Christopher Lee

Thanike revolves around six friends from a village where one of them falls for a girl. When their love is misinterpreted by the two of them, it leads to the killing of a person. What brings out during the investigation of the murder forms the rest of the story.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies marks the conclusion of Bilbo Baggins` adventures. Bilbo and Company are forced to join in a war against an army of combatants and the terrifying Smaug from acquiring a kingdom of treasure and incinerating all of Middle-Earth.

In 1772, the master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard, a witch. She turns him into a vampire, and then buries him alive. When he is freed two centuries later he finds his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better...

Monks reveal the source of the Black Plague after a suspected witch is transported to a monastery by 14th century knights.

Set in a 19th century European village, the film tells the story of Victor Van Dort, his fiancee Victoria Everglot and Emily, the Corpse Bride. On the eve of his wedding, Victor is spirited away to the Land of the Dead after he accidentally raises the Corpse Bride from her grave. Victor's quest to return to the Land of the Living and reunite with Victoria would also eventually unravel the mystery of Emily's murder years ago by an unknown perpetrator, and bring closure to the Corpse Bride.

Charlie, a young boy from an impoverished family, and four other kids win a tour of an amazing chocolate factory run by an imaginative chocolatier, Willy Wonka, and his staff of Oompa-Loompas.

Communism and war, Moscow survived it all. But now it faces the ultimate threat: the world`s most hysterically inept crime busters as they chase an international criminal.

The Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper. Having survived the destructive Kingston Falls Incident in Gremlins (1984), Billy and Kate move to New York City, eager to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. Instead, orphaned Mogwai Gizmo catches the eye of evil scientist Doctor Catheter in money-grubbing tech mogul Daniel Clamp's colossal high-rise. And once more, a splash of water spawns hordes of mischievous Gremlins. As a result, the pesky little creatures start doing what they do best: wreaking havoc. But the rules were simple. Now the city is about to taste a hearty slice of pure pandemonium. Do they have what it takes to escape the nightmare of the new batch? —Nick Riganas Billy and Kate have moved to New York City where they work for media mogul Daniel Clamp. Meanwhile, Gizmo's former owner has just died and he's been captured for the genetics part of the Clamp building. A little while later, a certain someone gets wet, creates a new Gremlin species, and learns to finally fight back after years of abuse, and while Gizmo and the surviving humans fight back, the Gremlins and their evil leader, the Brain Gremlin, are planning to escape when it gets dark, and if they do, New York City will experience a new Hell. —Will

A man discovers that his sister was a werewolf, and helps an investigator track down a gang of the monsters through the United States and eastern Europe. After countless millennia of watching, waiting and stalking, the unholy creatures known as werewolves are poised to inherit the earth. After newswoman Karen White's shocking on-screen transformation and violent death, her brother Ben is approached by Stefan Crosscoe, a mysterious gentleman who claims that Karen has actually become a werewolf. But this is the least of their worries... To save mankind, Stefan and Ben must travel to Transylvania to battle and destroy Stirba, the immortal queen of all werewolves, before she is restored to her full powers!

It's the end of the seventies. Hippies are assimilating, women are becoming aware and men are becoming confused and ineffective. Don't expect to be able to keep track of all the names. It's the end of the 1970s. Hippies are assimilating, women are raising their consciousness, and men are becoming confused and ineffectual. Don't expect to be able to keep track of all the names, or who's sleeping with whom. This movie very skillfully conveys the hopeless muddle through which the many characters move as they try to find themselves. —Molly Malloy <mailcall@kiva.net>

December 13, 1941. One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and on a beach in northern California, a young woman, part of a 'Polar Bear' swim club, goes for a swim in the ocean alone and naked to only to find a Japanese submarine surfacing under her. She holds on to the periscope as it rises. The submarine is the I-19, and the sub commander Akiro Mitamura (Toshiro Mifune) with some of his crew arrive out on deck to survey the coastline. Accompanying them is a hard-line German naval captain named Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt (Christopher Lee). Commander Mitamura tells Von Kleinschmidt that he has crossed the Pacific Ocean with the intent to destroy something honorable on the U.S. West Coast since missing the other activities the Japanese Navy has done in the past week. The bickering German officer agrees and suggests that they travel south along the coast to a place called Hollywood located on their chart map and hope to evade detection. As the submarine prepares to submerge, a Japanese crew member looks up at the naked girl clinging to the periscope, and yells: "Hollywood! Hollywood!" At this point, the submarine crew realizes they have arrived where they intended to be, and the vessel submerges once again while the girl swims to safety. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, dishwasher Wally Stephens (Bobby Di Cicco) tells his co-worker Dennis Desoto (Perry Lang) about his plans to enter a dance contest with his ex-girlfriend Betty Douglas (Dianne Kay), against her father's wishes. Tank crew chief Sgt. Frank Tree (Dan Aykroyd), along with his crew Private Foley (John Candy), Private Reese (Mickey Rourke), Private Hinshaw (Walter Olkewicz), and Corporal Sitarski (Treat Williams) are also at Wally's restaurant having breakfast. Sitarski takes an instant dislike to Wally after they meet when Wally serves him some coffee and a scuffle breaks out as Sitarski used to be a police officer before he was drafted and recognizes Wally who served time in a juvenile hall for auto theft. The fight is broken up by Sgt. Tree who takes his men out of the diner. Wally tries to persuade his boss to let them have the night off, but when his boss refuses and Willy keeps badgering him for the night off, both Wally and Dennis get fired from their jobs. Across town, Betty Douglas, along with her friend Maxine (Wendie Jo Sperber) are in training as taxi girl dancer for an upcoming USO show at the local nightclub that has been taken over under the tutelage of USO liaison Mrs. Fitzroy. Wally and Dennis go to a local department store where Wally tries on a zoot suit to wear and seeing that he doesn't have the money to pay for it, he has Dennis sound an air raid siren in the store. In the resulting panic, Wally walks out of the department store wearing the zoot suit, while Dennis has a run-in with two attractive looking twin ladies whom he pretends to help them out. Meanwhile somewhere in Death Valley California at 12 noon, Captain Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi), a manic US Army Air Force officer lands his stolen Curtis P-40 fighter to refuel at a local gas station where he claims to the gas matron and the patrons that he's tracking a Japanese air squadron. But when he takes off after his plane is re-fulled, he accidentally blows up the gasoline station when he drops his lighted cigar. Back in Los Angeles, the stuffy Major General Joseph Stilwell (Robert Stack) attempts to bring order to the hysteria and insanity gripping the region, while the general's new secretary Donna Stratten (Nancy Allen) as well as his assistant Captain Loomis Birkhead (Tim Matheson) have other ideas. Birkhead takes an instant liking to Donna and after learning from a colleague that Donna will only respond when she is aboard an airborne plane. At a nearby airbase, while General Stilwell gives a press conference about the impossibility of the Japanese bombing Los Angeles, Birkhead approaches Donna and takes her into the cockpit of a nearby B-17 bomber where he attempts to seduce her by simulating the plane taking off and flying. But Donna stops him by saying that it's not the same thing as being airborne and will only respond to his sexual advances in a real airborne plane. When Birkhead refuses to back away from her, she punches him, he falls back and accidentally releases a bomb door lever in which a large bomb drops out and rolls towards General Stilwell and the press conference and a panic ensues when the rolling bomb hits the stand and detonates. But all the people run to safety before it explodes. At the Douglas family home on the coast, Wally arrives to meet with Betty in his newly stolen zoot suit to ask her out, but she tells him that the club has been taken over by the USO and is accessible only to servicemen. Wally is confronted by Mr. Douglas (Ned Beatty) and his wife Joan (Lorraine Gary), where it's revealed that they are still angry at Wally since he stole and previously destroyed their car during a date he had over one year ago with Betty which landed him in jail. Betty and Maxine fall into a pit which was dug by Mr. Douglas three obnoxious and bratty younger sons whom have also gotten caught up in the war hysteria. Soon after, Sgt. Tree and the tank crew arrive to deliver a large AA gun to the Douglas property, where Corporal Sitarski also spots Betty and takes a liking to her as well. However, Maxine also spots Sitarski and takes a liking to him too, which he declines the overweight lady's offer to attend the USO show with her. When Wally attempts to persuade Betty to accompany him to the dance anyway, Sitarski and the tank crew beat up Wally and throw him in the back of a passing garbage truck. Nearby, at the home of Mr. Douglas neighbor Angelo Scioli (Lionel Stander), he has built an armored car against the protest of his nagging wife. Angelo, a former serviceman having joined the Civil Defense Force, persuades his friend Claude Crumn (Murray Hamilton) to take his friend Herbie (Eddie Deezen) to perch themselves atop a Ferris wheel at a local Santa Monica pier that Angelo owns to be air raid spotters. With rifles in hand as well as binoculars, and a telephone, Angelo puts them in on one of the Ferris wheel carts and moves the wheel to the top where Claude and Herbie will spend all day to look for approaching Japanese planes. Claude and Herbie do not get along at all because of Herbie's nagging and eccentricity, which makes matters worse when Herbie brings along a ventriquilist dummy with them where he also talks though the obnoxious and ratting dummy. Meanwhile, Japanese submarine becomes lost trying to find Los Angeles when the ship's compass is broken. Commander Mitamura sends a landing party ashore where they capture a local timber merchant, Hollis "Holly" Wood (Slim Pickens). Despite the language barrier, since none of the Japanese crew, nor Von Kleinschmidt speak any English, Hollis knows that he's a prisoner, but he also slow to understand of their destination. Upon a search of his belongings, one Japanese crewman discovers a small compass in a box of Cracker Jacks that he has. But Wood grabs and swallows the small compass rather than let it fall into the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese spend several hours torturing him by forcing him to drink prune juice to make him defecate the compass. But Wood manages to turn the tables on his captors where he manages to escape and swim ashore. In Los Angeles at nightfall, Wally arrives at the nightclub where he and several Latino zoot suit members are kept out of the nightclub by the military guards posted there. Just then, Sitarski arrives with Betty as his date and forces the guards to keep Wally and the rest of the zoot suits out. When Wally sees Dennis dressed as a sailor with the twin ladies at his side going into the USO club, he gets an idea. Wally knocks out a Shoreman Patrol officer, steals his uniform, and gains access to the nightclub where he tries to get Betty's attention by bringing her onto the dance floor. But a while dancing up a storm with Betty, gaining the attention of the MC as well as a Hollywood talent agent, a huge brawl erupts when Sitarski begins a fight with Wally, and the underwear clad Shore Patrol officer arrives which leads to a huge riot out on the streets. When Captain Birkhead learns from General Stilwell about the renegade Colonel "Madman" Maddox (Warren Oates) isolating himself at the Barstow Air Force base and having airplanes, he gets the idea of going there with Donna and stealing a plane to fly and to seduce Donna. While Stilwell goes to the local theater to watch the feature film 'Dumbo', Birkhead and Donna drive to the Barstow airbase where they nearly get shot by the lunatic Maddox's solders whom he has told that every person approaching the base is a Japanese. But both Birkhead and Donna are disappointed when Colonel Maddox tells them that he has no bombers or fighter planes at the base, only an old C-47 transport plane, which Birkhead is happy to take on the ruse that he intends to fly over Los Angeles to spot any Japanese airplanes. But when Birkhead and Donna manage to take off, they realize that the plane they are flying in does not have a radio and they have no way of contacting anyone on the ground. Shortly afterwards, Wild Bill arrives with his P-40 to refuel and learns from the insane Maddox about spoting Japanese planes all over the place. As Wild Bill prepares to take off again, Maddox asks him to fire the guns from his plane just to listen to the gunfire. Wild Bill does, and in so doing, shoots up part of the airbase's buildings, and also cutting the telephone lines, which now means that Maddox and his men have no way of contacting Civil Defense in Los Angeles to inform them about Birkhead and Donna's airborne plane, or of Wild Bill's plane as well. Back in Los Angeles, the riot between the Army soldiers, Marines, sailors, and zoot suit guys is getting worse when Sgt Tree arrives in his tank with his crew, along with the latest addition, the Negro Private Ogden Johnson Jones (Frank McRae) to disrupt the riot and he gives a speech to the rioters about them turning against each other in this time of war. Just then, Los Angeles goes to Red Alert when the Civil Defense radar stations spot an "unknown aircraft" in the air. As Birkhead and Donna fly over Los Angeles just as he finally begins to seduce her, civil defense AA batteries open fire at their plane. The chaos continues as Wild Bill flies in and joins in the chase. Wild Bill manages to hit Birkhead and Donna's plane which crash lands into the La Brea Tar Pits area. Meanwhile, Ward Douglas spots the Japanese submarine lurking off shore near his home and decides to use the AA gun left behind by Sgt. Tree to fire at it. On top of the Ferris wheel, Claude and Herbie also spot the submarine, but they accidentally drop their telephone to the ground and have no way to contact anyone. So they open fire on it with their rifles, keeping the Japanese crewmen pinned down and creating some panic for them. But Claude and Herbie accidentally shoot at Wild Bill's plane that flies overhead after mistaking it for a Japanese Zero fighter. Wild Bill's plane comes crashing to the ground at Hollywood Boulevard where he gets out and tells everyone about spotting a Japanese submarine off shore. Wally hears this and when Sgt. Tree accidentally hits his head, Wally, with Betty in tow, commandeers the tank and rides off to where Wild Bill told them about the sub's location. Left behind, Sitarski and Maxine hitch a ride with Wild Bill riding on a motorcycle and a chase through the streets begins with Wally riding the tank over a few cars and even shooting up a policeman's car after recognizing the officer as the man who arrested him. The tank crashes though a paint factory and then a turpentine factory. Meanwhile, Ward Douglas begins firing at the Japanese submarine, but destroys his house in the progress with his bad aim. When Angelo sends one of Ward's sons to the pier to rescue Claude and Herbie stuck in the Ferris wheel, the brat accidentally turns on the entire lights for the amusement park..... illuminating it for the I-19 Japanese submarine. "Fire at the industrial structure!" yells Mitamuro. The I-19 begins shelling the amusement park, not realizing its little-use potential. The Ferris wheel is hit which rolls down the pier and into the water. Claude and Herbie (as well as the dummy) manage to swim ashore. But the nervous and bickering Captain von Kleinschmidt has had enough and wants to submerge, and he draws a gun on Mitamuro. But Mitamuro overpowers the German officer and throws him overboard. Kleinschmidt manages to swim ashore where he is later captured by Hollis Wood himself (the only U.S. "victory" of the movie). When Wally and the tank crew arrive at the amusement park and drive onto the pier to open fire on the I-19. The Japanese sub turns toward the shore and fires a torpedo at the pier, destroying it and sending the tank and all its occupants into the water. Wild Bill drives his stolen motorbike onto the pier just as it collapses into the water. Deranged to the last, Wild Bill swims to the submarine and boards where he is captured by the crew. Commander Mitamuro, believing that his honorable mission has been accomplished, orders his crew to submerge and return home with their prisoner of war Wild Bill, who undaunted, he declares, "Turn this tub around! You're takin' me to Tokyo!" The following morning on Sunday December 14, General Stilwell arrives at the devastated Douglas home where he is informed by Sgt. Tree, Wally, Betty, Claude, Herbie, Dennis, plus the entire tank crew about their harrowing experiences the night before. Also in custody with Stilwell's men is Birkhead and Donna, as well as Sitarski and Maxine, as well as the captive Captain von Kleinschmidt with his former captive-turned-captor Hollis Wood, and Colonel Maddox in a straightjacket on his way to the local funny farm. Ward delivers a short and inspirational speech to those present, vowing that Christmas will not be ruined; to punctuate his point, he nails a wreath to his front door, jarring the unstable house so that it collapses and slides into the ocean. The amused Stilwell mutters, "It's gonna be a long war," and walks away as everyone begins arguing and fighting in front of the foundations of the destroyed Douglas home.

