The Reptile

The Reptile
Credits
Title:	The Reptile
Directed by:	John Gilling
Written by:	John Elder
Produced by:	Anthony Nelson Keys
Music by:	Don Banks
Cinematography:	Arthur Grant
Edited by:	Roy Hyde James Needs
Production
Distributors:	Hammer Film Productions; Seven Arts Pictures; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Released:	March 6th, 1966 (UK) April 6th, 1966 (US)
Rating:	Unrated
Running time:	86 min.
Country:	UK
Language:	English
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The Reptile is a British horror film directed by John Gilling. It was produced by Anthony Nelson Keys for Hammer Film Productions and written by Anthony Hinds under the pseudonym of John Elder. It was released in the United Kingdom on March 6th, 1966. US distribution was handled by Twentieth Century Fox and premiered in the United States on April 6th, 1966.

Plot

At the turn of the century, Harry Spalding inherits his late brother's cottage in Cornwall. He arrives with his new bride, Valerie. The inhabitants of the village keep clear of the newly arrived couple, and only the publican, Tom Bailey, befriends them. Bailey explains that the hostility exhibited by the townspeople is the result of many mysterious deaths in the community.

Valerie is frightened by the sinister Dr. Franklyn, the owner of the nearby Well House. Franklyn is the only resident in the vicinity of the cottage, and he lives with his daughter Anna. The Doctor treats his daughter with cruel contempt, and she is attended by a silent Malay servant. Hoping to learn something of the deaths, Harry invites the local eccentric, Mad Peter, home for dinner. After warning them that their lives are in danger, Mad Peter quickly departs only to return later that evening foaming at the mouth, with his face blackened and swollen. He dies within a few minutes.

Tom Bailey, in an attempt to help Harry clear up the mystery, illegally unearths Mad Peter’s corpse and discovers a strange neck wound like a snake bite. Harry and Tom dig up another coffin and find that corpse also has those same, strange marks. Realizing that they are threatened by something far worse than they had ever imagined, Harry is quick to answer an urgent message from the Well House, where’s Valerie’s life is in danger.

Meanwhile at the eerie abode, Valerie witnesses Dr. Franklyn’s attempt to kill his own cursed daughter. She also witnesses a fierce struggle between the doctor and the deranged Malay servant. During the battle, a lantern is overturned and Dr. Franklyn is bitten by the venomous fangs of his Reptilian daughter. Painfully, the doctor dies. The final scene features the Reptile and the Well House crumbling in flames with Harry and Valerie fleeing for their lives.

Cast

Actor	Role
Noel William	Doctor Franklyn
Jennifer Daniel	Valerie Spalding
Ray Barrett	Harry George Spalding
Jacqueline Pearce	Anna Franklyn
Michael Ripper	Tom Bailey
John Laurie	Mad Peter
Marne Maitland	The Malay
David Baron	Charles Edward Spalding
Charles Lloyd Pack	The Vicar
Harold Goldblatt	The solicitor
George Woodbridge	Old Garnsey

Notes & Trivia

• The tagline for this film is "Half woman - half snake!"

• The Reptile was filmed at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. Most of Hammer's horror films of the 1950s-70s were filmed there.

• Was filmed back to back with John Gilling's Plague of the Zombies and reuses many of the same set pieces.

• The Reptile was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on November 2nd, 1999. It was also packaged with The Lost Continent as a double-feature as part of "The Hammer Collection" by Anchor Bay and Starz Entertainment on July 27th, 2004.

See also

Hammer Horror Hammer Horror media Hammer Horror images

Hammer Horror films Hammer Horror characters Hammer Horror miscellaneous

External Links

The Reptile at AMG The Reptile at IMDB The Reptile at Wikipedia The Reptile at the Terror Trap

The Reptile at Popcorn Pictures The Reptile at Rotten Tomatoes The Reptile at Horrormovies.org The Reptile at Classic-Horror.com

References

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Hammer Horror This article relates to the films produced under the "Hammer Horror" banner of Hammer Film Productions. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Hammer Film Productions category. Dracula Dracula (1958) • Brides of Dracula (1960) • Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) • Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) • Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) • Scars of Dracula (1970) • Dracula 1972 A.D. (1972) • The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) • Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) Frankenstein Curse of Frankenstein (1957) • Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) • Evil of Frankenstein (1964) • Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) • Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) • Horror of Frankenstein (1970) • Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) The Mummy The Mummy (1959) • Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) • Mummy's Shroud, The (1967) • Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) Others X the Unknown (1956) • The Abominable Snowman (1957) • The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) • Curse of the Werewolf (1961) • Scream of Fear (1961) • Phantom of the Opera (1962) • Kiss of the Vampire (1963) • Paranoiac (1963) • Nightmare (1964) • The Old Dark House (1963) • The Gorgon (1964) • Plague of the Zombies (1966) • The Reptile (1966) • The Devil Rides Out (1968) • The Vampire Lovers (1970) • Lust for a Vampire (1971) • Hands of the Ripper (1971) • Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) • Countess Dracula (1971) • Twins of Evil (1972) • Demons of the Mind (1972) • Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) • To the Devil a Daughter (1976)