The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) and Clare Devine: Difference between pages
Hal Raglan (talk | contribs) Undid revision 243547331 by 70.176.68.72 (talk)rvt |
Remove category per per CFD 2008 October 4 |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Infobox soap character |
|||
{{otheruses|The Pit and the Pendulum (disambiguation)}} |
|||
| series =[[Hollyoaks]] |
|||
{{Infobox Film |
|||
|character_name=Clare Devine |
|||
| name = The Pit and the Pendulum |
|||
| |
|image=[[Image:Clare Justin.jpg|250px]] |
||
|name=Clare Devine |
|||
| image_size = |
|||
|actor_name=Samantha Rowley (2004-2006); [[Gemma Bissix]] (2006-2007 2008?) |
|||
| caption = Original 1961 theatrical release [[film poster|poster]] by [[Reynold Brown]] |
|||
|first= December 2005 |
|||
| director = [[Roger Corman]] |
|||
|last= September 2007 |
|||
| producer = Roger Corman<br>[[James H. Nicholson]] (Exec Prod)<br> [[Samuel Z. Arkoff]] (Exec Prod) |
|||
|occupation=Manager of the loft |
|||
| writer = '''Short story:'''<br>[[Edgar Allan Poe]]<br>'''Screenplay:'''<br>[[Richard Matheson]] |
|||
|spouse=[[Max Cunningham]] (2006-2007) |
|||
| narrator = |
|||
| starring = [[Vincent Price]]<br>[[Barbara Steele]]<br>[[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]]<br>[[Luana Anders]] |
|||
| music = [[Les Baxter]] |
|||
| cinematography = [[Floyd Crosby]] |
|||
| editing = |
|||
| distributor = [[American International Pictures]] |
|||
| released = August 12, 1961 |
|||
| runtime = 85 min |
|||
| country = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|22px]] |
|||
| language = English |
|||
| budget = [[US$]] 300,000 |
|||
| preceded_by = |
|||
| followed_by = |
|||
| website = |
|||
| amg_id = 1:38241 |
|||
| imdb_id = 0055304 |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''The Pit and the Pendulum''''' (also known as ''Pit and the Pendulum''<ref name="Williams2">Williams, Lucy Chase. ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'', Citadel Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8065-1600-3. As Williams notes, the actual onscreen title has no initial "The". Some references follow suit and refer to the film as ''Pit and the Pendulum''</ref>) is a [[1961 in film|1961]] [[horror film]] directed by [[Roger Corman]], starring [[Vincent Price]], [[Barbara Steele]], [[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]], and [[Luana Anders]]. The [[screenplay]] by [[Richard Matheson]] was very loosely based on [[Edgar Allan Poe]]’s [[short story]] of the [[The Pit and the Pendulum|same name]]. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young [[English people|Englishman]] who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, apparently [[ghost]]ly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strapped to the titular [[torture device]] by his lunatic brother-in-law during the film's [[climax (narrative)|climactic]] [[sequence (film)|sequence]]. |
|||
'''Clare Devine''' (previously '''Cunningham''') was a [[fictional character]] on the long-running [[Channel 4]] [[United Kingdom|British]] television [[soap opera]] ''[[Hollyoaks]]''. |
|||
''The Pit and the Pendulum'' was the second title in the popular [[film series|series]] of Poe-based movies released by [[American International Pictures]], the first having been Corman’s '' [[House of Usher (film)|House of Usher]]'' released the previous year. Like ''House'', the film features [[widescreen]] [[cinematography]] by [[Floyd Crosby]], huge sets designed by [[art director]] [[Daniel Haller]], and a [[film score]] composed by [[Les Baxter]]. A critical and box office hit, ''Pit'''s commercial success convinced AIP and Corman to continue [[film adaptation|adapting]] Poe stories for another six films, five of them starring Price. The series ended in 1965 with the release of ''[[The Tomb of Ligeia]]''. |
|||
She was first seen on the series in 2005, played by [[Samantha Rowley]]. In 2006 [[Gemma Bissix]] took over the role, remaining there until Clare's exit in 2007. |
|||
[[Film critic]] [[Tim Lucas]] and writer [[Ernesto Gastaldi]] have both noted the film’s strong influence on numerous subsequent [[Cinema of Italy|Italian]] thrillers, from [[Mario Bava]]’s ''[[The Whip and the Body]]'' (1963) to [[Dario Argento]]’s '' [[Deep Red]] '' (1975).<ref name="Lucas">Lucas, Tim. ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #74 (August 2001), pg. 55. Review of ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' DVD </ref><ref name="Gastaldi">Gastaldi, Ernesto. Interviewed by Tim Lucas in ''Video Watchdog'' Magazine, issue #39 (May-June 1997), pgs. 28 - 53, "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood in the Scripts of Ernesto Gastaldi?"</ref> [[Stephen King]] has described one of ''Pit''’s major shock sequences as being among the most important moments in the post-1960 horror film.<ref name = "King"/> |
|||
==Character history== |
|||
==Synopsis== |
|||
=== Arrival in Hollyoaks=== |
|||
In Spain, during the 16th Century, Francis Barnard ([[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]]) visits the castle of his brother-in-law Nicholas Medina ([[Vincent Price]]) to investigate the cause of the mysterious death of his sister, Elizabeth ([[Barbara Steele]]). Both Nicholas and his younger sister, Catherine ([[Luana Anders]]), offer a vague explanation about Elizabeth having died from a rare [[hematology|blood disorder]]. However, when Nicholas responds evasively after Francis asks for specific details regarding the disease, Francis advises that he will not leave until he discovers the true reason his sister died. |
|||
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:OriginalClare.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Samantha Rowley]] as Clare.]] --> |
|||
Clare Devine first appeared in August 2005 when [[Max Cunningham]] and [[Sam "O.B." O'Brien]] hired her as an Events Supervisor at the Loft. With her friendly face and likeable and vibrant personality, Clare quickly settled in to life in the village and became popular with the other residents. Both OB and Max immediately fell for her, but after weeks of playing both admirers off against each other, she eventually chose Max when she kissed him and OB both just as New Year broke. Initially Max and Clare's relationship went well, and Max soon asked Clare to move in with him. At first Max and Clare tried to keep their relationship a secret from OB, but after they moved in together, OB discovered, but did not object initially and accepted the relationship in order to keep the peace with Max. |
|||