Millionaire philanthropist Philip Stevens (James Stewart) arrives at his palatial estate and holds a media conference to discuss a flight containing his hand-picked guest list of rich and famous friends, which will soon be arriving in Florida. His luxury aircraft, a Boeing 747 outfitted with high-end accommodations, is packed with his collection of priceless artwork to be installed at his home, which has been converted into a new museum where Stevens hopes to share the treasures with the world. The plane, piloted by Captain Don Gallagher (Jack Lemmon) lands in Washington. Gallagher meets the plane's lead production manager Stan Buchek (Darren McGavin) upon landing, and tells him the aircraft handled perfectly, and as they observe the museum pieces being loaded into the cargo holds, wonder whether the collection or the plane is more expensive. Meanwhile a mysterious pair of men-an airline employee and a civilian--stand at the airport gift shop and quietly switch suitcases as they meet at a magazine rack, never making eye contact or speaking. The employee then enters a locker room and assumes a disguise with a mustache and wig, finding a gun in the bathroom paper towel dispenser, and joins the ground crew as the cargo is loaded. Meeting up with a companion on board later, canisters of CR-7 gas are connected to the air supply, rigged to be activated manually. Gallagher finds Eve Clayton (Brenda Vaccaro) in an office. They have been a couple for some time, and he finds the courage to bring up marriage, but she says Stevens has asked her to work in Geneva for him, which would put distance into their relationship. He wants a wife and family, and she wants her career. That evening the guests begin to arrive and board the aircraft, including Benjy (Anthony Battaglia), whose mother is Stevens' daughter Lisa (Pamela Bellwood). She is taking her son to meet his grandfather for the first time, but her own relationship with her father is strained. Emily Livingston (Olivia de Havilland) boards with her personal assistant Dorothy (Maidie Norman). She joins several art critics she knows and, after the men and she exchange banter, she sits with them as their fourth and engages in a challenging game of poker. Jane Stern (Arlene Golonka) arrives with her daughter Bonnie Stern (Elizabeth Cheshire), who was chosen for the flight to present an artwork her schoolmates designed for Stevens' museum. A film is played of Stevens greeting the passengers and urging them to enjoy their flight. Bob Chambers (Robert Foxworth), the main conspirator, will be the co-pilot for the flight that evening, and he and Gallagher settle in the cockpit, while conspirators Wilson (Michael Pataki) and Banker (Monte Markham) are among the crew members. Gallagher appears on the screen to invite the passengers to view their taxi down the runway as the plane, now known as 2-3-Sierra, begins its flight. At the bar, blind pianist Steve (Tom Sullivan) plays and sings a song for corporate assistant Julie (Kathleen Quinlan). The children challenge Dorothy to a tabletop video game while a woman leaves to find two men in the nearby office. Frank Powers (Gil Gerard) discusses a future underwater farming excursion with diver Martin Wallace (Christopher Lee), whose demeanor grows sour when the woman, his wife Karen Wallace (Lee Grant), enters the room in an inebriated state and shows off the bottles of booze she has collected. When Martin leaves, Karen teases Frank with threats to tell her husband about their affair, one which he much regrets. Eve talks to Philip from the cockpit and informs him that Lisa and Benjy are aboard, and he decides to head out to meet them. Eve then tells Gallagher she has thought things over and wonders if they can discuss their relationship in Palm Beach later. He agrees. A drink arrives for Emily, along with a calling card bearing the name of her old flame Nicholas St. Downs III (Joseph Cotton), she sees him across the lounge area and is happy to reunite with him after decades apart. Eddie (Robert Hooks) tends bar and tells Eve his wife is expecting twins, and she encourages him to call home to check on her, then speaks with Lisa in private. Determined to become independent, Lisa wants to break the news to her father that she won't be dominated by his power and position any longer, but Eve informs her that Philip is terminally ill and has months to live, and urges her to restrain herself. Julie and Martin are at the bar and discuss the sea, which enthralls him as a diver, but she admits water frightens her. Karen interrupts their talk and tosses a drunken barb at Julie, who leaves, and she and a miserable Martin exchange insulting banter. The conspirators begin their coup. The security guard is knocked out, but is hit too hard and dies instantly, so they move the body out of sight. Gallagher is lured from the cockpit to tend to a sick passenger and is subdued by a blow to the head. They secure oxygen masks to their faces, the sleeping gas is released into the cabin, and the passengers lose consciousness. Chambers takes the controls and the plane descends below radar, heading into a fog bank, reducing visibility to less than a mile. He changes the flight path over the Bermuda Triangle, taking the craft off course at 600 mph. The air traffic controller radios the plane from Palm Beach when they lose the radar signal, but he ignores it. The plan is to remove the artwork and head to South America with their black market profits, while the passengers awaken to an empty plane on deserted St. George Island. Minutes later, as Chambers looks at the vista ahead, a large offshore drilling platform emerges from the haze, and they are heading straight for it. He pulls back on the yoke and tries to turn, but the wing clips the derrick and the engine catches fire. Chambers immediately hits the fire extinguishing button and the flames go out momentarily, but the sudden loss of airspeed threatens to stall the airplane. As the engine reignites, the stall alarm goes off and the tail of the plane hits the water. The passengers awaken and start to scream and panic. Chambers struggles to keep the plane airborne, but finally it hits the water violently and stalls in the ocean. Banker is in the hold securing the art for the transfer when a cargo container slams into and breaches the bulkhead, the ocean bursts in and sends the container back to pin him to a wall, and the surging water drowns him. Wilson is killed when he enters the cockpit and is slammed into the flight panel, and Chambers is knocked unconscious at the controls. As passengers recover from the initial shock of impact, Karen looks out a window and alerts everybody as the plane begins to slip beneath the waves, settling on the ocean floor some 100 feet below the surface. The ocean bottom is fortunately above the depth that would crush the fuselage, and Gallagher calms the passengers, informing them that they have been tracked and will be rescued soon. Buchek suffers an impact fracture of his arm while trying to protect Bonnie, who has been injured under the bar. Emily looks after Dorothy, who took a blow to her head. Gallagher and Buchek ask a passenger, Dr. Williams (M. Emmett Walsh) to help. The doctor spends time tending to the wounded, though he later confesses to the lead flight attendant that he is actually a veterinarian for Stevens and is used to tending horses. Gallagher and Buchek examine the plane and find some cargo areas flooded, but others remain airtight for the time being. How long the plane will hold up, and the lack of oxygen, are concerns. Their attention is drawn by Eddie, who has suffered a severely broken leg, and Nicholas helps them take him into the main cabin to rest. Martin also offers to help, stopping momentarily to calm Karen but stressing to her that she will be fine while he is away. Gallagher and Buchek interrogate Chambers in the office when he regains consciousness and hear the confession of the conspirators' plans. They put him on watch in the passenger area. Steve the pianist is seriously hurt, Julie stays with him and, when he touches her face as a way of imagining how she looks, she gives him her earring as a token, and he says he loves her. When he requests a drink of water, in the moments it takes to bring it to him, she finds he has succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, Lisa assures Benjy that Bonnie will be okay. Ships and planes are sent out to search for the downed flight under the guidance of Joe Patroni (George Kennedy), and he assures Stevens that the plane will be found. With the crash happening far from their expected flight path, Gallagher tells Eve they are on their own. Buchek examines growing damage to the fuselage and finds more airtight areas being breached by water, and the passenger compartment begins to flood. As Emily comforts Julie, she hears a droning sound outside and asks all the passengers to be quiet. Martin recognizes the sound as that of an approaching ship, which brings them hope, but the ship's crew do not know the plane is submerged near them and pass the crash site. Karen lashes out at Gallagher, blaming him for their situation. Gallagher and Buchek find the only inward opening door of use on the plane, located in a rear cargo hold which has remained dry, and they wire an electrical circuit inside. Gallagher announces to the passengers that he plans to exit the plane from that airtight compartment and send a life raft to the surface with a homing beacon to alert search parties to their location. Martin volunteers as an experienced scuba diver to join him and double their chances of success, and Gallagher agrees. Buchek shows Gallagher how to touch two wires together to create the spark needed to unlock the cargo door. Karen tries to stop Martin from taking the risk, saying they should think about themselves, but he argues that selfishness sent them into their predicament, and he kisses her before he joins Gallagher. Buchek wishes Gallagher luck, leaves the hold and the hatch is shut and locked. Placing their oxygen masks to their faces, Gallagher notes they can get two minutes of air to breathe as he joins the two wires once. The door creaks but does not open, so he tries again several times, finally removing his oxygen mask to investigate the connection. Martin steps over to the door, and before Gallagher can warn him, it bursts open, striking Martin and throwing him across the cargo hold in a wave of ocean water as the cabin floods. Gallagher swims to a glassy-eyed Martin and tries to revive him with oxygen, but he died on impact and the effort is futile, so he grabs the raft and exits the hold into the open ocean. Karen and the others watch in horror as Martin's body floats away. Several passengers try to settle a shocked Karen as Gallagher swims skyward, pulls the inflation device and sends the raft to the surface ahead of him. Swimming to it when he surfaces, he boards and activates the beacon, then sits helplessly hoping for a quick response. A Navy plane investigates the beeper which has suddenly appeared on radar, indicating the flight is 100 miles off course. On the airplane, Karen is obviously in an alcohol-fueled state of shock from losing her husband. She absently preens in a mirror, then approaches the main hatch and attempts to open it, which would flood the plane. Eve approaches and tries to calm her down, but they begin to struggle. Karen pounds at Eve, who finally has to punch Karen and knock her out to prevent a catastrophe. A jet pilot reports to base that he has spotted the plane, which is completely underwater at the coordinates given. Gallagher shouts with joy as the passing jet dips a wing in acknowledgment. The Navy discusses the situation, and it is decided to raise the plane as they would a submarine in a salvage operation. Patroni guides the Navy in how best to raise the aircraft without splitting it in two, while Stevens is sent to meet with the survivors. The USS Cayuga arrives at the site, and a crew comes by boat to retrieve Gallagher, who talks with Patroni as the rescue is coordinated, stressing that the passengers are running out of time. With additional salvage crew members and equipment, the vessel sends divers (Gallagher also volunteers to help with his amateur diving experience and knowledge of the aircraft) below to the plane. A diver writes to the passengers on a tablet and shows it to them at a window, indicating that they should secure themselves as the crew attempts to lift the plane from the water. Divers run heavy straps under predetermined points under the fuselage and attach them to huge bladders to fill with compressed air to raise the plane. The crew aboard the inflation boat begin sending air down to the bladders, which inflate and rise, lifting the plane from the ocean floor, but another airplane door opens under the change in pressure, water begins to fill the plane, and one bladder breaks away. The flood sends some passengers spinning in its wake. Karen is swept away toward the back of the plane and drowns. Buchek grabs Benjy and prevents him being swept away as well. Chambers is killed when debris from the flooding strikes him. As the boats and crew circle and watch at the surface, the plane breaks through the water, and rafts-one with Gallagher aboard--pull up to the hatch as flight attendants ferry Eddie, Bonnie and Jane and the other wounded passengers aboard. Emily and Nicky see that Dorothy did not survive the ascent and reluctantly leave her. The able-bodied survivors rush out to waiting boats, but when a second strap holding a bladder keeping the aircraft buoyant gives way, Eve is trapped with the water rising at her only exit. Gallagher wades into the plane to her side and they climb the stairs to the cockpit to exit by the door there, and jump into the ocean. They are lifted by helicopter to safety. The remaining bladders holding their former prison give way and Flight 2-3 Sierra disappears again underwater. On-board the Navy ship, Philips greets Lisa and Benjy, the injured are airlifted away, and Gallagher and Eve reaffirm that they have a date in Palm Beach that night as they land and greet the other grateful survivors on the Cayuga's deck.

