The twelve apostles stood around as Jesus died for the sins of man. In this Gothic story, those same twelve are dressed in robes (presumably of Satanic origin) as the son of a long line of martyrs takes his place and sacrifices himself for the harvest.
Oscar winner David Niven (Separate Tables) is the royal dupe that sacrifices himself for his people. he spends most of his time declaring, "You can't help me. Nobody can." Too bad he wasn't as smart as his father Alain (Emlyn Williams) who bailed out on his duties to be the sacrificial lamb and lives in the tower.
This is a good opportunity to see the considerable acting skills of Deborah Kerr, who died last fall. She plays the wife, who is trying to convince Niven that he is a loony religious fanatic. Kerr, who had six Oscar nominations for films like The King and I and From Here to Eternity, consumes most of the movie's time. Without her, it would be a good short.
Notable supporting roles go to Donald Pleasence, who most know as Dr. Sam Loomis from Halloween; David Hemmings, whose next movie was Blowup, and who played Cassius in Gladiator; and Sharon Tate, the Valley of the Dolls star whose career was abruptly ended soon after this film by another group of cultists - this time real ones.
A great group of actors in a mostly unremarkable film.
Oscar winner David Niven (Separate Tables) is the royal dupe that sacrifices himself for his people. he spends most of his time declaring, "You can't help me. Nobody can." Too bad he wasn't as smart as his father Alain (Emlyn Williams) who bailed out on his duties to be the sacrificial lamb and lives in the tower.
This is a good opportunity to see the considerable acting skills of Deborah Kerr, who died last fall. She plays the wife, who is trying to convince Niven that he is a loony religious fanatic. Kerr, who had six Oscar nominations for films like The King and I and From Here to Eternity, consumes most of the movie's time. Without her, it would be a good short.
Notable supporting roles go to Donald Pleasence, who most know as Dr. Sam Loomis from Halloween; David Hemmings, whose next movie was Blowup, and who played Cassius in Gladiator; and Sharon Tate, the Valley of the Dolls star whose career was abruptly ended soon after this film by another group of cultists - this time real ones.
A great group of actors in a mostly unremarkable film.