Clare soon became friends with [[Mandy Hutchinson]] and [[Louise Summers]], and participated in a time-share scam set up by Louise's ex-husband [[Sean Kennedy (Hollyoaks)|Sean Kennedy]] while on a holiday with the other two ladies in the late night special [[Hollyoaks: Back From The Dead]] in January 2006. Sean was smitten by Clare, and began flirting with her repeatedly, although at first she rebuffed all of his advances and chose to stay loyal to Max. After the scam came to an end, Sean followed Clare, Louise and Mandy back to Hollyoaks. |
|||
During dinner with family physician Dr. Leon ([[Antony Carbone]]), Francis again asks about his sister's death. Dr. Leon tells him that his sister had died of massive [[heart failure]], literally "dying of fright". Francis demands to be shown where Elizabeth died. Nicholas takes him to the castle's [[torture chamber]]. Nicholas reveals that Elizabeth, under the influence of the castle's "heavy atmosphere", became obsessed with the chamber's torture devices. After becoming progressively unbalanced, one day she locked herself into an [[Iron maiden (torture device)|iron maiden]], and died after whispering the name "Sebastian." Francis refuses to believe Nicholas's story. |
|||
===Clare's dark side=== |
|||
Francis tells Catherine that Nicholas appears to feel "definite guilt" regarding Elizabeth’s death. In response, Catherine talks about Nicholas's [[psychological trauma|traumatic childhood]], revealing that their father was Sebastian Medina, a notorious member of the [[Spanish Inquisition]]. When Nicholas was a small child, he was playing in the castle's torture chamber when his father (also played by Price) entered the room with his mother, Isabella, and Sebastian’s brother, Bartolome. Hiding in a corner, Nicholas watched in horror as his father repeatedly hit Bartolome with a red-hot [[fireplace poker|poker]], screaming “Adulterer!” at him. After murdering Bartolome, Sebastian began torturing his wife slowly to death in front of Nicholas’s eyes. |
|||
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Warren_Clare.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Gemma Bissix]] as Clare, with [[Jamie Lomas]] as [[Warren Fox]].]] --> |
|||
A disturbing side of her character was revealed in February 2006 when her boyfriend Max took his brother [[Tom Cunningham]] on holiday. (At this point the character was recast with [[Gemma Bissix]].) Although she had rebuffed his advances a month earlier while on holiday with Louise and Mandy, Clare had by now discovered that Sean Kennedy was wealthy and ambitious, and she seduced him in the nightclub's office. OB's on-off girlfriend [[Mel Burton]] caught Clare and Sean together, but Clare used Mel's alcoholism against her when she attempted to expose the sexual encounter. She convinced Max that Mel was lying, causing friction between Max and OB. |
|||
Clare schemed to get rid of OB and acted the perfect, loyal girlfriend to an unsuspecting Max, who eventually proposed to her. After Tom overheard a conversation between Sean and Clare about the night they slept together, she tried to turn Max against Tom by drawing on the walls and blaming Tom and pouring water in his bed and claiming that he wet it so that if Tom told Max about Clare and Sean Max wouldn't believe him. Clare repeatedly persuaded Max to provide money for alterations to the Loft, but she kept the bulk of the money for herself. |
|||
After Catherine is finished telling Francis about Nicholas, Catherine and Francis are informed by Dr. Leon that Isabella was in fact not tortured to death, rather she was entombed behind a brick wall while still alive. Dr. Leon explains, “The very thought of [[premature burial|premature interment]] is enough to send your brother into convulsions of horror.” Nicholas believes that Elizabeth may have been interred prematurely. The doctor tells Nicholas that "if Elizabeth Medina walks these corridors, it is her [[spirit]] and not her living self." |
|||
===The wedding=== |
|||
Nicholas now believes his late wife’s vengeful [[ghost]] is haunting the castle. Elizabeth’s room is noisily ransacked and her portrait is found slashed to ribbons. Her beloved [[harpsichord]] plays in the middle of the night. One of Elizabeth's rings is found in the keyboard. Francis accuses Nicholas of planting the evidence of Elizabeth’s “haunting” as some sort of elaborate [[hoax]]. Nicholas insists that his wife’s tomb be opened. Inside the coffin, they discover Elizabeth’s [[decomposition|putrefied]] corpse frozen in a position of writhing horror, hands clawed and mouth wide open, as if in a final scream. |
|||
A week before Clare and Max's wedding, OB and Max decided to make a fresh start and forget the past much to Clare's horror. Clare was even more shocked when Max asked OB to be best man and decided to do something about it. On Max's stag night OB discovered that Clare was planning on leaving Max with all his money and when he threatened to tell Max Clare quickly planted some ecstasy drugs in OB's pocket and when OB went to the SU bar Clare lied to the bouncer that he was drug dealing and got him arrested. After spending the night in a police cell OB was released and just as Max and Clare was about to get married he interrupted it and told everyone to stop the wedding. OB told Max about Clare trying to flee with his money and when he showed Max Clare's plane ticket Max began to wonder if Clare really loved him. But Clare was ready for this incident and pulled two plane tickets from her wedding dress for a honeymoon and said the travel agents had got her flights mixed up with someone else's but then gave her the right plane tickets. Max then punched OB and OB failed in proving Clare to be a liar. Max and Clare got married and OB and Max were not friends any more. |
|||
[[Image:PitCap.jpg|thumb|left|260px|Vincent Price as Nicholas Medina, gone completely mad]] |
|||