An American gangster Rodney (Marc Lawrence) visits famed crack shot hit-man Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) (has a 'superfluous papilla', or supernumerary nipple) in order to try to kill him to collect a bounty, but he is directed into a fun-house section of the estate where there are mannequins of gangsters. Scaramanga attacks Rodney with an aim of sharpening his own assassination skills, eventually retrieves his golden gun and shoots the gangster. In London, a golden bullet etched with '007' is received by MI6; it is believed to have been sent by Scaramanga (He was trained by the KGB, but went independent in the 1950's. He charges $1MM per hit), but because no one knows of his appearance outside of having a third nipple, M (Bernard Lee) relieves Bond (Roger Moore) of his current mission involving tracking an energy scientist named Gibson. At a hint from Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) (she tells bond that an agent 002 was found dead in Beirut a few months ago, suspected hit by Scaramanga, but not confirmed since they couldn't locate the bullet), Bond sets out unofficially to locate Scaramanga, first by retrieving a spent golden bullet from a belly dancer (who was with 002 at the time of the shooting) in Beirut. He traces the bullet to a gun maker in Macau (from the Nicole content in the Gold), Lazar (Marne Maitland), and forces him to reveal how he ships the bullets. Bond follows the shipment carried to Hong Kong by Andrea Anders (Maud Adams), Scaramanga's mistress. At her Peninsula Hotel room, he coerces her to expose information about Scaramanga, his appearance and his plans. She directs Bond to the Bottoms Up Club where Scaramanga snipes Gibson when he steps outside, and Scaramanga's dwarf assistant Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize) steals a small device called the Solex Agitator (a revolutionary solar energy device) off his body. Bond, who had pulled out his pistol outside the club, is arrested by Hong Kong police lieutenant Hip (Soon-Taik Oh). But instead of going to the station, he is transported to the wreck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth in the harbor where he meets M and Q (Desmond Llewelyn), and is assigned to work with Hip to retrieve the Solex. Hip was at the club to make initial contact with Gibson, who wanted immunity in exchange for the Solex, a solar cell which he claims to be 95% efficient. Bond travels to Bangkok to meet Hai Fat (Richard Loo), a wealthy Thai entrepreneur suspected of arranging Gibson's murder. Posing as Scaramanga by showing off his fake third nipple, Bond is invited to dinner, but his plan backfires because unknown to him, Scaramanga himself is operating at Fat's estate. Bond is captured and placed inside Fat's martial arts academy, where the students duel to the death and then are instructed to kill him. Escaping with the aid of Hip and his nieces, Bond speeds away on a motorized sampan along the river, and reunites with his assistant, Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland). Scaramanga subsequently kills Fat with his golden gun and assumes control of his empire and the Solex. Anders reveals to Bond that she sent the bullet to London. She wants him to kill Scaramanga, and promises to give him the Solex. At a Muay Thai boxing event the next day, Bond finds Anders sitting and staring silently, dead from a bullet to the heart. Bond finds the Solex in Ander's bag. Scaramanga arrives and introduces himself to Bond, but Bond is able to smuggle the Solex to Hip, who passes it to Goodnight. When Goodnight follows Nick Nack to place a homing device on Scaramanga's car, Scaramanga traps her in the car's boot. Bond discovers Scaramanga driving off and steals an AMC Hornet from a showroom to give chase, coincidentally with the holidaying J.W. Pepper (Clifton James) (the American sheriff Bond encountered in Live and Let Die) sitting inside. The chase concludes when Scaramanga's AMC Matador hides in a building and then transforms into a plane that flies off. Tracking Goodnight's homing beacon, Bond flies a seaplane to Scaramanga's island in the Red Chinese waters. Scaramanga welcomes and shows Bond the solar power plant facility that he has taken over, the technology for which he intends to sell to the highest bidder. But while demonstrating the equipment, Scaramanga uses the solar-powered energy beam to destroy Bond's plane. After they dine together, Scaramanga proposes a pistol duel with Bond on the beach. With Nick Nack officiating, the two men take twenty paces, but when Bond turns and fires, Scaramanga has vanished. Nick Nack leads Bond into Scaramanga's manor and fun-house section. Bond eventually outwits and kills Scaramanga by posing as his mannequin. Goodnight kills Scaramanga's security chief Kra, but the latter's fall into a liquid helium vat causes the plant's temperature to spiral out of control. Bond retrieves the Solex unit just before the plant is destroyed, and they escape unharmed in Scaramanga's Chinese junk float. After Bond fends off a final attack by Nick Nack, he romances Goodnight.

