Robert Culp

Gig Young

John Hurt

Gordon Jackson

Ann Bell

James Villiers

Majel Barrett

Jenny Runacre

Angela Grant

Penny Irving

Vicki Michelle

Lindy Benson

Sally Farmiloe

Michael Latimer

Gene Roddenberry

Danny Steinmann

Albert Witherick

Clive Donner

Gordon Scott

Arthur Ibbetson

John Cameron

Samuel A. Peeples

Peter Tanner

TV Movie

Horror

investigation

occult

Missing Mine

THE BRIEFLY-ACRID CONTUMACIOUSLY-CRAPULOUS FLICKERS PROJECT 2023 🍋💀🍔

Here's to Sweet 16 -- 2016, that is. And for more magnificent movie watchin' with yet another go at keeping track of all the films I watch this year. This time around, the title of 2016's list was invented by AngelAce.

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MovieLens[40K:50K]

FILMS

James Bond

Spectre

Norway Productions

20th Century Fox Television

United States of America

**_Gene Roddenberry’s pilot about investigators of the occult or supernatural_**

A criminologist and occult expert hooks-up with a cynical doctor (Robert Culp and Gig Young) to investigate the mogul brother of a lady friend in England, who is rumored to be involved in the black arts and possibly with the demon Asmodeus. Ann Bell plays the woman, James Villiers the mogul and John Hurt their brother. Majel Barrett has a bit part. 

“Spectre” (1977) was made as a possible pilot for a TV series, written & produced by the creator of Star Trek. But don’t expect sci-fi, as this comes in the tradition of occult-investigation movies like “The Witches” (1966), “The Devil Rides Out” (1968), “The Crimson Altar” (1968), “The Night Stalker” (1972), “The Night Strangler” (1973) and “The Norliss Tapes” (1973).

The protagonists were obviously patterned after Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with the doctor being the skeptic, akin to Skully in the future X-Files. Unfortunately, the dialogue seems forced and the filmmaking is gauche in a cheesy way. Take, for instance, the revelation of the succubus in the first act, which is more laughable than scary.

Then there’s the overlong occult ritual in the last act, which is curiously more tedious than exciting. Time needed spent on establishing the protagonists and making them interesting to the viewer, rather than rushing into some unlikely (to be nice) case. Still, this is colorful and there are some highlights if you like those aforementioned films, but it’s the least of ’em. 

Gig was struggling with alcoholism at the time of shooting and so this was written into the script (since he was obviously drinking while performing). Interestingly, he met his future wife on set, Kim Schmidt, who's uncredited as a police officer. She happened to be his fifth spouse. Seventeen months after the flick's release, he evidently shot her to death in their apartment in the Big Apple before turning the gun on himself. He wasn't yet 65 and she was only 31. It was a tragic end, needless to say.

The uncensored version runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot at EMI Elstree Studios, northwest of London in Borehamwood, as well as 5-7 miles north at All Saints Pastoral House in St Albans.

GRADE: C/C+

English

Spectre

From the dark of everlasting damnation comes evil - to walk among the living!

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