That night, Nicholas, now on the very edge of sanity, hears his wife calling him. He follows her ghostly voice down to the torture chamber. Suddenly, Elizabeth appears from out of the shadows, causing Nicholas to fall down a flight of stairs. She is alive, and she is met by her lover, Dr. Leon. Elizabeth, thinking Nicholas dead, taunts his apparent corpse about their scheme to drive him mad so the two lovers could inherit his fortune and estate. Nicholas opens his eyes and begins laughing while his wife and the doctor recoil in horror. Nicholas stands up and overpowers Dr. Leon, who attempts to escape but falls to his death. Nicholas then approaches Elizabeth, and promises he will torture her horribly. Francis, having heard Elizabeth's screams, enters the dungeon to see what has happened. Nicholas is now gibbering with insanity and has become convinced he is his own father, the evil Sebastian Medina. He confuses Francis for Sebastian's brother, Bartolome, and knocks him unconscious. He straps him to a stone slab located directly beneath a huge razor-sharp pendulum. The cackling Nicholas slowly lowers the swinging blade closer and closer to Francis’s torso. Catherine arrives just in time with Maximillian, one of the family [[domestic worker|servants]]. After a brief fight with Maximillian, Nicholas falls to his death, and Francis is removed from the torture device. As they leave the basement, Catherine vows to seal up the chamber forever. They slam and lock the door shut, unaware that Elizabeth is still alive, [[gag]]ged and trapped in the iron maiden. |
|||
When Max told Clare that he wanted a baby, she manipulated him. Knowing that his stepsister Mandy had been raped by her father, Clare claimed that she too had been abused by her father leaving her infertile. She told Max that she needed to see a doctor in London, and Max insisted that he should come with Clare but couldn't when Clare drugged Tom's food making him sick. Clare was really inquiring about emigrating to New Zealand. On her return she requested £50,000 from Max for an operation, with the intention of fleeing to start a new life. Clare was angry when Max said no because they didn't have the money. |
|||
==Production== |
|||
When Roger Corman's ''House of Usher'' was released in June 1960, its box office success took AIP’s James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff by surprise. Corman admitted, “We anticipated that the movie would do well, but not half as well as it did.” According to Richard Matheson, “When the first film was a hit, they still didn’t consider doing a Poe series. They just wanted another movie with a Poe title fixed to it.”<ref name = "Naha"/> ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' was announced in August 1960, and filming began the first week of January 1961. According to Lucy Chase Williams's book, ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'', the shooting schedule was fifteen days, and the film’s budget was almost $1 million.<ref name = "Williams"/> Corman himself has said that the film's actual production cost was approximately $300,000.<ref name = "McGee2"/><ref name = "McGee"/><ref name = "Fischer"/> |
|||
=== |
===Mel and Sophie's deaths=== |
||
OB and Mel were still determined to prove to Max that Clare was unfaithful to him and obtained CCTV footage of Clare sleeping with [[Warren Fox]]. OB invited Clare to meet him, Mel and Mel's twin Sophie in the Dog where they told her that they now had evidence to show Max. As she left the pub Clare saw [[Sam Owen]] entering with a lighter and petrol, but did not raise the alarm. She returned to the flat and was packing to leave before Max discovered the truth when he came home and told her that Sam had set fire to the Dog. Mel and Sophie both died and OB was hospitalised. Clare visited him in hospital and taunted him about Mel's death and threatened to smother him with a pillow. She found the DVD of her and Warren's encounter among OB's belongings and broke it. |
|||
Matheson's script freely devised an elaborate [[narrative]] that barely resembled Poe, with only the finale having any similarity at all to the original short story on which the film was based. Corman noted, "The method we adopted on ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' was to use the Poe short story as the climax for a third [[act (theater)|act]] to the motion picture, because a two-page short story is not about to give you a ninety-minute motion picture. We then constructed the first two acts in what we hoped was a manner faithful to Poe, as his climax would run only a short time on the screen."<ref name="Di Franco">Di Franco, J. Philip (editor). ''The Movie World of Roger Corman'', Chelsea House Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-87754-122-1</ref> |
|||
===Plot to kill Max=== |
|||
Matheson's screenplay included a [[flashback]] to a time immediately preceding Elizabeth's illness, featuring Nicholas and Elizabeth horseback riding and eating a picnic lunch. Corman deleted the sequence prior to filming because he felt it violated one of his major theories regarding the Poe series: "I had a lot of theories I was working with when I did the Poe films...One of my theories was that these stories were created out of the [[unconscious mind]] of Poe and the unconscious mind never really sees reality, so until ''[[The Tomb of Ligeia]]'' we never showed the real world...In ''Pit'', John Kerr arrived in a carriage against an ocean background, which I felt was more representative of the unconscious. That horseback interlude was thrown out because I didn't want to have a scene with people out in broad daylight."<ref name = "Williams"/> |
|||
When Max caught Warren and Clare snorting cocaine while working at the Loft, he was disgusted, but Clare convinced him that it was because of her father abusing her. Max ended up taking cocaine to impress her. This resulted in a heart attack for which he needed to take medication. Clare at first seemed genuinely upset about Max's near death until she found out that he had taken out a life insurance policy of £500,000 for her and Tom, after this Clare decided she was going to kill Max, steal the £500,000 and leave Tom with nothing. After Max was released from hospital Clare kept him upstairs in the bedroom and drove visitors away, saying he needed rest. Unbeknown to Max, Clare was tampering with his medication and trying to kill him. When Max tried to leave the flat, looking for a Christmas present for Tom, OB found him and was shocked at his deathly appearance. After arguing with OB, Clare decided to take Max and Tom for a Christmas that Max would "never forget". They went to a deserted house near a lake in the most secluded and quiet part of [[Cumbria]] where Max felt more and more ill and finally became suspicious of Clare. Whilst Clare was showing Tom around the woods near the cottage Max decided to examine his medication he discovered that the pills had been tampered with by Clare as all the capsules were empty. Max planned to escape with Tom but Clare discovered one of the capsules on the floor and realised that Max knew that she had tampered with his medicine. She confronted Max and accused him of playing with his medication himself. Max became more and more confused