Sergeant Neil Howie of the West Highland Police receives an anonymous letter requesting his presence on Summerisle, a remote Hebridean island famed for its popular and unusually abundant fruit produce. A young girl named Rowan Morrison has been missing for a number of months and her mother is being uncooperative with enquiries. Due to the island's isolation it is unlikely she could have left by herself, abduction is suspected. Howie, a devout and celibate Christian, travels by seaplane to the island and is profoundly disturbed to find a society that worships the old pagan, Celtic gods of their ancestors. Couples copulate openly in the fields, children are taught in school of the phallic importance of the maypole, toads are placed in the mouth to cure whooping cough, and the island has no Christian ministers or priests. Its church and graveyards have long been deconsecrated and are now used for the idiosyncratic burial rituals of the locals, who believe in re-incarnation. In the course of his investigation, Howie encounters difficulty in extracting information from the islanders, who claim never to have heard of Rowan, and whose own mother insists does not exist. Rooming at The Green Man Inn, where he is introduced to the beautiful young daughter of the landlord, Willow, Howie notices a series of photographs celebrating the island's annual harvests adorning the wall of the bar with each photograph featuring a young girl, the May Queen. The latest photograph is missing due to it being "broken". No negative exists. After discovering a grave bearing Rowan Morrison's name in the cemetery, Howie's search eventually brings him into contact with the island's community leader, Laird and de facto figurehead Lord Summerisle, who explains to Howie the island's recent history and culture. Summerisle's grandfather, a distinguished Victorian scientist, developed several new strains of fruit that he believed could prosper in Scotland's climate given the proper conditions. Drawn to Summerisle's unique combination of fertile, volcanic soil and local waters heated by the Gulf Stream, he inculcated in the local populace a belief that the old gods were real and worshipping them by farming the new crop strains would deliver them from their meagre livelihood. The crops bore fruit and the island's Christian clergy were driven away, with the population now embracing pagan teachings wholesale. Enraged by Summerisle's glib comment that the Christian god is "dead", Howie demands permission to exhume Rowan's body, which Lord Summerisle subsequently grants, confident in the belief that such a deeply religious community as his is incapabale of murder. Howie's exhumation of the grave reveals only the body of a hare. He angrily confronts Summerisle once more, declaring that he believes that Rowan Morrison was murdered as part of a pagan sacrifice and that he intends to bring the full weight of the law upon the inhabitants of the island. Breaking into the local chemist's shop, Howie discovers that a negative of last year's harvest photograph does in fact exist. It shows Rowan standing amidst a meagre, pathetic group of boxes, indicating that last year's harvest was a poor one and that the crops the island's only means of income had failed. Struck by his recollection of an offhand remark made by Lord Summerisle about appeasing the old gods "when necessary" and by research that indicates pagan societies offer up a human sacrifice in the event of crop failure, Howie deduces that Rowan is in fact still alive and that she is being kept hidden until she can be sacrificed as part of the May Day celebrations to ensure a plentiful harvest for the coming year. Howie spends another night at the Inn where, in the room next to his, Willow sings to him and openly attempts to seduce him. The next morning, discovering that his plane has been sabotaged and is unable to take off, Howie elects to search the island for Rowan himself ahead of the impending May Day parade. Howie ties up the innkeeper and assumes his place as Punch, a principal character of the May Day festival. Disguised, he joins the procession of islanders as they cavort through the town and perform harmless sacrifices to the various lesser gods. Then Lord Summerisle announces that a grimmer sacrifice awaits them, and Rowan is finally revealed, tied to a post. Howie cuts her free and flees through a cave but after a brief chase emerges at another entrance on a precipice where Summerisle and his followers stand waiting for them. Howie is shocked to see Rowan merrily embrace her captors and then notices that he is being surrounded. Lord Summerisle explains to Howie that, after painstaking research on their behalf, he specifically was lured to Summerisle by the islanders, who have been successful in a conspiracy to lead him to believe that a missing girl was being held captive against her will, and confirms to him that last year's harvest failed disastrously, threatening the inhabitants with a return to their previously desperate existence and that they have no intention of allowing that to happen. Their religion calls for a sacrifice to be made to the Sun god as Lord Summerisle explains that, "animals are fine, but their acceptibility is limited. A young child is even better, but not nearly as effective as the right kind of adult." Howie's devout Christian lifestyle and his livelihood as a policeman mean that he meets the outstanding criteria for a human that is to be sacrificed to appease the gods he has come of his own free will, with the power of a king and he is a virgin. In spite of his protestations that the crops failed because fruit was not meant to grow on these islands and that next year the sacrifice of Lord Summerisle himself will be called for, Howie is stripped bare, then dressed in ceremonial robes and led to the summit of a cliff with his hands tied. He is horrified to find a giant, hollow wicker man statue which he is then locked inside. The statue is soon set afire. As the islanders surround the burning wicker man and sing the Middle English folk-song "Sumer Is Icumen In", a terrified Howie curses them and recites Psalm 23 as he prays to God for accession to Heaven. The film ends as the burning head of the wicker man falls from its shoulders, as the sun sets in a blood-red sky.

