The Witches (1966)
Directed by Cyril Frankel
Genres - Horror, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
Sub-Genres - Supernatural Horror |
Release Date - Nov 21, 1966 (USA - Unknown) |
Run Time - 91 min. |
Countries - United Kingdom |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Michael Betzold
This film was a pet project of Joan Fontaine, based on a novel by Peter Curtis. It was her last feature film. Fontaine stars as teacher Gwen Mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in Africa. A witch doctor puts a curse on her, and she has a nervous breakdown. Returning to England, she takes a job running a small rural school. In the village, there is an active voodoo cult. They have targeted a young woman named Linda (Ingrid Brett), whom they plan to offer as a virgin sacrifice. The cult members are led by journalist Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), whom Mayfield discovers is the head witch. Mayfield's student Ronnie Dowsett (Martin Stephens) is being harassed by the cult to keep him from protecting Linda, his girlfriend. This British production was titled The Devil's Own in the U.S.
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Keywords
private-school, voodoo, cult, death, girl, good-vs-evil, mystery [unexplained phenomenon], schoolteacher, student, supernatural-forces, town, village, witch, witch-doctor, witchcraft, curse, Britain, sacrifice