and disorientated and finally collapsed. Clare however had no idea that OB had discovered Clare's evil plot to kill Max and was in his car driving to the secluded cottage Clare and Max were staying in and trying to save Max. Clare then told Tom that they needed to get a doctor for Max. When Max came around Clare came running in screaming that Tom had fallen in the lake. Max dived in the lake in an attempt to save Tom but could only find his jacket. Max then saw Tom locked in the car and realised Clare had locked Tom in the car whilst Clare happily watched Max die to get the £500,000. Clare simply stood and watched whilst Max was struggling in the water. Clare then smirked at Max saying sarcastically "my mistake". As Max was drowning OB arrived, punched Clare and rescued Max, much to Clare's annoyance. She was then taken to the police station and was questioned but, due to a lack of substantial evidence, she was released without charge. After this incident OB and Max became friends again. |
|||
===Clare's return=== |
|||
The screenplay was modified from its original draft form during the film's shooting. Price himself suggested numerous dialogue changes for his character. In the script, when Francis Barnard is first introduced to Nicholas, the young man asks about loud, strange noises he had heard a few moments earlier. Don Medina responds: "Uh...an apparatus, Mr. Barnard. (''turning'') What brings you to us?" Price penciled in the suggestions "that must be kept in constant repair" and "that cannot be stopped". Later in the screenplay, when Nicholas recalls his father's chamber of torture, Price devised alternate explanations for Sebastian Medina's violence. During Nicholas's death scene, after falling to the bottom of the pit the character originally had dialogue at the point of dying, asking in a voice of horror, "Elizabeth. What have I done to you? (''beat'') What have I done to you?" The camera was to then [[Cut (filmmaking)|cut]] directly to Elizabeth's face trapped in the iron maiden. Corman decided to jettison the lines, believing that the film should remain purely visual at that point and dialogue would ruin the power of the scene.<ref name = "Williams"/> |
|||
After a month's absence from Hollyoaks, Clare returned to the village in January 2007. She marked her return by picking Tom up at his school without letting anyone know. Max and OB were frantic with worry, and when Max returned to his flat, he found Clare with a terrified Tom. Clare then made it clear that she planned to ruin Max's life. When Max told Clare that his dad would have seen right through Clare, Clare said "it's a good job he snuffed it then". Max then tried to strangle Clare before fleeing the flat with Tom. When Max returned, he found that Clare had changed the locks and planned on selling both the flat and The Loft, and keep the proceeds. Max pleaded with her through the door that he needed his heart medication, and she agreed to give it to him on the condition that he entered alone. Keeping the door on the [[security chain]] Clare opened the door; OB arrived and tried to ram the door open. Clare was hit in the head and fell back onto the floor. Bloodied and enraged, she vowed to make Max pay. She proceeded to hit herself in the face repeatedly, then called the police to report a domestic assault, meanwhile Max was still shouting to be let inside the flat. [[Image:Clare max.jpg|thumb|Max, OB & Tony throw Clare out - Max signs the Loft over to Clare]] Max, OB and Tony then arrived to physically throw her out of the flat, and as they were tossing her out onto the street in her bathrobe, to Clare's delight, the police arrived. Max was arrested for assault, and spent the night in the cell. Although the police dropped the charges as Tony and OB's statements that Max had not assaulted Clare meant there was no evidence to charge Max, the latter had seen enough and, despite the objections of Tony and OB, he handed the deeds to The Loft over to his wife, although he reclaimed the flat from Clare. |
|||
=== |
===Feud with Warren=== |
||
In Clare's absence [[Warren Fox|Warren]] had taken control of the Loft while Max continued to receive the profits. Now that Clare owned the Loft she did not want Warren interfering and they became bitter rivals as they fought over the running of the business. Warren had befriended teenager [[Justin Burton]] and given him a job at the Loft and a place to stay. Clare managed to seduce Justin in an attempt to get him on side despite Clare having been indirectly involved in Justin's sisters' deaths. However after they had slept together Justin told Clare that he knew she was just using him and that he was still loyal to Warren. Clare continued to stir trouble by informing Warren that Justin was having a relationship with Warren's sister [[Katy Fox|Katy]]. Warren attacked Justin and was arrested. Just as he was about to be released, Clare had Warren re-arrested for [[Sean Kennedy (Hollyoaks)|Sean]]'s murder after getting information from Justin. |
|||
Corman has noted that making the film was a pleasurable experience: "I enjoyed ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' because I actually got the chance to experiment a bit with the movement of the camera. There was a lot of moving camera work and interesting [[film editing|cutting]] in the climax of the film."<ref name = "Naha"/> Filming went smoothly, and Corman attributed the ease of the production's shoot to the short but comprehensive [[pre-production]] planning he did with the major technicians. "We achieved what we did on a low budget because we carefully planned the whole production in advance of starting the cameras. Thus, when we moved into the studio for fifteen days of scheduled shooting, we didn't have to start making decisions. Because of our pre-production conferences with [[Cinematographer|Director of Photography]] Floyd Crosby and Art Director Daniel Haller, everyone knew exactly what to do, barring any last minute inspirations on the set."<ref name = "Lightman"/> |
|||
===Who pushed Clare?=== |
|||
[[Image:PitFlash.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Barbara Steele as Elizabeth Medina, in one of the film's tinted, nightmarish flashback sequences]] |
|||
