Crescendo (1970 film)

Crescendo
File:Crescendo-british-movie-poster-md.jpg UK quad film poster
Directed by	Alan Gibson
Produced by	Michael Carreras
Screenplay by	Jimmy Sangster Alfred Shaughnessy
Based on	Alfred Shaughnessy (from an original screenplay)
Starring	Stefanie Powers James Olson Margaretta Scott Jane Lapotaire Joss Ackland
Music by	Malcolm Williamson
Cinematography	Paul Beeson
Edited by	Chris Barnes
Production company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	7 June 1970 (1970-06-07) (United Kingdom) November 29, 1972 (1972-11-29) (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English French
Budget	£302,000

Crescendo is a 1970 British horror psychological thriller film directed by Alan Gibson and starring Stefanie Powers, James Olson, Margaretta Scott, Jane Lapotaire and Joss Ackland. It was made by Hammer Film Productions.

Plot

Drawn to the spectacular south of France to research the late composer Henry Ryman, music student Susan Roberts (Stefanie Powers) encounters his son, drug-addicted Georges (James Olson) and his eccentric family. Investigating the haunting strains of an unfinished Ryman concerto leads Susan to discover an empty piano… and a brutally savaged mannequin! Georges tells her she's the lookalike of his lost love. But Susan may not be the only one at the villa with an eerie doppelgänger.

Cast

• Stefanie Powers as Susan Roberts
• James Olson as Georges Ryman / Jacques Ryman
• Margaretta Scott as Danielle Ryman
• Jane Lapotaire as Lillianne
• Joss Ackland as Carter
• Kirsten Lindholm as Catherine (as Kirsten Betts)

Production

Alfred Shaughnessy wrote the script in the mid-'60s. In 1966, Michael Reeves approached Hammer Films with the script. James Carreras tried for two years to make it with Joan Crawford but could not get financing. In 1969, the project was reactivated, with Jimmy Sangster hired to rewrite the script and Alan Gibson to direct.

Release

Crescendo premiered in London on 7 May 1970 at the New Victoria Theatre. It received a general release on 7 June 1970 by Warner-Pathé in support of Taste the Blood of Dracula. It was distributed in the United States by Warner Brothers on 29 November 1972.

Its performance at the box office was disappointing.

The film was released to DVD by the Warner Archive Collection in March 2009.

Reception

In a contemporary review, the Monthly Film Bulletin found the film to be "Another Hammer horror, and within its own terms quite a spirited offering", noting that Gibson has "injected a gratuitous amount of sex into the story but otherwise presents the usual mixture with sure style and a good eye for colour." The review went on to state that "the dialogue does creak somewhat, but the next Hammer surprise is never far away; even the butler turns out to have been a frequent inmate of asylums, though he seems about as normal as anyone else in the film."

External links

• Crescendo at IMDb
• Crescendo at the British Film Institute
• Crescendo at the TCM Movie Database
• Crescendo at Letterboxd