The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

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Swithin
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The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

Post by Swithin »

Since The Reptile was on TCM last month, I've lifted my post from the TCM site about the film and another reptilian movie. One aspect of The Reptile that really impressed me was how they focused on a very specific line from the American folk song "O Shenandoah," which makes great sense, in the context of the film.

Here's my post made on September 26, 2022:
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I like horror films set in the English countryside, and there are many of them. (I even have a soft spot for that lowest of low films, Disciple of Death.) Probably my two favorites -- if I had to choose -- would be Witchfinder General and The Blood on Satan's Claw.

I'm particularly fond of two films made in the 1960s: The Snake Woman (1961), directed by Sidney J. Furie; and The Reptile, directed by John Gilling. The Snake Woman opens in the 19th century, in Northumberland. The Reptile opens in the early 20th century, in Cornwall. Both films involve death by cobra, a reptile not native to England.

The Snake Woman opens in a cottage in rural Northumberland. A doctor (Dr. Adderson!) is fiddling with his chemicals and his snakes. He is preparing an injection of snake venom, which he uses to treat his (presumably) mad wife. (Actually, she's one of the sanest characters in the film.) The wife is played by Dorothy Frere, then 51, who gives a performance worthy of a Shakespearean queen. She pleads with her husband not to give her the shot, because she's pregnant and worried about what snake venom would do to her unborn child. She was right to be concerned. He administers the venom. The baby is born cold, but alive. The wise old midwife (brilliant, OTT performance by Elsie Wagstaff) wants to kill the evil baby with a scissors, but the attending doctor, who has a German accent and is leaving for Africa in the morning (?!), stops her. The mother demands to see her baby, which (like the snake she is) has no eyelids. The mother dies of the shock. The baby is spirited away to safety. Aggie the midwife rushes to the pub, warning the locals of the birth of an evil thing. The locals storm the cottage and smash all the lab stuff. Snakes escape. One bites the doctor, who dies. 19 years pass, the Snake Woman (who is called Atheris) has grown into a beautiful woman who once in a while turns into a snake and bites people. (Atheris is actually a genus of venomous vipers, so there is real science in this film -- I've already mentioned the baby's lack of eyelids). The film then becomes fairly formulaic. When the Snake Woman in her cobra guise is shot at the end, she duly morphs back into a woman, as she should in any respectable horror film.

The Reptile opens in rural Cornwall. A man is summoned to a local grand estate by a note. When he gets there, something bites him and he dies. Other villagers have died similarly, turning black and frothing at the mouth. The man's brother inherits the cottage and moves in with his wife. People continue to get bitten and die, turning black and frothing. With help from the local publican, the brother (Harry) investigates, much to his peril, because he is summoned by note, as his brother was, and gets bitten, but survives. It turns out that a doctor of theology (Dr. Franklyn) lives in the house with his daughter Anna and a strange Malay. Dr. Franklyn's research got him into the whole mess -- he investigated the secrets of a cult in Malaya. His punishment was to be followed back to England and to have his daughter turn into a snake occasionally. The Malay supervises the whole business. (Cult of the Cobra-type scenario, to some extent). The film is posher than The Snake Woman, as it's a Hammer film, and, in fact is one of my favorite Hammers. (I'm not a fan of the Hammer films that bring back our Universal friends). Plague of the Zombies, which will be on TCM on Halloween, used some of the same sets as The Reptile.

The snake/daughter lying under a rug in the basement of the estate, where there are thermal springs, is a very effective scene. She's shedding her skin. There is one brief moment of pathos at the fiery climax, when she rushes upstairs and is about to kill Harry's wife, but someone breaks a window and the cold wind rushes in. Anna/The Reptile says "I'm cold," and she dies. Harry, his wife, and the publican rush out of the burning house, and look back, a typical ending to so many horror films.