On the 22nd June 2007, Clare was pushed off a balcony at The Loft and left for dead, an action that put her in a coma. A number of events occurred in the week leading up to this incident. First Clare persuaded her friend [[Louise Summers]] to have an abortion as she didn't know whether her boyfriend [[Calvin Valentine]] or Warren was the father. Clare promised she would not tell anyone but then purposely told Calvin all about Louise sleeping with Warren and the abortion leaving Calvin shocked and angry. When Louise returned home from a holiday Calvin threw her out in the street. The following day Louise punched Clare and the girls had a huge cat fight after Clare told Louise that she had slept with her husband Sean. Meanwhile Warren was arrested for killing Sean because Clare set him up; when Warren was released due to insufficient evidence, he publicly warned Clare to watch her back. |
|||
To create the flashbacks revealing Nicholas's [[Psychological trauma|traumatic experiences]], Corman and Crosby attempted to shoot them in a manner that would convey to the audience the character's horror in dredging up nightmares trapped in his [[unconscious mind|subconscious]]. Corman insisted on these images having a [[dream|dream-like]] quality, "twisted and distorted because they were being experienced by someone on the rim of madness". Corman decided to film the flashbacks in [[monochrome]], since he had read that some psychiatrists believe most people dream in "black-and white" imagery. Crosby used [[wide-angle lens]]es,<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055304/technical Technical Specifications for Pit and the Pendulum] from the ''Internet Movie Database''. Crosby shot the film using the [[35 mm|35 mm]] [[anamorphic]] film process with [[Panavision]] cameras and lenses.</ref> violent camera movement, and tilted [[camera angle]]s to represent the character's feeling of hysteria. The sequences were then printed on [[film tinting|blue-tinted]] [[film stock|stock]] which was subsequently toned red during [[photographic processing|development]], effectively producing a [[wikt:two-tone|two-tone]] image. The highlights were blue, with the shadows rendered as red, producing a deep, bloody quality. The image was then run through an [[optical printer]] where the edges were [[vignetting|vignetted]] and a twisted linear distortion was introduced.<ref name="Lightman">Lightman, Herb A. "The Pit and the Pendulum: A Study In Horror Film Photography", ''[[American Cinematographer]]'', October 1961 issue.</ref> |
|||
Clare also pursued Max so that he should pay compensation for a disco ball falling on [[Mercedes Owen]]. Clare went to Max for money, originally asking for £10,000, later dropping this to £5,000. Clare's request was denied both times by Max. As revenge, Clare phoned [[Social Services]], and gave them her false suspicions about Tom getting physically abused by Max and O.B. Clare then talked to Tom, telling him that Tom himself was the reason for baby Grace's death, and his parents' deaths. Tom didn't believe her at first, but then Clare said that everybody dies because of Tom's germs, and that if he stayed with Max, Max would die too. Tom got frightened, and refused to go near Max, getting increasingly scared of him, much to Clare's delight. When Social Services paid Max a visit they found Tom trying to run out of the front door, crying and screaming "get me out of here". Social Services then took Tom away and Max ran into the Loft and publicly threatened to kill Clare. Warren then intervened and persuaded Max to leave the Loft, and was heard by numerous bystanders as saying "don't worry about Clare, leave her to me" to Max as he left. Warren then told Justin that he was going to kill Clare. |
|||
===Art direction=== |
|||
The film's brief exterior [[prologue]] showing Kerr's arrival to the castle was filmed on the [[Palos Verdes]] coast. The rest of the production was shot in four interior [[sound stage]]s at the California Studios in [[Hollywood]]. To provide great freedom for the planned camera movements, a castle set with many levels and ample space was designed by Daniel Haller. Because of the film's low budget, none of the sets could be constructed "from scratch". After Haller made sketches and floor plans for the sets, he searched the [[backlot]]s and property lofts of the major studios in search of available set units that could be inexpensively rented and then put together to form the sets he had conceived. At [[Universal Studios]], he located numerous discarded pieces from old productions, including massive archways, fireplaces, windows and doorways, and several torture machine props. At other studios, he found gigantic stairways and stone wall units. Haller selected and rented numerous pieces from these various depositories and had them delivered to California Studios, where the sets for the film were constructed, following his floor plans as closely as possible.<ref name = "Lightman"/> To further set the atmosphere, about 20 gallons of cobwebbing was sprayed throughout the castle's sets.<ref>Smith, Don G. ''The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography''. McFarland & Company, 1999. p. 117 ISBN 078641703X</ref> |
|||
On the night she was pushed, OB confronted Clare in the Loft toilets and tried to persuade her to tell Social Services that she had lied about Tom. Clare said that she knew that the real reason OB hated her was because of Mel. She referred to Mel and Sophie as "the [[ugly sisters]]" and said that their deaths were "two for the price of one". She continued to taunt OB about Mel, saying "liar liar, the lush is on fire". OB then grabbed Clare and pinned her up against the wall saying "this is for Tom and Max, and Mel and Sophie, and anyone else whose lives you've ruined!" He let her go when they were interrupted. Clare then went to meet Warren on the Loft balcony where she was pushed by a mystery attacker, plunged over the railings and was left for dead. Jacqui, Carmel and Tina then found Clare and a mobile phone near Clare's body rang, and, on hearing Leo's voice at the other end, Jacqui realized that the phone belonged to Calvin. |
|||
The film’s [[pressbook]] noted that the pendulum was eighteen feet long and weighed over a ton, and was constructed with a realistic rubber cutting blade. The pendulum was rigged from the top of the sound stage thirty-five feet in the air.<ref name = "McGee"/> In an interview, Haller provided details regarding the creation of the pendulum: |
|||
:"I found that such a pendulum actually was used during the Spanish and German inquisitions. At first we tried to use a rubberized blade and that's why it got stuck on Kerr's chest. We then switched to a sharp metalized blade covered with steel paint. The problem was to get it in exactly the right position so it would slash John's shirt without actually cutting him. To guard against this we put a steel band around his waist where the pendulum crosses. He was a good sport about it but noticed him perspiring a good bit and no wonder. That pendulum was carving out a 50 foot arc just above his body.”<ref name = "McGee2"/> |
