Fanatic (1965 film)
Encyclopedia
Fanatic is a 1965 British thriller directed by Silvio Narizzano
for Hammer Films
. It stars Tallulah Bankhead
, Stefanie Powers
, Peter Vaughan
, Yootha Joyce
, Maurice Kaufmann
and Donald Sutherland
.
First released in theaters in 21 March 1965 in United Kingdom
, it was filmed at Elstree Studios
and on location
in Letchmore Heath
, Hertfordshire
, during the summer of 1964. It was Bankhead's final feature film.
woman, Patricia Carroll (Powers), arrives in London
to get married
to her lover Alan Glentower (Kaufmann). Before she gets married, Patricia wants to pay her respects to Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), the mother of her deceased fiancé Stephen (who died in an automobile accident several years ago) at a secluded house on the edge of an English village. Mrs. Trefoile is fanatically
religious
, and it soon becomes apparent she blames Patricia for her son's death. Patricia reveals to her that she wasn't actually going to marry Stephen, who, it turns out, committed suicide
. With the help of her two married servants (Harry and Anna), Mrs Trefoile holds Patricia captive in an attempt to cleanse her soul
. After Mrs. Trefoile kills Harry, she then tries to kill Patricia. Patricia is rescued by Alan. Anna finds Harry's body and in the film's final scene, Mrs Trefoile falls dead with a knife
in her back presumably put there by Anna.
Silvio Narizzano
Silvio Narizzano was a Canadian film director, educated at Bishop's University, Quebec.His best received film was Georgy Girl , which was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival...
for Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
. It stars Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
, Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
, Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce was an English actress, best known for playing Mildred Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.-Early life:...
, Maurice Kaufmann
Maurice Kaufmann
Maurice Harington Kaufmann was a British actor of stage, TV and film, particularly well-utilized in whodunnits and horrors who acted from 1954 to 1981, when he retired....
and Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
.
First released in theaters in 21 March 1965 in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it was filmed at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
and on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in Letchmore Heath
Letchmore Heath
Letchmore Heath is a village in Hertfordshire in England, situated about three miles east of Watford.-Locality:Letchmore Heath lies to the east of Watford, west of Radlett and south west of Aldenham. It is a pretty village of around 150 houses that due to its proximity to Elstree Studios has been...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, during the summer of 1964. It was Bankhead's final feature film.
Plot details
An AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
woman, Patricia Carroll (Powers), arrives in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to get married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to her lover Alan Glentower (Kaufmann). Before she gets married, Patricia wants to pay her respects to Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), the mother of her deceased fiancé Stephen (who died in an automobile accident several years ago) at a secluded house on the edge of an English village. Mrs. Trefoile is fanatically
Fanaticism
Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...
religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and it soon becomes apparent she blames Patricia for her son's death. Patricia reveals to her that she wasn't actually going to marry Stephen, who, it turns out, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. With the help of her two married servants (Harry and Anna), Mrs Trefoile holds Patricia captive in an attempt to cleanse her soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
. After Mrs. Trefoile kills Harry, she then tries to kill Patricia. Patricia is rescued by Alan. Anna finds Harry's body and in the film's final scene, Mrs Trefoile falls dead with a knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
in her back presumably put there by Anna.
Cast
- Tallulah BankheadTallulah BankheadTallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
as Mrs. Trefoile - Stefanie PowersStefanie PowersStefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
as Patricia Carroll - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
as Harry - Maurice KaufmannMaurice KaufmannMaurice Harington Kaufmann was a British actor of stage, TV and film, particularly well-utilized in whodunnits and horrors who acted from 1954 to 1981, when he retired....
as Alan Glentower - Yootha JoyceYootha JoyceYootha Joyce was an English actress, best known for playing Mildred Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.-Early life:...
as Anna - Donald SutherlandDonald SutherlandDonald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
as Joseph - Gwendolyn WattsGwendolyn WattsGwen Watts was a British actress of the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:Born as Gwendolyn Watts in Carhampton, Somerset, Watts made her first television appearance in 1958 in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, going on to appear in The Rag Trade , The Avengers , Maigret , Steptoe and Son ,...
as Gloria - Robert DorningRobert DorningRobert Dorning was a musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer, and actor. He is known to have performed in at least seventy-seven television and film productions between 1940 and 1988....
as Ormsby - Philip GilbertPhilip GilbertPhilip Gilbert was a Canadian actor.He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and educated at Vancouver College...
as Oscar - Winifred Dennis as Shopkeeper
- Diana KingDiana King (actress)Diana King was an English television actress who had a career on British television from 1939 to 1986. She was sometimes credited as Diane King, and was born in Buckinghamshire....
as Shopper - Henry McGeeHenry McGeeHenry McGee was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!"...
as Priest