulture's nest. He visits Professor Koniglich, a scientist friend of Brian's who believes himself to be a descendant of Real, and correctly surmises that Koniglich had attempted to disintegrate his own body in the grave and reassemble it through nuclear energy; unfortunately, the professor had failed to consider the bird buried there, and a mutation resulted.

Before Eric can warn the Strouds, Brian and his brother Edward are found dead on a cliffside, and Trudy is carried away to the same site by the bird after she is lured to Koniglich's house. At the cliff, Eric finds his wife threatened by the beast with Koniglich's head and screams at her to use the gun he had given her. Trudy shoots the bird and it crashes to its death on the rocks below; Eric then weights it with an anchor, tows it out to sea, and sinks it.

## Cast

[edit]

* Robert Hutton as Dr. Eric Lutens
* Akim Tamiroff as Prof. Hans Koniglich/the Vulture
* Broderick Crawford as Brian F. Stroud
* Diane Clare as Trudy Lutens
* Philip Friend as vicar
* Patrick Holt as Jarvis
* Annette Carell as Ellen West
* Edward Caddick as Melcher, the sexton
* Gordon Sterne as Edward Stroud
* Keith McConnell as Superintendent Wendell
* Margaret Robinson as nurse

## Production

[edit]

The script was based on an original story by Huntington which was first known as Manutara. He sold it to producer Jack O. Lamont who managed to get some financing from Paramount provided American names were cast in the leads. The remainder of the £50,000 budget was raised from Britain's Homeric Films and NFFC along with Canada's Ihod Productions.[1] The Vulture was written under the title Minotaur. The film was shot in Cornwall in 1965, on a budget of CAD$200,000.[3]

## Release

[edit]

The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and premiered in Portland, Oregon, on 31 December 1966. The film was shown in black and white in the United States.[4]

## Reception

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A pitifully stilted horror film, in which the characters stand around either speculating, scoffing or helpfully disbursing yards of background information, and in which the only moment of splendour comes with the appearance of the monster, seen coyly from the waist down as a pair of vast, knobbly-kneed talons. Akim Tamiroff, hobbling about in flowing black cloak as a sort of reincarnation of Dr. Caligari, does his best with some fatuous dialogue: but the rest is ashes."[5]

TV Guide awarded the film one out of four stars, writing " Ridiculous casting makes this one a laugh riot."[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 190-193
2. ^ "The Vulture". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
3. ^ Turner 1987, p. 60.
4. ^ Turner 1987, p. 61.
5. ^ "The Vulture". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 35 (408): 161. 1 January 1968. ProQuest 1305826802 - via ProQuest.
6. ^ "The Vulture - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TVGuide.com. TV Guide Staff. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

## Works cited

[edit]

* Turner, D. John, ed. (1987). Canadian Feature Film Index: 1913-1985. Canadian Film Institute. ISBN 0660533642.

## External links

[edit]

* The Vulture at AllMovie
* The Vulture at IMDb
* The Vulture at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Lawrence Huntington

* After Many Years (1930)
* Romance in Rhythm (1934)
* The Bank Messenger Mystery (1936)
* Strange Cargo (1936)
* Two on a Doorstep (1936)
* Cafe Mascot (1936)
* Full Speed Ahead (1936)
* Passenger to London (1937)
* Screen Struck (short, 1937)
* Twin Faces (1937)
* Dial 999 (1938)
* Bad Boy (1938)
* This Man Is Dangerous aka The Patient Vanishes (1941)
* Tower of Terror (1941)
* Suspected Person (1942)
* Women Aren't Angels (1943)
* Warn That Man (1943)
* Night Boat to Dublin (1946)
* Wanted for Murder (1946)
* The Upturned Glass (1947)
* When the Bough Breaks (1947)
* Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill (1948)
* Man on the Run (1949)
* The Franchise Affair (1951)
* There Was a Young Lady (1953)
* The Accused (1953)
* The Genie (1953)
* Thought to Kill (1954)
* The Red Dress (1954)
* Destination Milan (1954)
* Eight Witnesses (TV film, 1954)
* Contraband Spain (1955)
* Deadly Record (1959)
* The Fur Collar (1962)
* Stranglehold (1963)
* Death Drums Along the River (1963)
* The Vulture (1967)

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