NOTE: Sequel to "Scars of Dracula" (1970). Hyde Park, London, 1872: A coach is seen on a road in the woods of Hyde Park. It is the 'final' confrontation of Professor Lawrence Van Helsing [Peter Cushing] and his arch enemy, the demon vampire Dracula [Christopher Lee], struggling on top while the frightened horses pull the driverless vehicle at high speed. The band around a leather strap securing the horses gives out, causing them to separate from the vehicle, and as Dracula hurls Van Helsing from the coach it crashes into a tree. A stranger (Christopher Neame) on horseback some distance away is catching up to the coach. An injured Van Helsing struggles to his feet. Dracula has been impaled on the exposed spoke of a wheel, but when their eyes meet he still lunges forward to continue the fight. Van Helsing pins Dracula to the ground until the makeshift stake destroys him and he turns to dust. Having completed his task, Van Helsing dies as the stranger arrives, approaches the pile of dust and gathers some in a vial, placing Draculas ring on his own finger. At the funeral for Van Helsing in the graveyard of St. Bartolph's Church, he digs a hole near the gravesite into which he pours some of the dust and uses the wheel spoke to seal it in. The time shifts to early on a Friday night in September 1972, a century later. Teenagers have crashed a party. Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham) dances with her boyfriend Bob Tarrant (Philip Miller), while their friends Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), Laura Bellows (Caroline Munro), Joe Mitchum (William Ellis), Greg Puller (Michael Kitchen), Anna Bryant (Janet Key) and Gaynor Keating (Marsha Hunt) also enjoy the music of the band (Stoneground) they came to hear. Another teen is painting a group scene on a mirror, and two others make out beneath the buffet table as the homeowners, Charles (Michael Daly)--who is the honoree--and their staid guests look on. Charles tells his mother (Lally Bowers) that he invited only the band to his party and does not know anybody else there. Joe is mildly rude to her, she urges Charles to take action, and he calls the police. The group make bets as to how long it will take the police to arrive, planning to be gone one minute before then. Johnnythe descendent of the stranger from the pastguesses eight minutes because of heavy traffic, but Joe is sure they will arrive in four minutes. The sirens come at four and a half minutes, and the teens file out. Johnny picks up a prized figurine and teases the mother by passing it hand to hand before breaking it and making his exit. The teens under the table are the only ones discovered by the cops. The group gathers at the Cavern coffee bar, where Johnny suggests they try a black mass. He has the perfect location, as St. Bartolph's Church nearby is condemned, and that evening is an insignificant date on the satanic calendar. Jessica is leery, but the others encourage her to join them. At his apartment later, Johnny looks at his inherited ring and vial with the remaining vampire dust inside. Bob uses a carwash before he drives Jessica home, assuring her that they will probably wind up partying instead of trying to raise up Beelzebub. He asks if her grandfather, as an authority on demonology, could help, but she says he is an anthropologist and dismisses the notion. He kisses her and says he will pick her up for the midnight gathering. She enters the house and finds the housekeeper Mrs. Donnelly (Constance Luttrell) is away. She goes to the home library, pulls a book about black masses and sits to read it until her grandfather Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) appears. He asks why she is casually reading a serious scientific work. She dismisses the concept of black magic. He asks if she wants to go out to dinner with him, but she wants to go with her group instead, and she candidly assures him before she leaves that she is only indulging in being with people her own age and has dabbled in beer, but is not into drugs or sex. Putting the book away, Lorrimer looks at an image of Dracula displayed on the wall. Late that evening, Bob pulls up at the fenced-in church and finds a loosened plank for them to enter the churchyard. He comes upon the grave of Lawrence Van Helsing. He thinks somebody has played a prank, but Jessica says it is indeed the grave of her great grandfather. Its inscription "Requiescat in Pace Ultima" (rest in final peace) puzzles her. She also sees that the date is exactly one hundred years to the day after his death. Joe then jumps from behind a headstone in a mask and scares Jessica. Bob is furious, but Jessica assures him she is not deterred. They enter the church to find the group decked out in shrouds Johnny has provided, and Jessica and Bob join them. Joe activates a reel tape recorder which plays a soundtrack of eerie noises and drums, while they all sit at the edges of a satanic circle on the floor and sway to the music (and to any drugs they have taken) as the aura around them takes hold. Johnny encourages them from the altar, reciting summonses to satanic entities as the tape plays out of its reel but the noises continue. Johnny mentions Dracula, and the ground around the spoke in the graveyard moves. He then calls Jessica to help him perform a baptism of blood ceremony, but she refuses. Laura excitedly volunteers. Johnny carries her to the altar and sets a chalice on her chest, pours the remaining ashes from the vial into it and slices his wrist, adding his own blood to reconstitute it. The concoction liquefies, swells and overflows the chalice. Laura screams and jumps off the altar covered in blood, but then finds she is unable to move from the circle. The others flee. Jessica wants to help Laura, but Bob pulls her to the car and they leave. Johnny proceeds to the graveyard and withdraws the spoke, a heavy mist pours out and swirls into a pillar to reshape into the revived Dracula. Johnny says he summoned Dracula, who replies it was his will as he raises his hand to show his reclaimed ring. He enters the church and bites Laura, draining her blood and claiming her as his first victim. As Bob drops Jessica at home, he rejects what they saw, saying they will all surely meet at the Cavern as usual. The group, minus Laura and Johnny, convene at the coffee bar, saying that the event could not have been real. Johnny arrives with the clothes they left behind and tells them he took Laura to the train to see her parents in Ramsgate. Gaynor says they live in Watford, but Johnny insists he is right. He uses a fake blood capsule in a water carafe to show that the ceremony was, in his words, hokum, and says Laura was in on the stunt. When the others leave, he offers Jessica a ticket to a must-see concert, but she refuses and goes away with Bob, so he invites Gaynor instead and takes her back to his place. Several young boys are playing with a ball and kick it by accident into the churchyard. They find the loose plank, enter to find the ball and come upon the mutilated body of Laura in a pile of debris. The police surgeon (Artro Morris), the detective sergeant (David Andrews) and Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) of Scotland Yard confer at the crime scene. The surgeon notes that the body was drained of blood. Jessica tells Bob she is sure Johnny is lying about where Laura went, but Bob urges her to forget it. Murray and the sergeant have identified Laura from arrest record fingerprints, and discuss the dark implications of the case. As they check her file, they see Jessica among the list of her friends. They remember that her grandfather worked with them on a blackmail case with elements of witchcraft, and decide to enlist his help again while trying to find out how Jessica might be involved. They visit Van Helsing at home and discuss vampires, the occult and supernatural phenomena when they bring up the fact that Jessica is slightly linked to the case. Outside Bob is dropping Jessica off and they see the police vehicle. Jessica tries to slip past, but Lorrimer calls her into the study to talk to the police. Though she tries to be flippant and evasive, once she learns that Laura is dead, she breaks down and admits that she and her group were at the church, details what happened, and says that the group is with Joe Mitchum. Murray tells Lorrimer she is involved but he is not sure she is implicated. Outside, he tells the sergeant to accompany him to visit Joe, where there will likely be drugs and, therefore, an opportunity to detain and talk to the others in the group. After they leave, Lorrimer finds Jessica with the phone to warn Joe about the pending police visit, and he dissuades her. He learns that Johnny Alucard, whose name was not on the police list, mysteriously insinuated himself into her group and took leadership. At his apartment, Johnny offers Gaynor a smoke and puts on a record; later they kiss and she soon falls into a stupor. He helps her into his car and drives back to the church to bring her to Dracula. In his study. Lorrimer writes the name Alucard on a piece of paper, reveals it is Dracula backwards, and concludes Johnny is a disciple. The count drains Gaynor of her blood, but he wants Johnny to bring him Jessica. Asleep in bed, Jessica tosses and frets as she has a nightmare in which she seems to witness what happens to Gaynor, and she awakens screaming. Lorrimer helps her settle back to sleep, assuring her the nightmare is over, but she replies that she doubts it. Johnny demands to be granted immortality, and Dracula reminds him that he was chosen to help destroy the Van Helsing family through Jessica. Johnny says vampirism would make it easier to find her and begs to be turned, assuring the count he will get rid of Gaynor afterward. Dracula grips Johnny by the shoulder as he turns his head for the fatal bite. Lorrimer takes out a bible, a silver knife, and a cross which he places around the neck of the sleeping Jessica. Johnny dumps the body of Gaynor out of the car to fall into the river. Later he spots a woman leaving a laundromat and he smiles, revealing fangs, and exits the vehicle. In the morning, Van Helsing goes to Sunday services at a local church and fills a vessel with holy water. Later Murray informs Van Helsing that Gaynor was found dead in Hyde Park. She was not mutilated as significantly as Laura. He also says a woman named Marjorie Baines was discovered. Lorrimer guesses correctly that her body only had two neck punctures, but Murray admits he does not know what he is dealing with. Van Helsing says Dracula had been in London before and could have returned. A phone call comes, informing Murray that the detained group members were bailed out by their parents and accompanying lawyers. Lorrimer says they might be safer in jail, but then assures Murray that he sees a pattern leading back to Johnny, and he can help crack the case, so Murray says he will officially attribute the deaths to a criminally insane killer and asks what to do next. Van Helsing recommends removing the police presence from the church so Dracula can reach his resting place, and to notify him if Johnny is located. Then he mentions possibly making use of the Cavern, but Murray says the police will be shutting the coffee bar down due to suspected drug activity. Bob goes to the Cavern and finds it closed with a police guard in front, so he sneaks in the back entrance to find Johnny, who says he has been waiting for him. Lorrimer walks to St. Bartolph's, finds the loose plank, and leaves. At the house, Mrs. Donnelly finds Bob at the door. He tells Jessica that Johnny has been arrested at the Cavern and the police want her to come join the others to add her statement. She goes with him through the back entrance of the bar to find nobody there until Johnny comes out of hiding. She sees that he is a vampire, then turns to Bob to find he is undead as well. Johnny removes her cross, burning his hand, and Bob is prepared to bite her, but Johnny says the Master wants her, and Jessica faints. When Lorrimer calls in to Mrs. Donnelly, she informs him that Jessica has gone to the Cavern. In a panic, Lorrimer runs there and finds the cross on the floor. He rushes out and nearly collides with Anna in her car. She called his home, spoke to Mrs. Donnelly and wants to help, being the only one in the group alive who has visited Johnny at his apartment. Lorrimer asks her for the address. At the apartment Johnny has a coffin in his living room and is packing a bag with candles and a folding knife when Van Helsing arrives. Johnny goads him, asking if he will give the bride, Jessica, away, and they struggle as the sun begins to rise. Van Helsing wraps the cross around the bible and tosses it into the coffin. Johnny retrieves the knife and slashes Lorrimer in the arm, but a shaft of sunlight reflected in a mirror hits him and he shrinks back, so Lorrimer uses the mirror to repel Johnny. Backing upstairs into his bathroom, Johnny accidentally releases the skylight window shade, flooding the room with sunlight. He falls into the bathtub and grabs the faucet lever, turning it on, and the running water paralyses him. Lorrimer tries to get him to talk, but as Johnny succumbs he says Lorrimer will never find Jessica. Murray and the sergeant arrive. Lorrimer says Dracula has Jessica and asks for one hour at the church as the sun sets with no police, and Murray agrees. The sergeant recommends Lorrimer visit the hospital for his bleeding arm, and Murray says they will follow other leads and visit the church later. A weak and bandaged Lorrimer returns to St. Bartolph's to find Bob has been destroyed by sunlight in the churchyard. Jessica is on the altar inside the church. She is in a trance and will not awaken until Dracula summons her. Lorrimer whispers to her and returns the cross to her neck, hiding it in her bodice, promising he will not be away for long. In the churchyard he digs an immense hole and fills it with handmade upright stakes resembling crosses, covering the trap with grasses. At dusk, Dracula appears and awakens Jessica. When she sits up, the cross appears, and the count cautiously removes it, causing his hand to smolder. Before he can bite Jessica, Van Helsing appears, urging him to remember the past encounter. Recognizing his enemy, Dracula challenges Van Helsing, pursues him upstairs and corners him, but Lorrimer produces the silver knife and stabs him in the heart. The count tumbles over the ledge to the floor below and hypnotically summons Jessica to his side for help. Though Lorrimer yells to Jessica to stop, by the time he reaches the ground floor she has removed the knife and the chase resumes. Lorrimer runs outside, stumbling at the trap, and some of the covering gives way. As Dracula reaches its edge and spots the trap, Lorrimer produces the vial of holy water and, with a quick blessing, flings the water at him, which burns the vampire like acid. Dracula loses his balance, slips on the ledge and falls, landing full body onto the stakes. He lunges back at Van Helsing but is pinned prone and helpless. Lorrimer picks up the shovel and pushes down on the vampire. The stakes impale him through the back and seal his doom as Jessica screams under his fading thrall. Lorrimer watches as the body disintegrates into dust, and Jessica rushes into his arms in time to witness the phenomenon. Lorrimer puts his coat around her shoulders, she sees Bob lying dead nearby and nearly collapses, but Van Helsing assures her gently, "Requiescat in pace ultima," as she sobs in his comforting arms and they turn for home. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

The world's richest man and his adopted hobo son set out to test the limits of human vanity and greed through a series of "money games". Sir Guy Grand adopts homeless bum Youngman to be heir to his obscene wealth, and immediately begins bringing him into the intricacies of the family business, which is to prey upon people's greed by use of the vast holdings of the Grand empire. They leave no stone unturned as sporting events, restaurants, art galleries, and traditional pheasant hunts turn into lurid displays of bad manners and profiteering. Things climax at the social event of the season, the inaugural voyage of the new pleasure cruiser, "The Magic Christian". —Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

A collector comes into possession of the skull of the Marquis de Sade and learns it is possessed by an evil spirit. A collector of esoterica, Dr. Maitland, buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source of artifacts. The skull is what remains of marquis De Sade. Much too soon he discovers how the skull affects him: by turning him into a frenzied killer.

