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Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen, Ann Bell, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies ... see more see more... , Ingrid Brett , John Collin , Michele Dotrice , Duncan Lamont , Leonard Rossiter , Martin Stephens , Carmel McSharry , Viola Keats , Shelagh Fraser , Bryan Marshall

This film was a pet project of Joan Fontaine, based on a novel by Peter Curtis. It was her last feature film. Fontaine stars as teacher Gwen Mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in Africa... read more read more.... A witch doctor puts a curse on her, and she has a nervous breakdown. Returning to England, she takes a job running a small rural school. In the village, there is an active voodoo cult. They have targeted a young woman named Linda (Ingrid Brett), whom they plan to offer as a virgin sacrifice. The cult members are led by journalist Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), whom Mayfield discovers is the head witch. Mayfield's student Ronnie Dowsett (Martin Stephens) is being harassed by the cult to keep him from protecting Linda, his girlfriend. This British production was titled The Devil's Own in the U.S. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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34% liked it

315 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Cyril Frankel

Release Date: November 21, 1966

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DVD Release Date: August 11, 1998

Stats: 36 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (36)

  • harrycaul
    October 29, 2007
    harrycaul
    Were it not for the laughably dreadful climax, which ranks among the worst of any film I've ever seen, this otherwise cracking little Hammer horror would have made a fine companion piece to their other, excellent, occult thriller "The Devil Rides Out", made the following year. Th... read moree story concerns a teacher, convalescing from a nervous breakdown, who stumbles upon a coven of witches in a sleepy English village. In such films as "Suspicion","Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca" nobody did cringing vulnerability better than Joan Fontaine, and she's perfectly cast as the lead here.
  • sayers1977
    April 19, 2012
    sayers1977
    After watching a few disappointing additions to the Hammer canon it's nice to see a film that pretty much works and if not an all out horror per se it's still a good little suspense film. The acting is very good here across the board (although McCowen looks a little unsure someti... read moremes) and the film boasts a very good cast for a Hammer film with Walsh and Rossiter especially good. However the film works mostly due to Fontaine's performance. As in 'Rebecca' and 'Suspicion' Fontaine brings a nervous energy to the role that works really well and if the finale is a little bit of an anti-climax it's certainly not down to her good work. The film is an odd one amongst a lot of Hammer films as there is no gore and what supernatural activity there is is suggestive. In fact I found myself thinking that this would make a good companion to 'The Wicker Man' whilst watching. It's not in the same league as that film but it's worth checking out if you're looking for the best of Hammer in the 60's.
  • johnxerxes
    February 4, 2012
    johnxerxes
    Joan Fontaine ruins all the fun for a coven of witches. A truly creepy coven at that. Cross eyes and big boofy hair dos and so much sneaking about. Probably the best satanic ceremony ever filmed by the British. Real far out modern dance stuff. Even spotted some Jazz hands and lea... read mored with your shoulder leaps once the poop was thrown. Ok. Maybe that was an overstatement. But there was a pudding like substance that everyone was smearing about. Plus, I have a question. Why is it when the witches finally meet up they are all in rags and filthy dirty - you know like with dirt smudges all over them? Still, I liked this one pretty well. For a movie in which almost NOTHING happens, that is.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
October 27, 2003
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A conventional tale about witchcraft. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 27, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Boy, is this dull.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

May 9, 2005
New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 15, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Alex Ioshpe
May 9, 2004
Alex Ioshpe, Apollo Guide

Click to read the article Full Review

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