Regular readers will know that I’m a sucker for Hammer horror, and the wealth of imitators that attempted to cash-in on the classic horror boom back in the 1950s to 1970’s. So when I sighted Gordon Hessler’s rarely-spotted Cry of the Banshee, I was hoping for another go-round of drawing-room politeness, unseen horror and British character actors drinking tea. But there’s two versions of Cry of the Banshee, and much as the banshee cries to warn, it’s worth taking care about which one you choose, since the uncut version is pretty strong meat.
‘I’ll banish it!’ says Lord Edward Whitman (Vincent Price) of the banshee of the title, but his banal, baseless attempts at banshee banishment fall short. Although technically, there’s actually no banshee in this film, the monster here is a sidhe, an Irish/Scottish term which is where the Sith of the Star Wars universe is derived from. Essentially it’s somewhere between a zombie slave and a witches familiar, played by a youthful Patrick Mower and under the command of grand high witch Oona, played by Oscar-nominated actress Elisabeth Bergner. She seeks revenge on Whitman for breaking up her coven, and the lines are drawn between The Establishment and the Druids (the credits helpfully divide the cast into the two groups).
This is all pretty good stuff, an original story with a game cast and a fresh folklore to explore. Unfortunately, the full version is blighted by a determination to undress the female cast, through whippings, assaults and rape; there’s literally five sexual assaults before the half hour mark. Screenwriter Christopher Wicking apparently travelled to Scotland to research the history of witchcraft, and there’s some evidence of his findings here, notably that for once, the witches are the goodies and the white male establishment the baddies. But even with its heart in the right place, the emphasis on women’s clothes being ripped off by predatory men is distasteful and gratuitous.
A favourite of Quentin Tarantino and Rob Zombie, Cry of the Banshee has plenty of points of interest, although for once, the cut version might be preferable. The US print misses out the remarkable credits sequence by Terry Gilliam, pre-Python; given the witch trials, strolling balladeers and other familiar tropes, it seems a given that the Python team must have seen this film before embarking on their grail quest.
It was the edited version that went out in 1970 so my teenage mind was not so unduly assaulted. It was not exactly well-heralded being the lower part of a double bill headed up by Count Yorga Vampire. I would be more likely to be tempted to see it again for the presence of Elisabeth Berger, a brief box office sensation in the 1930s, and, as you say, Oscar-nominated. She was also in 49th Parallel and made an appearance in the John Philip Law version of Michael Strogoff.
I had to do a bit of research for Berger, quite an interesting figure to get dragged into this. Such a curates egg in the unedited version, hard to recommend due to the male attitudes, and yet quite an interesting film if you can ignore the rough stuff. It’s hard to ignore, unfortunately…
Rape means an auto-no for me.
Is the version on amazon the edited or unedited version?
So much as I enjoy bad-movies, I’m totally with you. Even though the depictions here are quite tame, watching stuff for post-ironic value is ruined by elements like rape. This is the uncut version, and that one seems to be the most widely seen at the moment.
Thanks.
Another day off?
Nah, I’ll be leaving in about 30min. Probably just as well. Besides the internet problems of yesterday, I was on the edge of being sick, so I’m hoping being outside today will help my immune system.
Sending you positive thoughts from the van at the end of your driveway!
I’ll see about dropping off a paper plate with glued on gravel so you don’t get hungry 🙂
Nope.
Fair point
“sidhe, an Irish/Scottish term which is where the Sith of the Star Wars universe is derived from” Really? I didn’t know that. That’s very interesting indeed😊
As for the film itself? Doesn’t sound too bad I guess. Well…except for the parts of the women’s clothing ripping off…that sounds disgustig😔 Guess I will save this one for a rainy night and there’s nothing else that grabs my interest😊
My eyes have been opening to the casual use of violence against women in films, and I’m determined to call it out. In this case, it really spoils a thoughtful and original film with a lot going for it. And that Star Wars connection is interesting to me too; the first time I heard Lord of the Sith, I immediately thought of Scottish folklore…
Yeah true enough. Sometimes it’s just crazy and really annoying, and really spoils a good movie😔
As for the Sith connection, as a huge Star Wars fan I always like finding out more lore😊