The great, muscle-warrior Hercules (Reg Park) returns to his homeland in Icalia, where he is confronted by several hired assassins. But he defeats them with the help of his loyal friend Theseus. Upon arrival in the city, Hercules is distraught after hearing that his love Daianara (Leonora Ruffo) has lost her senses. He visits her, and is emotionally crushed when she no longer recognizes him. The evil King Lico (Christopher Lee), an amoral nobleman, is actually planning to sacrifice Daianara he can attain immortality. Posing as Daianara's concerned uncle, Lico suggests to Hercules that the oracle Medea might be able to help him. Upon meeting with Medea, she tells Hercules that in order to save Daianara from total memory loss and even death, he must retrieve her memories with the stone of forgetfulness from the realm of Hades. However, to gain access to the underworld, he will have to retrieve the mysterious golden apple from the Land of the Hesperides. As a sign of his complete devotion to Dianara, Hercules returns his gift of immortality and super-human strength to the gods. In this way, he is forced to fight for her as a man, and not with any special abilities. His mission set, Hercules sets out immediately on his quest, stopping first to enlist the aid of Theseus. At his point, Hercules also meets Telemachus, who happens to be the fiancé of one of Theseus many girlfriends. Telemachus volunteers to help out his friend Thesius as well as Hercules to find the golden apple, although Telemaches soon proves to be more of a hindrance then a help. The first leg of the journey finds Hercules and his two cohorts in a vast seascape as they sail by boat towards the edge of the world, against the backdrop of a blood-red sky. Suddenly, the three men become sleepy and the temptation to rest becomes too strong. When they wake up, the find that they have reached the Land of the Hesperides who are being punished for sins of their ancestors. Hercules accomplishes his goal of retrieving the golden apple from the top of a monstrous tall tree that stretches into the black, stormy sky with little difficulty. His combination of physical and mental strength comes in handy. After a failed attempt at scaling the tree trunk, he simply hurls a rock at the tree, and a prayer to the gods results in a direct hit, and the golden apple comes tumbling down. But before the mission can continue, Procrustes, a bloodthirsty stone demon who enslaves the women of the island and has been forcing them to sacrifice all intruders to him, captures both Theseus and Telemaches. Procrusted ties Theseus to a long stone bed, while Telemaches is tied to a smaller stone bed. Porcrusted decides to stretch Thesius on a rack to fill the entire length of the bed, while Telemaches is planed to be reduced in size to fit the other stone bed. Hercules comes to their rescue, and using his intellect to stop the stone monster, he hurls the creature into a stone wall, smashing it to pieces. The muscle-bound hero receives an added bonus when the stone wall collapses, revealing a pathway that descends to Hades. Hercules and Theseus leave Telemaches behind so he can watch their boat to guard the golden apple while the two of them venture into Hades to retrieve the stone. During the journey through Hades, Hercules and Theseus have to cross a wooden plank way across a huge lava bed. The pathway collapses, and Theseus is apparently killed when he falls into the lava. Hercules is forced to go on alone where he finally discover the magical stone and retrieves it from its altar. But Theseus is not dead for he later revives in the arms of the beautiful Persephone, a young woman who has been imprisoned in Hades by her father, the god Pluto. Theseusfalls madly in love with Persephone and plots to smuggle her out of hell and back to the world with him. Upon meeting with Hercules again, Theseus fibs a little about Persephones origins and persuades Hercules to let her accompany them back to the world. With their mission accomplished, the three men and one woman sail for home. However, during the voyage home, a violent sea storm threatens to sink their boat, which calls for another divine intervention from Persephone, who finally reveals that she is a demi-god and that her father, Pluto, is angered that she is leaving Hades for the world. Upon arrival back home, Hercules tries to persuade Theseus to send Persephone back to Hades to avoid angering the gods more. But Theseus is too consumed by his love for Persephone to agree. Hercules brings the magical stone to Daianara who responds to the quick power of the stone. When Lico attempts to carry on his plans, he is unmasked by Hercules as the real villain of the story all along. Lico seals himself and Dianara in a secret chamber where he calls forth an army of the dead to prepare for the ritual sacrifice during a lunar eclipse to slay her and drink her blood to become immortal. Hercules breaks into the chamber and engages in a vicious sword fight with the demons, slaying all of them. Hercules and Lico engage in a long sword fight of their own before Hercules manages to get the upper hand and stabs Lico, who then loses his powers and is set afire by his own magical energy. In the epilogue, Persephone reluctantly decides to give up her love for Theseus which has been so opposed by the gods so she can return to Hades, leaving Thesius heartbroken. However, Hercules with Daianara tell Theseus that he will find his true love someday, the awkward Telemaches makes a move into another local woman, who slaps him, and she instead turns her sights on Thesius standing nearby.

Title and Credits are shown over a painting of Baskerville Hall on a hill top during a storm. A narrator tells us, "Know then the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Sir Hugo a wild, profane and godless man; An evil man, in truth for there was with him a certain ugly and cruel humor that made his name a byword in the county." A drunken party is underway and a servant is tortured by Sir Hugo (David Oxley). The servant's daughter is the prize, but she has left the house. Furious, Sir Hugo sets the hounds on her trail, "The hounds: Let loose the pack!" The servant girl escapes on the estate, Sir Hugo gives chase and both hear the loud baying of a hound. The girl takes refuge in the old abbey ruins, but Sir Hugo finds her. In a fit of rage, he stabs her with a dagger. He hears the hound. It attacks and kills him. "And so, the curse of Sir Hugo came upon the Baskervilles in the shape of a hound from Hell, forever to bring misfortune to the Baskerville family. Therefore, take heed and beware the moor in those dark hours when evil is exalted else you will surely meet the hound of Hell, the hound of the Baskervilles." Dr. Mortimer (Francis De Wolff) reads this last passage to Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) at his Baker street residence. Holmes is unimpressed and Dr. Mortimer is perturbed. Holmes asks the real reason for his visit. "The body of Sir Charles Baskerville discovered on Dartmoor early today," Dr. Mortimer reads from a local newspaper. Sir Charles was found by a servant, Barrymore, near the abbey ruins up on a hill not far from Baskerville Hall. The coroner's inquest ruled it heart failure. Dr. Mortimer's desire is to have Holmes investigate the matter because he thinks Sir Henry is in danger. Holmes agrees to see Sir Henry at his hotel the next day. Dr. Watson (Andre Morell) sees Dr. Mortimer out. Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee) is dressing in his hotel room. Holmes and Watson arrive, but Sir Henry mistakes them for hotel employees that have come to investigate a missing boot. Dr. Mortimer arrives amid the confusion and makes introductions. Sir Henry makes it clear he intends to occupy Baskerville Hall. Dr. Mortimer reluctantly tells Holmes the estate is worth about one million pounds. The will details bequests, including one thousand pounds for the Barrymores, and Dr. Mortimer is to receive forty thousand pounds. Holmes tells Sir Henry that, "I must impress upon you that I believe your life to be in considerable danger." Holmes also tells him that he is unable to leave London at the moment, but he will be sending Dr. Watson along to Dartmoor. Before anyone leaves, the first attempt on Sir Henry happens. A poisonous tarantula is hidden in a boot and crawls up near Sir Henry's head, but Holmes dispatches it. Sir Henry, Watson and Dr. Mortimer arrive in Dartmoor. Dr. Mortimer exits the cart for a short walk home. Before he walks away Perkins, the cart driver (Sam Kydd) suggests that Dr. Mortimer not walk alone. He tells him there has been a prison escape and a man named Selden, sentenced to life imprisonment is out on the moors. Sir Henry and Watson proceed to Baskerville Hall while Dr. Mortimer walks home. They are met at the Hall by Barrymore (John Le Mesurier). He gives the new master a tour of the house, and shows him a portrait of Sir Hugo. He tells him of the legend. Sir Henry notices a missing portrait, another of Sir Hugo. He is told it disappeared a few months ago. Watson is at the table finishing his meal. Sir Henry offers a toast, but Mrs. Barrymore (Helen Goss), visibly upset drops her glass then excuses herself. Dr. Watson asks Barrymore about the death of Sir Charles, as he found the body. Dr. Watson asks Barrymore if he believes in the legend of the hound. Barrymore tells Dr. Watson that he has heard the terrible howl. Dr. Watson is awakened in the night to the sound of a woman moaning. He investigates but finds nothing. The next morning the local Vicar, Bishop Frankland (Miles Malleson) stops to ask Sir Henry for a donation to the church. He is invited in for a glass of sherry. Sir Henry asks Mrs. Barrymore to donate an old suit to the jumble sale. Dr. Watson stops at the Grimpen Post Office to get a telegram from Holmes. It reminds Watson, "Under no circumstances allow Sir Henry to venture on the moor alone at night." Dr. Watson walks back to Baskerville Hall through the moor. He encounters Stapleton (Ewen Solon) who warns the doctor he was about to step into a trap. Stapleton also warns Watson to stick to the trail, lest he fall into the Grimpen Mire. Along the walk he encounters Cecile Stapleton (Maria Landi). Watson asks her if he is on the right path to Baskerville Hall. She bolts without answering, and Watson follows her but he falls into the mire. Stapleton rescues him, Cecile returns and helps. The Stapletons, father and daughter, return Dr. Watson to Baskerville Hall. Watson and Stapleton go into the house, and Cecile remains in the cart outside. They don't know Sir Henry is out riding his horse. Sir Henry arrives and talks to Cecile. She is very rude to Sir Henry. She runs away and when confronted, she kisses Sir Henry. That evening after everyone else has gone to bed, Sir Henry is joined by Dr. Watson. They see a light under the door of an unoccupied room. A candle burns near a window. Sir Henry notices a light out on the moor--a signal. Dr. Watson and Sir Henry investigate outside and find the source of the light. They find Selden (Michael Mulcaster), the escaped convict. They give chase and hear the hound. Sir Henry suffers a mild heart attack. Dr. Watson helps him back to the hall. Dr. Mortimer examines Sir Henry and orders bed rest. Dr. Watson wants Mortimer to stay and watch Sir Henry while he returns to the moor. Watson goes to the abbey ruins and encounters Holmes asking, "Why have you left Sir Henry alone?" Holmes tells Watson he has been in Devon for the whole time gathering information from Selden. "Selden told me all he had seen since hes been hiding." They hear the hound in the distance and run to investigate. Holmes notices Dr. Mortimer left Baskerville Hall. They hear a man scream and rush to investigate. They spot a man they believe to be Sir Henry dead. Holmes and Watson return to Baskerville Hall to get help to move the body. They see a light under the door of the signal room. Inside the room is Sir Henry reading a book. Sir Henry asks, "Who was it Holmes? Who was the poor devil that died instead of me?" Holmes deduces it was Selden, "Selden had on the suit you were wearing when we met in London." The next morning, Holmes and Watson return to the site of the death of Selden. They go to the abbey ruins and there they find blood on a stone and a dagger. Barrymore finds Selden's body, which had been moved from the night before. His body has been mutilated. "Some revolting sacrificial rite has been performed," Holmes notes. At the Hall, Holmes confronts Mrs. Barrymore and extracts the confession she was aiding her brother, Selden. She gave him food and Sir Henry's clothes and used the candle as a signal. Holmes pays a visit on the Bishop to inquire about a missing spider. Holmes knows the Bishop is regarded as the highest living authority on the study of rare spiders. He asks about the genus Theraphosa--tarantula. Bishop Frankland finally admits he is missing a tarantula and volunteers his visitor list, which included Dr. Mortimer and the Stapletons. Sir Henry stops at the Stapleton cottage. He lets himself in when no one answers his knock. Cecile appears and asks, "Why did you come here?" Stapleton is out and Cecile tells Sir Henry he is invited for dinner. She tells Sir Henry she is Spanish and her mother is dead. Her father returned to farm, but the property is no good. Sir Henry is in love with Cecile. Stapleton walks in and sees his daughter and Sir Henry being intimate. They sit and have a drink. Holmes and Watson meet with and confront Dr. Mortimer. They suspect he may have had a hand in the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Sir Charles and the attempts on Sir Henry. They ask about an old tin mine on the property. Mortimer tells Holmes that Stapleton may be more help as it is under his land. Holmes insists in seeing the mine, and insists that Dr. Mortimer accompany him. Holmes shows Mortimer the dagger that was used on Selden and the same as Sir Hugo used to kill the servant girl centuries earlier. Stapleton, Dr. Mortimer, and Holmes explore the old tin mine. Watson stays above. It is dank and water seeps through from the mire above. Holmes is looking for bones. While Stapleton and Mortimer chock the wheels of an old mining cart, Holmes explores deeper. He tells the two men, "We won't need to go any further, I've found what I came down for." They hear the hound howling. The cart runs down the rails, hits a support beam and causes a cave in, trapping Holmes. They dig for a while, but after two hours they stop. As it turns out, Holmes is waiting in the cart. He hurt his leg. Back at Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry invites Holmes and Watson to join him for dinner at the Stapletons. Holmes is very rude to Sir Henry. This is his plan--he wants Sir Henry to leave without them. The dagger is missing and Holmes has learned that Sir Hugo's hands were webbed, like Stapleton's hands. It turns out Stapleton is next in line for the Baskerville fortune. Holmes and Watson head for the abbey ruins where Sir Henry and Cecile have gone. She is leading Sir Henry to her father, the hound, and certain death. Fortunately Holmes and Watson hear Cecile's plan as she tells Sir Henry he will die. The hound appears and leaps on Sir Henry. It begins to maul him. Stapleton attacks Watson as he tries to shoot the hound. They scuffle briefly but Watson manages to shoot Stapleton. Holmes shoots the hound which turns on Stapleton. Cecile retrieves the dagger and tries to finish Sir Henry off, but Holmes intervenes. Cecile escapes. Holmes and Watson help Sir Henry to his feet and show him the dead dog. The dog was kept in the mine, starved for weeks, given the scent and turned loose. His missing boot was the scent. Cecile still running slips into the mire and is pulled under. Back in London Holmes and Watson admire a gift sent by Sir Henry. It is the missing portrait of Sir Hugo, showing his deformed hand, as a souvenir Holmes can add to his collection. Sir Henry also included a check for a very generous amount. Watson asks Holmes about what clue was the key. Holmes quips that, "the missing boot put me on the scent." We close with Holmes and Watson having tea.