|||
After the attack on Clare each suspect was seen doing something suspicious. Calvin was walking up the stairs that led to his house, rubbing his hands against his face and looking worried; Louise was entering Evissa, where she was sick - but where had Louise just been? Max was washing his hands which were covered in blood; and OB was running down a street looking very anxious and shocked at himself; Warren, who had been sleeping with Mercedes, was leaving his flat with a mobile phone in his hand. As he did so, he said "I'll be back in a minute, there's something I just need to take care of..." to Mercedes. |
|||
To visually enhance the size of this set, the camera was equipped with a 40 mm Panavision wide-angle lens and mounted at the opposite end of the stage, giving Crosby the ability to frame the scenes in his camera with extra space at the bottom and at either side. These areas were filled in later by printing-in [[matte painting|process extensions]] of the set, doubling its size onscreen.<ref name = "Lightman"/> |
|||
Minutes after Clare was pushed, events took another sinister turn when Justin was knocked over by a Transit van in an apparent hit and run as he went to meet Katy, leading witnesses to believe that the driver of the van had not stopped to help Justin because they were trying to vacate the scene of the crime. |
|||
===Cast=== |
|||
*'''[[Vincent Price]]''' as '''Nicholas/Sebastian Medina'''. This was Price's third film for American International Pictures and his second for director Corman.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=57806&mod=films|title=Vincent Price Filmography|accessdate=2007-03-22|first=|last=|publisher=New York Times.com}}</ref> In response to the profitability of ''House of Usher'', Price "upped his asking price for ''Pit'' to $125,000, plus a percentage of the profits."<ref name="Fischer">Fischer, Dennis. ''Horror Film Directors, 1931-1990'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-89950-609-7</ref> Most critics seemed to enjoy Price's somewhat [[overacting|hammy]] performance as the tormented, guilt-ridden victim of his "late" wife's evil machinations. Darrell Moore wrote that "Vincent Price returns to his usual overacting, ego-tripping self in ''The Pit and the Pendulum''. His wonderfully maniacal performance is the high point of the film."<ref name="Moore">Moore, Darrell. ''The Best, Worst, and Most Unusual Horror Films'', Beekman House, 1983. ISBN 0-517-40266-8</ref> And Nathaniel Thompson noted that "Vincent Price has a field day alternating from gibbering terror to teeth-gnashing insanity (sometimes in the same scene)..."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mondo-digital.com/talesofterror.html |title=Pit and the Pendulum|accessdate=2007-07-08|first=Nathaniel|last=Thompson|publisher=Mondo Digital.com}}</ref> Some, however, thought his acting overly theatrical and damaging to the film's mood. Writer Ken Hanke felt the film had "...a few unintended laughs thanks to Vinnie's [[camp (style)|campiness]]."<ref name="Hanke">Hanke, Ken. ''Mountain Xpress'' (Asheville, NC), unknown date (quoted on Rotten Tomatoes.com)</ref> |
|||
Viewers were then left to wonder who had pushed Clare - Max, OB, Louise, Calvin or Warren? |
|||
*'''[[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]]''' as '''Francis Barnard'''. The [[Tony Award]]-winning actor (for ''[[Tea and Sympathy]]'' (1955)) had been a once-promising leading man in the 1950s, featured in major roles in the theatrical film versions of ''Tea and Sympathy'' (1956) and [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[South Pacific (1958 film)|South Pacific]]'' (1958). His role as the nominal hero in ''Pit'' would prove to be the last notable film appearance of his career.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=37908 |title=John Kerr|accessdate=2007-01-08|first=Hal|last=Erickson|publisher=New York Times.com}}</ref> Years later, Kerr expressed surprise that ''Pit'' seemed to be his best remembered role, "If you had told me years ago that ''Pit and the Pendulum'' would be The One out of all the stuff I've done, if you had told me that this would be the cult-type movie that people would be collecting memorabilia on, I would have said, 'You're out of your gourd.' Just ... no way. Noooo way!"<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bmonster.com/cult33.html |title=The "Pit"falls of Working with Price|accessdate=2007-04-16|first=Tom|last=Weaver|publisher=The Astounding B Monster}}</ref> |
|||
[[Image:Clare suspects.jpg|thumb|Who Pushed Clare?[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a62087/in-pictures-who-pushed-clare-the-suspects.html]]] |
|||
====The suspects==== |
|||
*'''[[Barbara Steele]]''' as '''Elizabeth'''. This was Steele's first film since her break-through horror performance in [[Mario Bava]]'s ''[[Black Sunday (1960 film)|Black Sunday]]'' (1960). The actress recalled that she was “in awe” of Price during the production and described the filming of their final scene together as surprisingly physical: “Our major confrontation where he strangles me was done in one take…He really went at me and I had the bruises on my throat to prove it. Afterward, he was so concerned he had hurt me – a perfect gentleman –a truly kind figure in spite of his image.”<ref name="Biordowski2">Biordowski, Steve, Del Valle, David and French, Lawrence. ''[[Cinefantastique]]'' magazine, Vol 19 No.1/Vol 19 No. 2 (January 1989), "Vincent Price: Horror's Crown Prince", pgs 40 - 85; 120</ref> While watching the [[Dailies|daily rushes]] of the movie, Corman became convinced that Steele’s “thick [[working class]] [[Regional accents of English speakers|English accent]]” was not blending well with the other cast members, so after the filming was completed he had all of her dialogue [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]] by a different actress.<ref name = "Williams"/> |
|||
*'''[[Luana Anders]]''' as '''Catherine Medina'''. Anders's role as Price's (much younger) sister was one of several appearances she made in AIP productions. Most of these films were directed by Corman. The actress had first met Corman several years previously while both were attending acting classes taught by [[Jeff Corey]] in Los Angeles. After ''Pit'', Anders would make two further films with Corman as a director, ''The Young Racers'' (1963) and ''[[The Trip (1967 film)|The Trip]]'' (1967).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=79590 |title=Luana Anders|accessdate=2007-01-14|first=Hal|last=Erickson|publisher=New York Times.com}}</ref> |
