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The Uncanny (film)

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The Uncanny
Theatrical poster to The Uncanny (1977)
Directed byClaude Héroux
Written byMichael Parry
Produced byRené Dupont
Milton Subotsky
StarringPeter Cushing
Ray Milland
Donald Pleasence
CinematographyDenys N. Coop
Edited byThomas Metzger
Music byWilfred Josephs
Production
companies
CineVideo
Tor
Distributed byRank Films
Release date
1977
Running time
88 min
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.1 million[1]

The Uncanny is a 1977 British anthology horror film, concerning feline revenge. The film was written by Michael Parry, directed by Denis Héroux and stars Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Donald Pilon, Samantha Eggar, and John Vernon.[2]

Although it is similar to the horror anthologies released by Amicus Productions and could be mistaken as one, it was actually distributed by The Rank Organisation. However the co-producer was Milton Subotsky of Amicus.[1]

In the UK the film was originally given an X-rating.

Plot

In 1977, in Montreal, the scared writer Wilbur Gray (Peter Cushing) visits his publisher Frank Richards (Ray Milland) to disclose his new book about the evilness of cats. Wilbur tells that the felines are supernatural creatures, and that there is a saying in which the cat would be the devil in disguise. Wilbur tells three tales to illustrate his thoughts:

In 1912, in London, Miss Malkin (Joan Greenwood) is a wealthy woman who rewrites her will leaving her fortune to her cats rather than to her nephew Michael (Simon Williams). Her maid Janet (Susan Penhaligon), also mistress of Michael, steals one copy of the will from the lawyer's briefcase and tries to destroy the original copy which is kept in the safe. When Miss Malkin sees her attempt, Janet kills her. The cats avenge Miss Malkin.

In 1975, in the Province of Quebec, the orphan Lucy (Katrina Holden) comes to live with her aunt Mrs. Blake (Alexandra Stewart), her husband (Donald Pilon), and her cousin Angela (Chloe Franks) after the death of her parents in a plane crash. Lucy brings her only friend, the cat Wellington, but her mean cousin forces her parents to get rid of Wellington. Lucy uses her mother's book of witchcraft to avenge Wellington.

In 1936, in Hollywood, the actor Valentine De'ath (Donald Pleasence) replaces the blade of a fake pendulum to kill his actress wife (Catherine Bégin), and give his young mistress and aspiring actress (Samantha Eggar) a chance. The cat of his wife avenges her.

Trivia

  • Peter Cushing was third choice for author Wilbur Gray.
  • "The Uncanny" is the fifth Milton Subotsky film in which a character has the name "Maitland" ("Mrs. Maitland" played by Renee Girard). The others are And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) in which Guy Rolfe plays "Maitland;" Tales from the Crypt (1972) in which Ian Hendry plays "Carl Maitland;" The Skull (1965) which top-bills Peter Cushing as "Dr. Christopher Maitland;" and the earliest, The City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel, 1960) in which Tom Naylor plays "Bill Maitland."

Cast

Production

Filming started in Montreal on 16 November 1976.[1]

Reception

The film performed poorly at the box office.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ed. Allan Bryce, Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 153-154
  2. ^ The Uncanny at IMDb
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