A centenarian artist and scientist in 1890 Paris maintains his youth and health by periodically replacing a gland with that of a living person. In 1890, in Paris, the artist Dr. Georges Bonnet invites a group of friends for a private exposition of his new sculpture. Among the guests are Dr. Pierre Gerrard and his companion Janine Du Bois that had an affair with Dr. Bonnet ten years ago in Italy. When they see each other, their love rekindle. However Dr. Bonnet has a dark secret since he is 104 years old and needs to have a gland transplanted every ten years to keep his youth. But his partner and friend Dr. Ludwig Weiss had a stroke in Switzerland and cannot perform the surgery. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil A remake of "The Man in Half Moon Street" (1945) (qv.). Dr. Bonner plans to live forever through periodic gland transplants from younger, healthier human victims. Bonner looks about 40; he's really 104 years old. But people are starting to get suspicious, and he may not make 200. —Mike Rogers <MICHAELPEM@aol.com>

May 3, 1885: Jonathan Harker [John Van Eyssen] goes to Castle Dracula with a job as librarian. Harker writes in his diary that his purpose is to end Dracula's "reign of terror". A woman he meets in castle [Valerie Gaunt] asks him to help her escape, but the woman turns out to be a vampire. She attempts to bite Harker, but Dracula [Christopher Lee] intervenes. The next morning, Harker finds marks on his neck and knows he must act fast. He hides his diary at a crossroads, goes to the crypt, stakes the woman vampire, but Dracula wakes up. Days later Van Helsing [Peter Cushing] arrives at Klausenberg Inn; asking after Harker. The innkeeper's wife Inga [Barbara Archer] gives him Harker's dairy. Van Helsing goes to Dracula's castle where he sees a funeral coach leaving. He finds Harker lying in a coffin and stakes him. Weeks later, in Karlstadt, Van Helsing informs Arthur [Michael Gough] and Mina [Melissa Stribbing] Holmwood of Harker's death. Harker's fiancee, Lucy Holmwood [Carol Marsh], is ill and is being treated for anemia by Dr Seward [Charles Lloyd Pack]. When alone, Lucy opens her window and lets in Dracula. Mina seeks advice from Van Helsing who examines Lucy, sees marks on her neck, and instructs Mina not to open windows and to use garlic, but the maid Gerda [Olga Dickie] removes the garlic and opens the windows. The next morning, Lucy is dead. Van Helsing gives Harker's diary to Arthur to read. That evening, policemen bring home the maid's child Tania [Janine Faye] who reports seeing Lucy. Later that night, Van Helsing and Arthur go to Lucy's tomb. Van Helsing suggests that this is Dracula's revenge for the woman Harker staked. Van Helsing and Arthur go to the douane at Ingstadt to see where Dracula's coffin was bound (49 Frederichstrasse in Karlstadt). Meanwhile Mina gets a note to meet "Arthur" at 49 Frederichstrasse. Van Helsing and Arthur go to that address (it's a funeral home) and find Dracula's coffin gone. They go home just as Mina arrives from a "morning walk". Arthur gives Mina a cross to wear but it burns her hand and they know Dracula has gotten to her. They watch the house all night but Dracula gets in somehow and drinks from Mina. She receives a blood transfusion from Arthur, after which Van Helsing suggests that Arthur have a glass of wine. However, Gerda refuses to go down to wine cellar because Mina has forbidden her to do so. Turns out that Dracula is there. Dracula escapes and takes Mina to his castle. Van Helsing and Arthur follow. Dracula sees dawn approaching and stops from burying Mina. Van Helsing follows him into the castle. Dracula attempts to kill Van Helsing, but Van Helsing leaps onto some curtains, tearing them down and letting in sunlight. Dracula starts to deteriorate. Van Helsing grabs two candlesticks and makes a cross out of them. Dracula turns to dust; Mina is released. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl]

Dr. Thomas Bolton fights for the use of anesthetic in surgery and uses himself as a guinea pig, but soon finds himself addicted. In an effort to relieve the suffering of surgery patients, Dr. Thomas Bolton painstakingly develops an opium-based anesthetic, to which he gradually becomes addicted. In order to provide a continual supply of chemicals to continue his experiments and support his addiction, he falls in with a den of murderers who use his signature to sell cadavers to the local hospital.

A commander receives a citation for an attack on Erwin Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved, as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers. In North Africa during World War II, Major David Brand is assigned to lead a British commando raid into German-held Benghazi to retrieve whatever documents they can lay their hands on at the German headquarters. His number two will be Capt. Jimmy Leith who speaks Arabic fluently and knows Benghazi well. Brand also learns that his beautiful wife Jane and Leith were lovers before the war, creating tension between the two. Brand is untested in battle and freezes at a critical moment, losing the respect of his men. After the raid, the trek back is arduous and takes its toll on the men. It also results in only one of the two senior officers surviving. —garykmcd Unfit commander receives an undeserved citation for an attack on Rommel's headquarters. Unbeknownst to him, his wife was once in love with one of his officers. —frankfob2@yahoo.com

