Sharon
Tate Debut... in a Chilling British Thriller
also known as 13
director:
J Lee Thompsn
starring: Deborah Kerr · David Niven · Donald Pleasence · Sharon Tate
· David Hemmings
Workers
employed at a French vineyard (filmed at Château de Hautefort in
France) follow an old pagan ritual that demands the life of the marquis
owner to save his crops during a severe drought. Vineyard owner Philippe
de Montfaucon is called back to his castle because of another dry season.
Knowing what is expected of him, Philippe asks his wife and children to
stay safely in Paris. But they don't obey and follow him. Wife Catherine
soon discovers that her husband's life is on the line as he gets further
entrapped in the pagan rituals.
Based
on the novel Day of the Arrow by British author Robin Estridge
(writing as Philip Loraine), this film was originally shot in 1965, starring
Kim Novak as Catherine de Montfaucon. Most of the movie was finished when
Novak fell from a horse and wasn't able complete her scenes. She left
the picture and Deborah Kerr was hired to redo every scene. [David Hemmings
claimed Kim Novak had actually been fired after a messy affair he had
with her.] Interestingly, the delay actually helped the film as Hemmings
suddenly became an A-list actor with the release of Antonioni's Blow
Up in the summer of 1965.
Of course,
in retrospect, the significance of the film is its introduction of Sharon
Tate in a role that has be called 'her best and most assured' [The
London Guardian]. In reality, because of the release delay, this wasn't
- in fact - her first movie in the theaters. She had a co-starring role
as Malibu in Don't Make Waves with
Tony Curtis and Claudia Cardinale in early 1967.
A
British film in English Language; widescreen uncut (91 min.)
in DVD encoded for ALL REGION, playable on any American DVD machine.
Extras include original theatrical trailer.
Violence/Sexual
Brutality
Recommended for Adult Audience
