Crescendo (film)
Encyclopedia
Crescendo is a 1970 British horror film
directed by Alan Gibson
and starring Stefanie Powers
, James Olson
and Margaretta Scott
. It was made by Hammer Film Productions
.
to research the late composer Henry Ryman, music student Susan Roberts (Stefanie Powers) encounters his son, drug-addicted Georges (James Olson) and his eccentric family. Investigating the haunting strains of an unfinished Ryman concerto leads Susan to discover an empty piano… and a brutally savaged mannequin! Georges tells her she’s the lookalike of his lost love. But Susan may not be the only one at the villa with an eerie doppelgänger
.
and Peter Cushing
.
The film was released to DVD
by the Warner Archive Collection
in March 2009.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson (director)
Alan Gibson was a Canadian director active in British film and television. Particularly notable for his work in horror, cinematic films directed by him include the 1968 Journey to Midnight, the 1970 Crescendo, the 1974 The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the 1977 Checkered Flag or Crash and the 1982...
and starring Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
, James Olson
James Olson
James Olson may refer to:*James Olson , American actor*James S. Olson, American professor of history at Sam Houston State University*James Olson, 17th president of the University of Missouri System*Jim Olson, Seattle architect...
and Margaretta Scott
Margaretta Scott
Margaretta Scott was an English stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs...
. It was made by Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
.
Plot
Drawn to the spectacular south of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to research the late composer Henry Ryman, music student Susan Roberts (Stefanie Powers) encounters his son, drug-addicted Georges (James Olson) and his eccentric family. Investigating the haunting strains of an unfinished Ryman concerto leads Susan to discover an empty piano… and a brutally savaged mannequin! Georges tells her she’s the lookalike of his lost love. But Susan may not be the only one at the villa with an eerie doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
.
Cast
- Stefanie PowersStefanie PowersStefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
... Susan Roberts - James OlsonJames OlsonJames Olson may refer to:*James Olson , American actor*James S. Olson, American professor of history at Sam Houston State University*James Olson, 17th president of the University of Missouri System*Jim Olson, Seattle architect...
... Georges / Jacques - Margaretta ScottMargaretta ScottMargaretta Scott was an English stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs...
... Danielle Ryman - Jane LapotaireJane LapotaireJane Lapotaire is a British actress.She studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the 1960s. Her role in the title role of Marie Curie first brought her to wide attention...
... Lillianne - Joss AcklandJoss AcklandSidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
... Carter - Kirsten LindholmKirsten LindholmKirsten Lindholm, born Kirsten Lindholm Andreassen on 1 September 1943 in Odense, Denmark, was a model and a film actress in Hammer horror movies, in which she first appeared as Kirsten Betts...
... Catherine
Releases
The film was released in the United States theatrically in the fall of 1972. In American theaters, it was paired with the Hammer vampire film Dracula A.D. 1972 starring Christopher LeeChristopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
and Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
.
The film was released to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by the Warner Archive Collection
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a manufactured-on-demand DVD series. It was started by Warner Home Video on March 23, 2009 with the intention of putting previously unreleased back catalog films on DVD for the first time ever. Using recordable DVDs, they custom burn discs for each order rather than...
in March 2009.