Here we have Anton Diffring, Christopher Lee and Hazel Court is a thriller about a man who is still youthful at 104 thanks to gland operations – glands that come from people he has murdered in order to maintain his youth.

Michael Carreras produced this Hammer Film – as he usually did and Terence Fisher directed as he usually did !!

Apparently Peter Cushing turned down the leading role  and so Anton Diffring stepped in at the last minute

This is quite a good film, although not one of Hammer’s best. The Victorian setting (the story is set in Paris) is very well done and adds to the atmosphere. Christopher Lee is very effective as the hero – he did not often get that role in early Hammer films – although in ‘The Hound of The Baskervilles’ released just before this one, he played quite a benign part. 

Hazel Court is absolutely beautiful as the heroine – I remember her well in an early film she made ‘Holiday Camp’

Scenes from the film

Scenes from the film

ABOVE – A set of Front of House Stills from the film.  I used to love to see these each week, outside of the Cinema in a display case, and would look at them and try to imagine what the film would be like.

Hazel Court remembers that in this film there was a scene where she posed nude for the Sculptor but this was only for the continental version. ABOVE

Needless to say, Anton Diffring comes to a sticky end