A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house and its tragic previous tenants: 1. A hack novelist encounters a strangler who’s the villain of his books, leading his wife to question his sanity, 2. Two men are obsessed with a wax figure of a woman from their past, 3. A little girl with a stern, widowed father displays an interest in witchcraft, and 4. An arrogant horror film actor purchases a black cloak which gives him a vampire’s powers.
Production Details
An Amicus Production
Produced at Shepperton Studios
102 Mins
Stills from film
Click an image for enlarged slideshow
Hammer Connections
Crew | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Hidden | Death | Age | Hammer Productions |
Art Direction | Tony Curtis | 34 | 25 Jan 1937 | 8 Jan 2021 | 83 | 1 | |
Camera Operator | Gerry Anstiss | 42 | 27 Apr 1928 | 20 Feb 1999 | 70 | 1 | |
Continuity | Phyllis Townshend | 1 | |||||
Director | Peter Duffel | 48 | 10 Jul 1922 | 12 Dec 2017 | 95 | 1 | |
Draughtsman | Thomas Goswell | 79 | 28 Mar 1891 | 1982 | 90 | 7 | |
Draughtsman | David Minty | 31 | 1940 | 2013 | 73 | 1 | |
First Assistant Director | Peter Beale | 27 | 22 Sep 1943 | 22.09.1943 | 81 | 1 | |
Hair Stylist | Joyce James | 2 | |||||
Producer | Max Rosenberg | 56 | 13 Sep 1914 | 14 Jun 2004 | 89 | 1 | |
Production Secretary | Ann Thrift | 36 | 1935 | 2014 | 79 | 1 | |
Second Assistant Director | Mike Higgins | 24 | 1947 | 01.01.1947 | 77 | 2 | |
Set Dresser | Fred Carter | 39 | 1932 | 01.01.1932 | 92 | 3 | |
Stand-in: for Peter Cushing | Paddy Smith | 7 | |||||
Still Photographer | John Brown | 36 | 1 Jul 1934 | 5 Nov 2017 | 83 | 4 | |
Stunts | Peter Diamond | 41 | 10 Aug 1929 | 27 Mar 2004 | 74 | 29 | |
Writer | Robert Bloch | 53 | 5 Apr 1917 | 23 Sep 1994 | 77 | 2 | |
Cast | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |
Camera Crew | Roy Beck | 41 | 16 Nov 1929 | 14 Feb 1998 | 68 | 3 | |
Carla | Ingrid Pitt | 33 | 21 Nov 1937 | 23 Nov 2010 | 73 | 3 | |
Charles | Denholm Elliott | 48 | 31 May 1922 | 6 Oct 1992 | 70 | 2 | |
Det. Insp. Holloway | John Bennett | 42 | 8 May 1928 | 11 Apr 2005 | 76 | 2 | |
Dominick | Tom Adams | 32 | 9 Mar 1938 | 11 Dec 2014 | 76 | 2 | |
Film Crew Girl | Joanna Lumley | 24 | 1 May 1946 | 01.05.1946 | 78 | 1 | |
Horror Film Actress | Ann Barrass | 40 | 9 Jul 1930 | Nov 2017 | 87 | 2 | |
Hunchback | Roy Evans | 41 | 10 Jan 1930 | 10.01.1930 | 94 | 3 | |
Mark | Hugh Manning | 50 | 19 Aug 1920 | 18 Aug 2004 | 83 | 1 | |
Paul | Jon Pertwee | 51 | 7 Jul 1919 | 20 May 1996 | 76 | 1 | |
Philip | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/peter-cushing/# | 57 | 26 May 1913 | 11 Aug 1994 | 81 | 25 | |
Psychiatrist | Robert Lang | 36 | 24 Sep 1934 | 6 Nov 2004 | 70 | 1 | |
Reid | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/christopher-lee/# | 48 | 27 May 1922 | 7 Jun 2015 | 93 | 22 | |
Rita | Winifred Sabine | 70 | 25 Jun 1900 | 1984 | 83 | 1 | |
Rogers | Joss Ackland | 42 | 29 Feb 1928 | 19 Nov 2023 | 95 | 2 | |
Von Hartmann | Geoffrey Bayldon | 47 | 7 Jan 1924 | 10 May 2017 | 93 | 5 | |
Waxworks Proprietor | Wolfe Morris | 46 | 5 Jan 1925 | 21 Jul 1996 | 71 | 5 |
Original Poster
Click to enlarge
Footnotes
Despite the title, not one drop of blood is seen in the entire film.
On the initial U.K. release, the British censor wanted to give it an A rating (equivalent to PG) because of its lack of gore. Fearing that this would harm box-office returns, the distributors asked for it to be re-rated X or they wouldn’t release it. The censor concurred.
The photograph of the actress in the segment “Waxwork” is Nicola Pagett who played Talia in Hammer’s The Viking Queen (1967).