|||
It quickly became apparent that Max was not involved in the attack on Clare, as Tony and Dom had tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade him to leave his flat around the time of the incident after Max had locked himself in - both had seen him watching videos of Tom through the glass on the front door; Dom's wife Tina also saw Max leaving the Loft and heading towards his flat before Clare was pushed. OB later confirmed that when he called at the flat shortly after the incident, Max was still there; therefore, the police released Max without charge. The reason that he had been shown washing blood off his hands was that he had smashed a glass bottle in annoyance after returning home from The Loft and cut his hand. |
|||
*'''[[Antony Carbone]]''' as '''Doctor Leon'''. Like Anders, Carbone was a brief member of Corman's early-1960s "[[Stock company (acting)|stock company]]" of actors, appearing in four of the director's films during that time. Carbone's only starring role in his career had been in Corman's ''[[Creature from the Haunted Sea]]'' (1960), which co-starred writer [[Robert Towne]]. ''Pit'' was Carbone's final appearance in a Corman-directed movie.<ref name="McGee">McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Roger Corman: The Best of the Cheap Acts'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1988. ISBN 0-89950-330-6</ref> |
|||
While Clare was still comatose, OB visited her and threatened to put a pillow over her head, as she had threatened to do to him when he was in hospital. |
|||
*Other cast: '''Patrick Westwood''' as '''Maximillian''' (the servant), '''Lynette Bernay''' as '''Maria''' (the maid), '''Larry Turner''' as '''Nicholas as child''', '''Mary Menzies''' as '''Isabella''', '''Charles Victor''' as '''Bartolome'''.<ref>Note that [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055304/fullcredits/ The Internet Movie Database] includes another cast member: '''Randee Lynne Jensen''' as '''Extra''' (Uncredited). No other source mentions Jensen's appearance, including Robert Ottoson's comprehensive ''American International Pictures: A Filmography'', Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Taylor & Francis, 1984. ISBN 978-0824089764</ref> |
|||
As Warren had also publicly threatened to kill Clare that night, it was he who became the prime suspect for her attempted murder. The day after Clare was pushed, Warren admitted that he was driving the van that hit Justin shortly after the incident, although he vehemently denied any involvement in the attack on Clare. When Clare finally awoke from her coma, she accused Warren of pushing her and claimed she had seen him do so. The police believed that Warren had tried to drive away from the scene of the crime and had ran Justin over in an attempt to divert attention from the fact that he had pushed Clare minutes before. |
|||
Prior to the start of filming, Corman had set aside one day of [[rehearsal]]s with his cast. "Previously, I had painstakingly rehearsed the actors so there was complete understanding as to what each was to accomplish in each scene. This is most important; there is nothing worse than to be on the set and ready to roll, only to find that director and actor have different views as to how the scene is to be done. Thanks to pre-production planning and rehearsals, there was no time wasted on the set in haggling and making decisions."<ref name="Lightman">Lightman, Herb A. "The Pit and the Pendulum: A Study In Horror Film Photography", ''[[American Cinematographer]]'', October 1961 issue.</ref> |
|||
Louise visited Warren in prison and told him that she herself may have pushed Clare. Louise was drunk the night Clare was pushed and about 20 minutes before Clare was pushed, Louise visited the Valentine house to win Calvin back only to discover Calvin himself was not there. (Before Louise had arrived Calvin had stormed out of the house in an angry rage telling his Dad he was about to get revenge on Clare). [[Leo Valentine]] (Calvin's Dad) was in though and Louise left after she discovered Calvin was out just before she left, Louise told Leo that she was going to kill Clare. |
|||
==Response== |
|||
''The Pit and the Pendulum'' was a bigger hit than ''House of Usher'', accruing over [[US$]] 2,000,000 in [[film distributor|distributors']] domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals versus the first film's US$ 1,450,000.<ref name="Gebert">Gebert, Michael. ''The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards'' (listings of 'Box Office (Domestic Rentals)' for 1960 and 1961, taken from ''Variety'' magazine), St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996. ISBN 0-668-05308-9. "Rentals" refers to the distributor/studio's share of the [[box office]] gross, which, according to Gebert, is normally roughly half of the money generated by ticket sales.</ref> According to writer Ed Naha, it also received a better critical response.<ref name="Naha">Naha, Ed. ''The Films of Roger Corman: Brilliance on a Budget'', St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996. ISBN 0-312-95723-0</ref> The majority of the film’s reviews were positive. |
|||
After Clare returned home, Max tricked the nurse supervising her into letting him in. He threatened to poison Clare's food with his heart medication and also manipulated her condition in order to blackmail her into telling Social Services the truth about Tom. Already fearing for her life after having been pushed from the balcony, and also knowing that Max had already been eliminated from the list of suspects, Clare realized that she had no choice but to give into Max's demands. Clare contacted Social Services and admitted that she had lied about Max and OB abusing Tom, and Tom was released back into Max's guardianship. |
|||
