Corruption [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Robert Hartford-Davis Robert Hartford-Davis

Overview

Sir John Rowan (Peter Cushing), a prominent surgeon, meets and falls in love with twenty-something fashion model Lynn Nolan (Sue Lloyd). Despite the difference in their lives and ages -- he a respected medical professional in his fifties, she the toast of Carnaby Street, running in a circle of poseurs, pretenders, and people famous for being famous -- he is madly in love with her, "madly" being the operant word here. His jealousy leads to a fight at a photo shoot, which results in Lynn's disfigurement. Driven by combination of guilt and love, Rowan violates medical protocols with a procedure, involving the transplant of tissue and pituitary secretions from a female cadaver -- that restores Lynn's beauty, and rescues their romance. But it turns out that his success is only temporary, and soon her face is deteriorating, requiring another operation -- only this time, without a cadaver available, Rowan must secure a "donor" himself. He chooses a prostitute, whom he kills and decapitates, rationalizing her death to himself rather unconvincingly. Oblivious to the terrible cost of her surgery, Lynn is relieved to see her beauty restored. But Rowan is unhinged by the murder he has committed, and fearful that the police will eventually trace it back to him. And his colleague Dr. Steve Harris (Noel Traverthen), who is engaged to Lynn's sister (Kate O'Mara), is becoming suspicious over Rowan's furtiveness about his achievement -- if his success with Lynn is half what it seems to be, why does he seem to be in no hurry to publish an account of his procedure and its results? The couple finally decide to go off on holiday to a seaside cottage and forget their worries -- until her face starts to show signs of deterioration. Now they need a new "donor," and first attempt to entice a young girl (Wendy Varnals) they meet at the beach back to their home. But complications ensue, first because Rowan doesn't want to commit another murder, and then because this girl isn't what she seems, and disappears -- soon the doctor has to look for yet another victim, whom he find on a train. And then their home is invaded by the gang of hippie/thieves led there by the girl. And little does anyone, including Rowan, realize that Lynn has gradually gone even crazier than her doctor/fiance.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/08/2013
UPC:	0797679000829
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	R
Source:	Grindhouse Releasing
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	20,981

Special Features

Spectacular new 2K digital restoration on the original uncensored version; Alternate scenes of bloody violence and nudity never before seen in America; Historic documents from the original production including the director's personal shooting script; Interviews with stars Billy Murray, Jan Waters, Wendy Varnals and Peter Cushing; Audio commentary by English Gothic author Jonathan Rigby and Peter Cushing biographer David Miller; Liner notes by acclaimed UK horror journalist Allan Bryce; Extensive galleries of stills and poster art; Trailers, TV spots and radio spots; And other surprises!

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Peter Cushing	Sir John Rowan
Sue Lloyd	Lynn Nolan
Noel Trevarthen	Steve Harris
Kate O'Mara	Val Nolan
David Lodge	Groper
Anthony Booth	Mike Orme
Wendy Varnals	Terry
Billy Murray	Rik
Vanessa Howard	Kate
Jan Waters	Girl in Flat
Phillip Manikum	Georgie
Alexandra Dane	Sandy
Valerie Van Ost	Girl in Train
Victor Baring	Mortuary Attendant
Diana Ashley	Claire
Noel Travarthen	Actor
Shirley Stelfox	Girl at the Party
Nicole de Boer	Kate MacIntyre
Peter Michael Dillon	Greg Nealand
Steve Baran	Rocco
Allison Brennan	Vivian
Victor Cornfoot	Det. Tucker
Douglas Kidd	Mr. Vargano
Dennis Lafond	Janitor

Technical Credits

Michael Albrechtsen	Special Effects
Robert Hartford-Davis	Director
Peter Newbrook	Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Corruption
1. Main Credits
2. The Party
3. Photo Session
4. Surgery
5. Nightmare Doesn't End
6. Obsessed
7. Guinea Pig
8. Post Mortem Room
9. Laser Surgery
10. The New Lynn
11. Failure
12. Stalking Soho
13. MODEL 1st Floor
14. Will It Work?
15. Washed Up
16. A Present
17. Getting Away
18. Hitchhiker
19. Not This Kid
20. Rik
21. Stranger on a Train
22. Suspicion
23. Trouble with Terry
24. Blackmail
25. Filth
26. Get Out!
27. Sandy's Hungry
28. Horrible Frozen Head
29. Where Is She?
30. Carnage
31. The End?
32. End Credits