The movie opens with text over a red background that reads, "More than a hundred years ago, in a mountain village in Switzerland, lived a man whose strange experiments with the dead have since become legend. The legend is still told with horror the world over...It is the legend of..." A clever segway into the title: The Curse of Frankenstein. Credits follow. A man on horseback approaches a prison in the mountains along a narrow pathway. A church bell chimes the hour as a man opens the gate for the rider. He is a priest (Alex Gallier). He is escorted by the Warder (Michael Mulcaster) to see Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing). The warder explains that the prisoner is dangerous. The Baron wishes to see the priest because he thinks he can trust the man with his story. He starts his story, "I suppose it was when I was a boy at school. I always had a brilliant intellect. When my mother died, I inherited the Frankenstein fortune." The Young Baron (Melvyn Hayes) is escorting his extended family out of his house after his mother died. His uncle (Raymond Ray) leads the family delegation. Aunt Sophie (Noel Hood) and her daughter, young Elizabeth (Sally Walsh) stay behind. Aunt Sophie wants reassurance her allowance will continue uninterrupted. After confirming the money will continue, Victor quickly escorts the two relatives out the door. As they are leaving, a dapper gentleman in a brown top hat arrives. Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) walks into the house and presents himself to the new, but very young, Baron. He had corresponded with the Baron for a tutor. Initially he thinks there must be some mistake or a joke, but Victor explains the tutoring is for himself and he is serious. The two hit it off immediately. After two years, "I learned all he had to teach, but we went on together probing into the unknown, investigating, recording, searching, always searching until gradually the sweep of our research began to assume a single direction and to this aim we finally turned all our energies. It took us years of unrelenting work to discover what we were seeking." With chemical and electrical apparatus they were able to restore life to a dead puppy. Paul sees the possibilities of their discovery. He notes, "If we could delay or prolong the period in which the body is apparently dead while the heart is alive wed have a living body with only the barest life-spark present. That what that would mean when it came to performing major surgery!" Paul wants to write up their findings and present it at a medical conference within a month. Victor expresses his opposition because he wants to experiment further and does not want to share the secret, not yet at least. He proposes the next step. Rather than just restore life, he wants to create life from the beginning. He tells Paul, "We must build up our own creature, and built it up from nothing. We must create a human beinga perfect human." Paul disagrees, "What you're saying is nonsense, a revolt against nature. Such a thing could only end in evil." Victor persuades Paul to continue the work. He proposes to obtain a body, and knows a highwayman was hanged for his crimes and suggests they retrieve it. They take a horse and cart and cut down the body and return it to their lab. Paul notes that half the head has been eaten away. Victor quickly cuts the head off, explaining it is of no use. He dumps it into a vat of acid in the storage room next door. They remove the old clothes, wrap the body in bandages and place it in a large, glass tank. Now Paul voices his objection to the whole exercise, "I don't think we should continue with this." Victor tells Paul he will be leaving for a while but does not explain where or why. Justine the maid (Valerie Gaunt) carries refreshments into the living room and asks Paul if the Baron has returned. She answers the door, expecting that Victor has returned. To her disappointment it is not the Baron but a woman who tells her she was expected and needs help with her luggage. Elizabeth (Hazel Court) is the Baron's cousin and we learn later his fiancée. She mistakes Paul for the Baron. Victor arrives home in an excited state calling for Paul. He is not surprised to see Elizabeth. He and Paul rush off to the lab upstairs leaving Elizabeth annoyed and confused. Victor unwraps something from a small black bag. He proudly displays two hands, cut off at the wrist. He explains they are Bardello's hands--the hands of the world's greatest sculptor. Paul voices his objection to exposing Elizabeth to the experiment. He tells Victor, "While you were away, I decided I could not continue with this experiment." He tries to convince Victor to stop, but he is unsuccessful. Victor remains in the lab and will graft the new hands on by himself. Paul goes downstairs and tries to convince Elizabeth to leave. In this he is also unsuccessful, mainly because he will not explain the nature of the experiment or the danger. She explains she is to be Victor's wife. Outside the lab, Victor and Justine embrace and kiss. Victor is just toying with the maid. She believes she will be his wife, but Victor tells her that Elizabeth is to be his wife. The next morning Victor prepares to leave on another trip. Elizabeth talks to him about the household accounts and possibly assisting in other ways. Victor pays a visit to the Municipal Charnel House and buys a pair of human eyes. Victor takes them home to examine them when Paul asks to see him. He reiterates his refusal to help Victor with his work. Victor proudly shows Paul how far he has gone on his own. Paul turns away from the tank with revulsion and exclaims, "It's horrible!" Victor tells Paul that once a genius brain is obtained and installed the creature will take on a benevolent face. When asked where the brain will come from, Victor replies, "I'll get it." Victor and Elizabeth are in the living room entertaining a visitor. Professor Bernstein (Paul Hardtmuth) accepted an invitation from the Baron for dinner and to spend the night. The professor tells Victor that discoveries can be mishandled. Paul enters the room and is introduced to the distinguished professor. Victor escorts the old man upstairs to his room. At the top of the stairs Victor shows him a painting, maneuvering the old man closer to the bannister, which gives way. Victor pushes the old man through and down to his death. Professor Bernstein is given a burial at the Baron's expense and in his family vault. Later that evening the Baron retrieves Bernstein's brain. He carefully places the jar in his bag and prepares to leave the vault. Paul arrives, expecting to find Victor and accuses him of murder. Paul intends to stop Victor from using the brain, and tells him so. They briefly struggle over the bag and the jar is broken. Paul calls on Elizabeth in her room and again begs her to leave. He explains he only stays to ensure her safety. In the lab, Victor is picking pieces of glass out of the brain, trying to salvage it. He puts the brain into the skull and prepares to revive his newly finished creature. He starts the chemical and electrical equipment as an electrical storm brews outside. Paul is upstairs in his room preparing for bed. As the tank empties, Victor goes to Paul's room and again asks for help. He admits, "That apparatus was constructed for dual operation. You know that. I thought I could work it myself, but I can't." But Paul gleefully replies, "I'm delighted." A lightning bolt starts the electrical components and the body in the empty tank begins to breathe. Victor promises that after the experiment is completed he will dispose of the body. Paul reluctantly agrees to help. Victor returns to the lab and hears glass breaking. He unlocks the lab door and standing there is the creature. It pulls away the bandages covering its head to reveal a scarred and hideous face (Christopher Lee). One eye is blue, the other brown, and it stares at its creator with hate. It grabs Victor and chokes him. Only Paul's quick action saves Victor. He breaks a chair over the thing's head. The creature stumbles and falls to the floor. Paul demands the creature be destroyed as Victor straps it down to a table. Victor tells Paul he will operate on the brain the next morning and try to correct its homicidal tendencies. But the next morning the lab is a shambles and the window broken. The creature has broken free and escaped. Victor and Paul search the countryside for the creature. An old blind man (Fred Johnson) and his grandson (Claude Kingston) are out in the woods for a stroll. The old man sits and the grandson goes down to the lake shore to pick mushrooms. The creature encounters the old man. After a brief exchange he kills the old man. The grandson returns to where he left his grandfather. Victor and Paul find signs and follow it into the woods. They find it, and Paul shoots the creature through the eye. The creature falls and is pronounced dead. They bury it in place and return to the house. Paul goes to the lab and tells Victor he is leaving. With the creature dead, he no longer needs to stay and protect Elizabeth. But Paul doesn't know Victor dug his creation up and returned its lifeless body back to the lab. Victor stares at his creature hanging in the store room and promises, "I'll give you life again." Victor is dressed and tells Justine she can serve dinner. Justine reminds Victor of his promise to marry her. Her trump card is the revelation she is pregnant with his child. He does not believe he is the father, but Justine informs the master that Elizabeth will believe her. She adds that she will go to the authorities regarding the experiment. He fires the maid and orders that she leave the next morning. That night Justine goes up to the lab to get the proof she will need for the authorities. Victor leaves the lab door unlocked and Justine enters for a look. She enters the storage room and finds the revived creature. When she tries to flee, Victor locks her in, knowing his homicidal creation will kill her. It does. A week later, Victor and Elizabeth are having breakfast. Elizabeth inquires about Justine. Victor lies and tells her, "I expect some village lothario eloped with her." They discuss the wedding plans. Elizabeth reveals she invited Paul. Instead of being angry, Victor casually informs her he hopes Paul comes. He says that he has something to show Paul. It is the eve of the wedding, and a reception at the Baron's home is underway. The Burgomaster (Andrew Leigh) is enjoying the laced punch and practicing his speech. His wife (Ann Blake) reproaches her drunk husband and they leave for home. When all the guests have left, Victor announces he will be working in the lab. Elizabeth is disappointed and tells her future husband. Paul does not attend the reception, but does come later that evening. Elizabeth tells Paul to go surprise Victor. Victor is preparing a plate of flood when Paul knocks on the lab door. Victor invites his old tutor into the lab. He leads him to the storage room. Paul is shocked to discover the creature chained to the wall and showing signs of brain surgery. Victor orders the creature onto its feet. It struggles but stands, then sits when ordered. Paul chides the Baron about the creature's lack of perfection, but Victor reminds Paul, "There you see the result of your handiwork as much as mine...but you damaged it. You put a bullet in the wretched thing. This is your fault, Paul." Paul exits the lab, promising to go to the authorities and have them destroy the creature. Victor chases after him. He leaves the lab door unlocked and Elizabeth enters the lab. The creature breaks its chains. Elizabeth enters the storage room and sees the vat of acid. The creature gets out onto the roof. Victor and Paul see it and Paul goes to the village for help. Elizabeth goes outside to explore a noise she heard. Victor grabs a pistol and goes out to the roof. Firing at the creature he hits Elizabeth, then the creature. Only wounded, the creature approaches Victor. A well-aimed toss of an oil lamp sets the creature ablaze. The creature falls through the skylight and straight into the acid filled vat below. We return to the prison, and the priest still listening to the story now finished. Victor concludes, "My life's work destroyed. Destroyed in a moment. And by the same hand that gave it life." Paul comes to visit Victor at the prison. Elizabeth was only wounded and recovers. She is also at the prison, but stays in the waiting area. Victor begs Paul to tell the priest about the creature and to verify the story, but Paul denies it. He does accuse Victor of murdering Justine. Victor claims it was the creature who murdered the maid. The priest leaves the cell. Victor tries to kill Paul, but the jailer prevents it. Paul leaves the cell and returns to talk to Elizabeth. He takes her home. Victor is led to his execution. The last scene is of a guillotine, seen in silhouette, and the credits roll.

In March of 1942, Royal Marine Captain Hugh Thompson reports for duty at the Portsmouth Marine Barracks. Later that day, Marine Acting Major Stringer reports for duty and introduces himself to Thompson. Stringer will command a special unit assigned to travel by canoe up the Gironde River in occupied France to Bordeaux and there to blow up several German supply ships in the docks. Forty-three men arrive to contend for places on the team. All are volunteers for hazardous service, the sort of man of which Thompson is openly skeptical. Stringer begins by interviewing the men, one at a time, asking, "Why did you volunteer for hazardous service?" He throws out many obvious rejects and then tests the rest by dropping them by parachute 300 miles north, dressed in German uniforms with neither money nor ID, and telling them to get back to barracks in 48 hours. Eight of the men make it back, and they are the final selection. Stringer now has his crew--but the friction between him and Thompson only grows, because Stringer's methods grate on Thompson's professional sensibilities. The appalling lack of discipline of the men irk Thompson even more, but Stringer insists on doing things "his" way. Then comes an exercise to attempt to penetrate the Thames--and not a man reaches his objective, and all of them get picked up within hours. Stringer humbles himself before Thompson, who delivers a bracing lecture on the meaning of command, leadership, and discipline. Stringer takes the hint and retrains his men far more rigorously, with promising results. The operation is approved, and when Stringer and Thompson receive their orders, Thompson suggests that they go get drunk. Alone in a dining room with a bottle of brandy between them, Thompson confesses that he had been disgraced in the Battle of Cambrai and lost his chance to make things up when the war ended. He tells Stringer that he has his chance to be a hero, and not to muff it. Their men take their own liberty in a local pub, and start a brawl with Royal Navy men during which one of them (Marine Ruddock) slips out unnoticed. He is missed the next morning. Thompson, thoroughly angry, confines the other men to barracks and goes after Ruddock personally. He sees for himself that Ruddock's wife is cheating on him, and then finds Ruddock in another pub and tells him to take fifteen minutes and "do a good job of it; that's an order." Ruddock, of course, obeys--and his fight with the "other man" takes place entirely off-screen, with Captain Thompson and a London "Bobby" looking on and agreeing, like gentlemen, to take no official action. Finally Stringer, Thompson, and their men board a Royal Navy submarine and set out for the mouth of the Gironde River. On the last night, a depth-charge attack causes Marine Lomas to injure himself fatally by bumping his head against a metal strut. Thompson pleads with Stringer to let him take Lomas' place rather than idle a canoe, and Stringer reluctantly agrees. The canoes are launched, and the men begin paddling toward the mouth of the Gironde. The heavy seas of the tide race swamp one of the canoes; its crew swim to shore and are captured by the Germans. The leading sergeant has his crewman shot dead at another point on the river; the sergeant takes his revenge by tossing a fast-detonating mine into a patrol boat so that the other three canoes can escape. A third canoe is about to be captured when its crew detonates its fast-detonating mine and blows up all the other mines that they carry. Now two canoes remain, manned by Stringer and Marine Clarke, and Thompson and Marine Ruddock. They reach Bordeaux and attach twelve limpet mines to the hulls of several ships. Thompson and Ruddock are captured by the Germans and interrogated, and tell them nothing. Eventually Thompson, Ruddock, and the original crew who had gotten swamped in the tide race, are shot by a firing squad. Stringer and Clarke are rescued by French fishermen and given disguises in which they start to make their way out of France--after having the chance to witness all those mines blowing up and sinking all those cargo ships. Thus Operation Cockleshell is a success, though at the cost of nine lives. As Stringer and Clarke walk up the road from Bordeaux, nine ghosts briefly join them.