Scream and Scream Again
Encyclopedia
Scream and Scream Again is a 1970
British horror film
directed by Gordon Hessler
and starring Christopher Lee
, Vincent Price
and Peter Cushing
. It is based on the novel The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon.
A killer who has a literal thirst for blood is prowling the nightclubs for fresh young victims. The police decide to set a trap to catch this man. A young policewoman poses as his new victim while wearing a wire. The killer meets the young policewoman and takes her with him to a secluded spot where he proceeds to drink her blood. The police catch him but after a fight, the killer makes his escape and drives off with the police in hot pursuit. They catch him on a rocky cliff and cuff him to the bumper of a police car. While the police are talking, the killer makes his escape by tearing off his own hand. He runs away, again with the police in hot pursuit, to a barn where he jumps into some yellow-coloured liquid. A policeman puts his hand into the yellow fluid and quickly pulls in back out in pain. The yellow water, it turns out, is acid.
The acid belongs to a doctor who says he is conducting germ experiments for cancer research. Certain members of the police don't believe the doctor's story and probe into the life of this doctor. When the police are told to leave the doctor alone, a young morgue attendant probes further and finds out much more than he bargained for.
and director Gordon Hessler
worked on together, along with Cry of the Banshee
and The Oblong Box: films like these promoted the American International (AIP) line of films and Price together, and he would do more films with them into the seventies. After he made this film, Price later said in an interview that he did not quite understand the film or its story. While the original book had aliens doing murder in Britain, the film had the murders committed by a neo-Communist group. It would lead to mixed responses from viewers over the years.
The theme song for the film was by Amen Corner
, who appeared in the film singing it.This was one of their last appearances before Andy Fairweather-Low
departed for a solo career after a brief career as Fair Weather
.
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
British horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler is a British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer.He was raised in England and studied at the University of Reading. While a teenager, he moved to the United States and directed a series of short films and documentaries...
and starring Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
. It is based on the novel The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon.
Plot
A runner has a heart attack while on his daily jog and blacks out. He awakes in what looks like a hospital bed. Disoriented, the runner wakes up covered in sweat. A nurse tends to him and puts a pipe in his mouth. He pulls it out and notices that something is wrong. He pulls his hands out but feels that something is amiss. He then pulls back the covers to reveal that one of his legs is missing. He screams and blacks out again. When he awakes the second time he now discovers that both of his legs are gone. Again he screams hysterically. When he awakes a third time he cannot move a muscle.A killer who has a literal thirst for blood is prowling the nightclubs for fresh young victims. The police decide to set a trap to catch this man. A young policewoman poses as his new victim while wearing a wire. The killer meets the young policewoman and takes her with him to a secluded spot where he proceeds to drink her blood. The police catch him but after a fight, the killer makes his escape and drives off with the police in hot pursuit. They catch him on a rocky cliff and cuff him to the bumper of a police car. While the police are talking, the killer makes his escape by tearing off his own hand. He runs away, again with the police in hot pursuit, to a barn where he jumps into some yellow-coloured liquid. A policeman puts his hand into the yellow fluid and quickly pulls in back out in pain. The yellow water, it turns out, is acid.
The acid belongs to a doctor who says he is conducting germ experiments for cancer research. Certain members of the police don't believe the doctor's story and probe into the life of this doctor. When the police are told to leave the doctor alone, a young morgue attendant probes further and finds out much more than he bargained for.
Cast
- Vincent PriceVincent PriceVincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
as Dr. Browning - Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Fremont - Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as Major Heinrich Benedek - Alfred MarksAlfred MarksAlfred Edward Marks OBE was a comic actor and comedian.-Biography:Marks was born as Ruchel Kutchinsky in Holborn, London. He left Bell Lane School at 14 and started in entertainment at the Windmill Theatre. He then served in the RAF as a Flight Sergeant in the Middle East where he arranged...
as Detective Superintendent Bellaver - Michael GothardMichael GothardMichael Alan Gothard was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Kai in the television series Arthur of the Britons and for his role as the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.-Early life:Michael Gothard was born in London in 1939...
as Keith - Christopher Matthews as Dr. David Sorel
- Judy HuxtableJudy Huxtable-Early life and career:Being born to wealthy parents, Huxtable was initially a society débutante then became a fashionable figure in 1960s "swinging" London, and as a model was represented by the William Morris Agency...
as Sylvia - Anthony NewlandsAnthony NewlandsAnthony Newlands was a British actor, most famous for his supporting guest roles in British television series of the 1960s. These included two roles in ABC Weekend's adventure drama The Avengers and a role in the ITC Entertainment series Danger Man...
as Ludwig - Kenneth Benda as Professor Kingsmill
- Marshall Jones as Konratz
- Uta Levka as Jane
- Yutte StensgaardYutte StensgaardYutte Stensgaard is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's Lust for a Vampire.-Career:...
as Erika - Julian HollowayJulian HollowayJulian Holloway is an English actor now based in Hollywood, CA, United States. He is the son of the comedy actor and singer Stanley Holloway and former chorus dancer and actress Violet Lane...
as Detective Constable Griffin - Judy Bloom as Helen Bradford
- Peter SallisPeter SallisPeter Sallis, OBE is an English actor and entertainer, well-known for his work on British television. Although he was born and brought up in London, his two most notable roles require him to adopt the accents and mannerisms of a Northerner.Sallis is best known for his role as the main character...
as Schweitz
Production
This was one of three films star Vincent PriceVincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and director Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler is a British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer.He was raised in England and studied at the University of Reading. While a teenager, he moved to the United States and directed a series of short films and documentaries...
worked on together, along with Cry of the Banshee
Cry Of The Banshee
Cry of the Banshee is a 1970 horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film co stars Elizabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hugh Griffith...
and The Oblong Box: films like these promoted the American International (AIP) line of films and Price together, and he would do more films with them into the seventies. After he made this film, Price later said in an interview that he did not quite understand the film or its story. While the original book had aliens doing murder in Britain, the film had the murders committed by a neo-Communist group. It would lead to mixed responses from viewers over the years.
The theme song for the film was by Amen Corner
Amen Corner (band)
Amen Corner were a successful Welsh rock group, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff, Wales.-Career:The band was named after The Amen Corner, a weekly disc spin at the Victoria Ballroom in Cardiff, Wales, where every Sunday night Dr...
, who appeared in the film singing it.This was one of their last appearances before Andy Fairweather-Low
Andy Fairweather-Low
Andrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...
departed for a solo career after a brief career as Fair Weather
Fair Weather
Fair Weather was a British rock band formed in 1970 by former Amen Corner guitarist and vocalist, Andy Fairweather Low. They are best known for their track, "Natural Sinner".-Biography:The band evolved from a split within Amen Corner...
.