Menu

Disc #1 -- Corruption
   Play
   Chapters
   Audio Options
      Dolby Digital Mono - English Language Soundtrack
      Dolby Digital Mono - Music & Effects Track
      Audio Commentary by "English Gothic" author Jonathan Rigby and Peter Cushing Biographer David Miller
   Special Features
      Alternate Scenes
         Play All
         The Following Scene was Provided by Columbia for Countries that Wanted a "Stronger" Version of the Movie. Please Refer to the Insert Booklet for More Details
            Murder of Prostitue
         The Following Shots were Provided by Columbia to Replace Gory Footage in Countries that Required a Milder Version of the Movie
            Train Murder Inserts
            Terry Murder Inserts
            Severed Head Insert
      Billy Murray Interview
      Jan Waters Interview
      Wendy Varnals Interview
      Peter Cushing Audio Interview
      Trailers, TV Spots & Radio Spots
         Trailers
            International Theatrical Trailer
            U.S. Theatrical Trailer
         TV Spots
            TV Spot A - (60 Seconds)
            TV Spot B - (60 Seconds)
            TV Spot 1 - (20 Seconds)
            TV Spot 2 - (20 Seconds)
            TV Spot X - (10 Seconds)
         Radio Spots
            Radio Spot A (60 Seconds)
            Radio Spot B (30 Seconds)
         Play All Trailers, TV Spots & Radio Spots
      Still Galleries
         Color Stills
         Black & White Stills
         Promotional Materials
      Robert Hartford-Davis Filmography
         1972 - Black Gunn: Play Trailer
         1975 - The Take: Play Trailer
      Grindhouse Releasing Trailers
         Play All
         An American Hippie in Israel
         The Big Gundown
         The Swimmer
         Massacre Mafia Style
         Gone With the Pope
         Cannibal Holocaust
         Death Game
         Family Enforcer
         Ice House
         Poor White Trash 2
         Cat In the Brain
         The Beyond
         Cannibal Ferox
         The Tough Ones
         Pieces
         I Drink Your Blood
      Original Director's Shooting Script
      Disc Credits

Editorial Reviews

Robert Hartford-Davis's Corruption has developed a good underground reputation in recent decades, both as a 1960s twist on classic horror stories and -- thanks to its setting and background, especially in the first half -- as a document of the decadent side of swinging London, complete with garish cinematography and flashy, showy visual grace-notes. And the movie does have all of those virtues -- despite which, it remains almost as frustrating as it is intriguing, and often comes off as a chaotic mess. In terms of plot, the movie is sort of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde meets John Schlesinger's Darling -- Peter Cushing is very effective as the staid, dignified surgeon of mature years whose introduction to the swinging London lifestyle of his fiance (Sue Lloyd) is his ruination. Driven by his best impulses but undone by his darker emotions, he is at the emotional center of the movie, and carries it beautifully, as he gradually descends into murder and madness. Lloyd is almost as good in one of the meatiest roles of her career, as the narcissistic fashion model whose obsessive need for attention seemingly destroys everything around her. Kate O'Mara also acquits herself well as Lloyd's more even-tempered and rational sister, though Noel Traverthen comes off a bit stiff as her love interest. Producer/cinematographer Peter Newbrook makes the most of his settings, especially the bright colors that ran through the chic fashions of 1967-68 Carnaby Street -- coupled with Hartford-Davis's staging of party scenes and photo sessions (involving Anthony Booth as a sleazy photographer, the effect is both dazzling and disquieting dirty in the film's early sequences. The most striking visual elements of the film's second half involve wide-angle lenses and other distorting devices that seem cliche now but were cutting edge in 1968, especially intercut as they are here. But Hartford-Davis seems to let all reason and logic go for the film's withering denouement, as surely as his two central characters have -- and the result is an orgy of auto-destruction, courtesy of a runaway laser surgery device. Or is it? -- the most annoying aspect of this movie is that, in the manner of Strange Impersonation, Inner Sanctum, and a relative handful of other chillers, it seems to cheat on its ending and narrative. To reveal more would be unfair to the viewer, but if one doesn't go in expecting too much, Corruption might prove a visually rewarding ninety minutes. Still, it would have been interesting to see what a filmmaker such as Val Guest or Terence Fisher might have made of this story, with this cast.

All Movie Guide - Bruce Eder