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Blue Blood (1973 film)

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Blue Blood
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrew Sinclair
Written byAlexander Thynn (novel)
Andrew Sinclair
Based onThe Carry-Cot
by Alexander Thynn
Produced byJohn Trent
Kent Walwin
StarringOliver Reed
Fiona Lewis
Derek Jacobi
Anna Gaël
CinematographyHarry Waxman
Edited byKeith Palmer
Music byBrian Gascoigne
Production
company
Mallard Productions
Distributed byMallard Productions
Release date
1973
Running time
90 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Canada
LanguageEnglish

Blue Blood is a 1973 British-Canadian horror film directed by Andrew Sinclair and starring Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis, and Derek Jacobi.[1] It was based on the novel The Carry-Cot by Alexander Thynn and was shot on location at Longleat House in Wiltshire.[2]

Premise

A debauched young aristocrat entrusts the running of his country house to Tom, the butler, on whom he depends absolutely. Before long the servant begins to dominate his master, to the alarm of the newly-hired German nanny who senses sinister, demonic intent in Tom's control of the house.

Cast

Critical response

In a contemporary review, Richard Combs of The Monthly Film Bulletin described Blue Blood as a series of "cheap, coarsely-filmed charades" and criticised the film's direction: "... once Sinclair gets down to working out his theme (black-blooded butler usurps degenerate, blue-blooded employer), the skimpiness of his material and the shoddiness of this TV-sketch technique become painfully evident." He added that Reed's performance made the character Tom "one of the most physically repellent of screen villains".[3]

References

  1. ^ "Blue Blood". horrorpedia.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. ^ Rigby p.260
  3. ^ Combs, Richard (January 1975). "Blue Blood". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 42, no. 492. London, UK: British Film Institute. p. 5. ISSN 0027-0407. OCLC 2594020.

Bibliography

  • Rigby, Jonathan. English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema. Reynolds & Hearn, 2000.