The Beast in the Cellar
Encyclopedia
The Beast in the Cellar is a 1970 British
horror film
written and directed by James Kelley. The film was produced by Leander Films and Tigon British Film Productions
. Filming took place at Pinewood Studios
. The film was released in the UK on DVD
by Anchor Bay
as part of The Tigon Collection. In the US the DVD was distributed by Liberty Media
.
. Two local ladies: Joyce Balentine (Flora Robson
) and Ellie (Beryl Reid
) suspect it may be their brother, Steven (Dafydd Havard); a man who has been locked in a basement for thirty years.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
horror film
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...
written and directed by James Kelley. The film was produced by Leander Films and Tigon British Film Productions
Tigon British Film Productions
Tigon British Film Productions or Tigon was a film production and distribution company founded by Tony Tenser in 1966. It is most famous for its horror films, particularly Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw...
. Filming took place at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
. The film was released in the UK on 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 Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
as part of The Tigon Collection. In the US the DVD was distributed by Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
.
Plot
Soldiers in a rural military base are being brutally murdered. They suspect it is a wild catWild cat
The wildcat is a small cat with several subspecies and a very broad distribution, found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. Sometimes included is...
. Two local ladies: Joyce Balentine (Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
) and Ellie (Beryl Reid
Beryl Reid
Beryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
) suspect it may be their brother, Steven (Dafydd Havard); a man who has been locked in a basement for thirty years.
Cast
- Beryl ReidBeryl ReidBeryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
as Ellie Ballantyne - Flora RobsonFlora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
as Joyce Ballantyne - John HamillJohn HamillJohn Hamill is an English actor.He had previously been a bodybuilder and one of England's most popular "physique models" in the late 1960s before turning to acting, studying at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and appearing in the stage farce There's a Girl in My Soup.Hamill’s...
as Corporal Alan Marlow - Tessa WyattTessa WyattTessa Wyatt is an English actress who first came to the public spotlight through her marriage to Tony Blackburn. She later starred in the sitcom Robin's Nest.-Early life:...
as Joanna Sutherland - T. P. McKennaT. P. McKennaThomas Patrick McKenna , known professionally as T. P. McKenna, was an Irish actor who worked on stage, in film and television in Ireland and the UK from the 1950s.- Film and television :...
as Superintendent Paddick - John Kelland as Sergeant Young
- David Dodimead as Dr. Spencer
- Vernon DobtcheffVernon DobtcheffVernon Dobtcheff is a French and British actor.Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup...
as Sir Bernard Newsmith - Dafydd Havard as Stephen Ballantyne
- Gail Lidstone as Young Ellie
- Elizabeth Choice as Young Joyce
- Merlyn Ward as Young Stephen
- Anthony Heaton as Anderson
- Chris ChittellChris ChittellChristopher John Chittell is an English actor best known for his role as Eric Pollard in ITV's Emmerdale, a part that he has played since 1986....
as Baker - Peter CrazePeter CrazePeter Craze is a British actor. He is the brother of actor Michael Craze. He has had many film and television appearances including in Doctor Who, EastEnders and Blake's 7.He is the principal at Drama Studio London....
as Roy - Roberta ToveyRoberta ToveyRoberta Tovey is an English actress and singer who has appeared in many films and television programmes. One of her better-known roles was that of Susan, the granddaughter of Dr. Who in the 1960s films Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD...
as Paper Girl - Reg Lever as Ambulance Man
External links
Reviews- The Beast In The Cellar Review at British Horror Films
- The Beast in the Cellar Review at The Spinning Image