The Bloody Judge(1970)Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Bloody Judge is a 1970 horror movie directed by Jesus Franco and starring Christopher Lee, Maria Schell, Leo Genn and Maria Rohm.

The movie begins in England in the seventeenth century. Judge Jeffries(Lee) is a tough judge. He is called the Bloody Judge. Awful things are happening at this time. He has his men kill people and torture women. A woman is being arrested for being a witch.Her name is Alicia(Margaret Lee). She is accused of witchcraft. She is brought before Jeffries.He states that she will be examined thoroughly. She is tortured. Her sister is called Mary(Rohm) and she visits the judge seeking leniency. It is a waste as her sister is burned at the stake.

Mary is angry and she goes to see a local woman,Mother Rosa(Schell), who seems to be a witch of some sort. Jeffries is suspicious of a man called Barnaby(Peter Martell), who he thinks is plotting against the King. A man called Harry is friends with Barnaby. He is also with Mary. He wants to marry her.He wants Barnaby to help him. His father warns him about Jeffries. Harry doesn't listen. He discovers that Mary has been taken to Jeffries. Mary is taken prisoner by a creepy guy called Satchel, who works for Jeffries. He tries to rape her. She tries to escape but he catches her. She manages to push his face into the fire. Harry arrives to save her.

Harry and his pal Barnaby end up fighting the judges men. Barnaby gets hurt. Harry brings him to his hideout while he goes for help. He leaves Mary with Barnaby. Satchel demands money from Harry's father in exchange for his silence. He also wants Mary. Harry arrives back to the hideout and finds Barnaby hanged and Mary gone. Satchel brings a group of women to Jeffries. Mother Rosa gets a visit from Harry. He tells her about Satchel and the women he has taken. She warns him about Jeffries. Harry and some guys are going to rescue them.

The rebels break into Jeffries castle and try to save the girls. Jeffries finds out and declares Harry an outlaw. He hauls in Mother Rosa and interrogates her. Harry and Mary get caught. There are executions aplenty. Harry's father visits Jeffries and seeks a pardon for his son. The King has written a letter to Jeffries seeking clemency but Jeffries ignores it. Mary finds herself allowed out of prison. A maid gives her a dagger to take with her as she is going to see Jeffries. He offers to save Harry's life in exchange for herself. He is going to exile Harry. Mary tries to kill him but it fails and she is taken away. Harry and his pals break out of their prison and free all the prisoners too. They tie Satchel up and he gets killed. Harry's father meets him outside and says that he is free. The King has been defeated. Jeffries won't leave his castle. Harry's father has a warrant for him. Jeffries is arrested for his crimes. Mary is rescued and Jeffries is thrown into prison where he dies.

This film was entertaining. The cast were good of course. It kind of reminded me of Witchfinder General in some ways. It was a little slow in parts but it is certainly worth watching.  Christopher Lee is always great so I am giving it a 6/10.

The Shadow of the Cat(1961)Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Shadow of the Cat is a 1961 horror movie directed by John Gilling and starring Andre Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Freda Jackson and Conrad Phillips.

An old woman called Ella Venable is killed in her house. Her cat, Tabitha sees it and knows who the killer is. There are two men and a woman involved in it. The cat witnesses them burying the body. Police come to the house. Ella's husband is called Walter(Morell) and he is in on the murder along with Andrew(Andrew Crawford), the butler and Clara(Jackson), the maid. Walter tells the police that Ella has been missing for a few days. He tells them that he hasn't seen her at all. Andrew tries to catch the cat but it won't come to him. Clara tries too. The cat is lurking, watching everything. Andrew tries to kill it. It runs into the basement. Walter tries to get it too. Tabitha attacks him. Andrew tells Inspector Rowles(Alan Wheatley) that the cat is being vicious.

Ella has a niece called Beth(Shelley) and she is coming to the house. A reporter called Latimer(Phillips) is on the case of the missing lady too. He comes to the house and he meets Beth. Andrew tells them that the cat attacked him. Tabitha goes to see Beth and she pets it and it likes her. When Clara appears, the cat gets angry and vicious. Walter sends for his brother, Edgar(Richard Warner) and his son Jacob(Lucas).Jacob brings his wife, Louise(Vanda Godsell) with him. Clara is worried about the cat. Beth asks her what is going on. Walter informs his family about the cat and he orders them to kill it. Tabitha and Beth have no problems at all. She calls Latimer and tells him that she is frightened of what is happening in the house. Michael Latimer thinks that the cat knows what happened to Ella.

Tabitha is making the culprits feel guilty. Michael tells her that he thinks that Walter is behind it all. Edgar and Jacob find the cat and trap it in a bag. Andrew runs off with it and goes into the woods but it escapes. The cat leads him to a swamp. Andrew falls in and dies. Tabitha returns to the house. Beth asks everyone why they are frightened of a little cat. Clara realises that something has happened to Andrew and she tells Walter. She wants to go but Walter won't let her. She dies when the cat jumps on her and tumbles down the stairs. Michael shows up at the house and Louise blames the cat for Clara's death. The Inspector comes and informs them about Andrew. 

Beth and Michael explore the house and they see that there is a broken wall. Edgar, Jacob and Louise disscuss Walter. They want to get rid of him. Beth hears noises at night. The cat sits on Walter's bed. He has a heart attack and dies. The Inspector and Michael arrive. Edgar has a will that leaves everything to him. Louise thinks that Jacob had something to do with  Walter's death. Michael thinks that there might be another will. The police look for the cat. Ella had put her papers in a safe deposit box. Michael thinks that Ella was killed and the cat witnessed it. The Inspector asks about the will and he wants to search the house for it. The cat comes in and runs upstairs. Jacob chases it. He goes onto the roof and falls off. Edgar is searching for another will. Michael and Beth are searching too. Edgar finds Ella's box and the cat comes in. He chases it and he gets hit by a beam. The box is found. Beth is the one who was supposed to inherit Ella's estate. Tabitha leads the police to Ella's body. The house is sold and the new occupants are moving in. Puss is there, looking for a new family.

This was a really good movie. I liked the idea of the cat witnessing the murder and making sure that the guilty are punished. The cast were great and there were some really great moments in this one. Interesting note- this is actually a Hammer movie. I recommend this and I am giving a 7/10.