Somewhere between Hammer's period horrors and the Italian ghost shockers featuring Barbara Steele falls "The Black Torment". It's not very well known, but it does have a fairly good story, even if the delivery is a little flat.
The plot is fairly formulaic: nobleman Sir Richard Thorndyke and his new (second) wife Elizabeth return to the family mansion, only to be haunted by what seems to be the ghost of the first dead wife, walking around at night in a white dress and veil. The extra twist to this tale is that they are also being haunted by another Sir Richard - while he's still alive and well! There's also a wheelchair bound, crippled father who may be keeping a secret, and the murders of busty young wenches.
The acting is not great. John Turner really hams it up in the lead role, while Heather Sears makes a rather two dimensional heroine. What works best are the scenes where Sir Richard keeps being informed that he has been seen somewhere when he has not been anywhere near there. I really enjoyed these. The best was when Sir Richard departed down the house drive in a carriage, but as soon as Elizabeth turns around and walks back into the house, a servant tells her that Sir Richard is currently in the living room, and we can hear him through the door, shouting the place down! This is a great scene, and really racks up the bewilderment as the characters stare at the door and try to deduce which one is the real Richard. Very clever.
The climax does explain everything but it's pretty daft and there aren't enough suspects in the cast for the big reveal to be that much of a surprise. There's very little in the way of shocks, and zero blood and gore, but at least the rather bonkers story makes it worth seeing through to the end, to find out the explanation
The plot is fairly formulaic: nobleman Sir Richard Thorndyke and his new (second) wife Elizabeth return to the family mansion, only to be haunted by what seems to be the ghost of the first dead wife, walking around at night in a white dress and veil. The extra twist to this tale is that they are also being haunted by another Sir Richard - while he's still alive and well! There's also a wheelchair bound, crippled father who may be keeping a secret, and the murders of busty young wenches.
The acting is not great. John Turner really hams it up in the lead role, while Heather Sears makes a rather two dimensional heroine. What works best are the scenes where Sir Richard keeps being informed that he has been seen somewhere when he has not been anywhere near there. I really enjoyed these. The best was when Sir Richard departed down the house drive in a carriage, but as soon as Elizabeth turns around and walks back into the house, a servant tells her that Sir Richard is currently in the living room, and we can hear him through the door, shouting the place down! This is a great scene, and really racks up the bewilderment as the characters stare at the door and try to deduce which one is the real Richard. Very clever.
The climax does explain everything but it's pretty daft and there aren't enough suspects in the cast for the big reveal to be that much of a surprise. There's very little in the way of shocks, and zero blood and gore, but at least the rather bonkers story makes it worth seeing through to the end, to find out the explanation