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Last edited by Swithin on February 6th, 2023, 11:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LiamCasey
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

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Swithin wrote: February 5th, 2023, 10:22 am I'm particularly fond of two films made in the 1960s: The Snake Woman (1961), directed by Sidney J. Furie; and The Reptile, directed by John Gilling. The Snake Woman opens in the 19th century, in Northumberland. The Reptile opens in the early 20th century, in Cornwall. Both films involve death by cobra, a reptile not native to England.
I hadn't seen The Snake Woman (1961) before but I had noticed that it was available on Tubi and, after reading this, decided to give it a shot last night. And your description of it was spot on. Starts well (although the actor portraying Dr. Adderson does a lousy job of making it look like he was accidentally bitten by one of his snakes), but a bit hit or miss once it jumps forward 19 years. And to be honest, the scariest scene to me was the milking of the venomous snake at the onset. Still watchable for a horror junkie like me. Especially at only 68 minutes. But all in all, I think I'll stick with Faith Domergue.

The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) is also available on Tubi. Sounds like I need to add that one to my watch list.
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Swithin
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

Post by Swithin »

LiamCasey wrote: February 6th, 2023, 10:40 pm
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) is also available on Tubi. Sounds like I need to add that one to my watch list.
I think The Blood on Satan's Claw is one of the great folk horror films. There is one particularly disturbing scene.

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Director Piers Haggard (1939-2023) dies last month.
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EP Millstone
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

Post by EP Millstone »

Yo, Swithin! Are you partial to snake women? That is, what's your take on snaky fiends of the testosterone persuasion à la . . .

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Swithin
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

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EP Millstone wrote: February 7th, 2023, 8:46 pm Yo, Swithin! Are you partial to snake women? That is, what's your take on snaky fiends of the testosterone persuasion à la . . .
I haven't seen that film, or, come to think of it, any film where a bloke turns into a snake. Usually, it's the ladies that undergo that transformation. Men (with a few exceptions), turn into wolves.
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LiamCasey
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

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Swithin wrote: February 7th, 2023, 9:08 am I think The Blood on Satan's Claw is one of the great folk horror films.
Watched The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) last night. Many thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

Although the narrative was a bit hazy at points (which could easily have been on purpose) and the final showdown between good and evil a bit quick, that movie just visually oozed atmosphere as this particular rural life slowly but surely started to go amiss. With a basically unknown cast (At least to me. I've probably seen some of these actors in other movies but only Patrick Wymark was readily familiar.) who performed their roles extremely well. And with a soundtrack that just added to the mood.

Wouldn't rank it above either Witchfinder General (1968) or The Wicker Man (1973) with respect to folk horrors. And, considering that it has been a while since I've seen either of those other movies, I might just be demonstrating an inherent bias towards Vincent Price and Christopher Lee here. But, regardless, that's not a bad trio to take the bronze home in.
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EP Millstone
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

Post by EP Millstone »

LiamCasey wrote: February 6th, 2023, 10:40 pm
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) is also available on Tubi. Sounds like I need to add that one to my watch list.
Swithin wrote: February 7th, 2023, 9:08 am I think The Blood on Satan's Claw is one of the great folk horror films. There is one particularly disturbing scene.
In 2021, Severin Films released an impressive boxed set of 20 Folk Horror movies, All the Haunts Be Ours.

Many of the movies in the Severin Films compendium are available on Tubi:
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with." -- W.C. Fields
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Swithin
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

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LiamCasey wrote: February 27th, 2023, 5:55 pm
Swithin wrote: February 7th, 2023, 9:08 am I think The Blood on Satan's Claw is one of the great folk horror films.
Watched The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) last night. Many thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

With a basically unknown cast (At least to me. I've probably seen some of these actors in other movies but only Patrick Wymark was readily familiar.) who performed their roles extremely well. And with a soundtrack that just added to the mood.
Glad you liked it. Another actor in the film who might be known to Americans is Simon Williams. He plays the guy whose girlfriend is the first victim of the demon, and comes down that staircase, exposing her claw. The same year he appeared in Blood on Satan's Claw, Williams began his long-running role as James Bellamy, the son in Upstairs, Downstairs.

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Simon Williams in Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)

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Simon Williams (second row, on the left) in Upstairs, Downstairs 1971-1975
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Re: The Slithering Sixties: The Snake Woman (1961) and The Reptile (1966)

Post by jamesjazzguitar »

Another snake woman film is Cult of the Cobra (1955). The film isn't very scary and often it is just silly, but it does star Faith Domergue.
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