Howard Thompson of the ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, “Atmospherically at least—there is a striking fusion of rich colors, plush décor and eerie music—this is probably Hollywood’s most effective Poe-style horror flavoring to date…Richard Matheson’s ironic plot is compact and as logical as the choice of the small cast…Roger Corman has evoked a genuinely chilling mood of horror.”<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Howard. Review from ''The New York Times'' quoted in ''The Films of Roger Corman: Brilliance on a Budget'', Arco Publishing, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-668-05308-9</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' noted, “The last portion of the film builds with genuine excitement to a reverse-[[twist ending]] that might have pleased Poe himself...a physically stylish, imaginatively photographed horror film…”<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117794021.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |title=Pit and the Pendulum|accessdate=2007-01-08|first=|last=|publisher=Variety.com}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Herald-Examiner|Los Angeles Examiner]]'' said it was “…one of the best “scare” movies to come along in a long time…skillfully directed by Corman…with Vincent Price turning in the acting job of his career….”<ref name="McGee2">McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0137-0</ref> [[Brendan Gill]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' felt it was "a thoroughly creepy sequence of horrors..."<ref name="Gill">Gill, Brendan. Review from ''The New Yorker'' quoted in ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'', Citadel Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8065-1600-3</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' called the film “a literary hair-raiser that is cleverly, if self-consciously, Edgar Allan poetic.”<ref name="Naha">Naha, Ed. ''The Films of Roger Corman: Brilliance on a Budget'', Arco Publishing, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-668-05308-9</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' described it as "...a class suspense-horror film of the calibre of the excellent ones done by [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer]]...It is carefully made and has full production values...Vincent Price gives a characteristically [[rococo]] performance..."<ref name = "Williams"/> ''[[Time Out]]'' opined, "Corman at his intoxicating best, drawing a seductive mesh of sexual motifs from Poe's story through a fine Richard Matheson script."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/71147.html|title=Pit and the Pendulum|accessdate=2006-07-07|first=|last=|publisher=TimeOut.com}}</ref> |
|||
====Warren's trial==== |
|||
But Charles Stinson of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' was notably unimpressed by the film: “The uncredited [''sic''] scenario violates Poe’s gothic style with passages of flat, modernized dialogue…But the [[peccadillo]]es of the script pale beside the acting…Price mugs, rolls his eyes continuously and delivers his lines in such an unctuous tone that he comes near to [[burlesque|burlesquing]] the role. His mad scenes are just ludicrous. The audience almost died laughing.”<ref name="Stinson">Stinson, Charles. Review from the ''Los Angeles Times'' quoted in ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'', Citadel Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8065-1600-3</ref> Price was so infuriated by Stinson’s negative review that he wrote a letter to the critic, saying “I find I must break a 25 year determination never to answer a critic. Since your review of ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' was obviously not meant to be instructive, and therefore constructive, but only to hurt and humiliate, I’m sure you would enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that it did. My only consolation…is that it is the second greatest box office attraction in the country.” Price apparently never sent the letter, placing it instead into his “Letting Off Steam File”.<ref name = "Williams"/> |
|||
[[Image:Clare Justin.jpg|thumb|Clare confronts Justin]]At the beginning of the Warren's trial, Clare received visits from people trying to persuade her to change her statement. First, Katy turned up with Justin, but Clare just gave her a few home truths about Warren and his way of life, and laughed off any pleas Katy made. Later that day, Justin returned and asked Clare to leave Katy out of her feud with Warren, but Clare retaliated by playing on Justin's fear of Warren. The next day, Katy told Clare that Justin had agreed to be a character witness for Warren's defence. Once again Clare played on Justin's fears and told him that if Warren got out it wouldn't be long before they would be pulling Justin's body from a river. When Justin said that if he didn't do it he risked losing Katy, Clare came up with a plan for Justin to keep Katy while still sending Warren down. Later Justin received a phone call and made out to Katy that it was serious; unknown to Katy it was Clare on the other end of the phone telling Justin what to say. Justin then told Katy that his mum had been in an accident and he had to go to her so he couldn't be a witness. On his way to the bus stop he told Katy that everything was going to be okay, before looking up to see Clare standing on the balcony waving at him and laughing. |
|||
As the trial started Clare arrived on crutches and was called to the stand. She was given a hard time by Warren's barrister who made out that Clare was just doing this to get back at Warren for ending their affair and ruining her marriage. Clare gave as good as she got but was clearly rattled by the prosecution's attack on her story. Next called was [[Carmel McQueen]] who gave everyone a laugh and made Clare very confident about the overall verdict. As the first day continued Calvin was last to be called and he gave Clare the hope she needed by saying that he saw Warren going towards the Loft. As the first day ended Clare felt extremely confident. |
|||
The film’s critical reputation has continued to grow over the years and it is now generally held to be one of the best entries in Corman's Poe series. In ''[[The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural]]'', Timothy Sullivan wrote, “''The Pit and the Pendulum'' is even better than its predecessor…The plot is heady stuff, and Roger Corman drives it forward with wonderful [[matte painting|matte shots]] of the castle perched on the seaside cliff, odd camera angles, the thickest cobwebs in horror movie history, a spider in the face, and an iron maiden…all before our hero is strapped under the pendulum, in a sequence that still stands one’s hair on end.”<ref name="Sullivan">Sullivan, Timothy. ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'', edited by [[Jack Sullivan (literary scholar)|Jack Sullivan]], Viking Penguin Inc., 1986. ISBN 0-670-80902-0 (Reprinted by Random House Value Publishing, 1989, ISBN 0-517-61852-4) </ref> [[Phil Hardy (journalist)|Phil Hardy]]’s ''[[The Aurum Film Encyclopedia]]: Horror'' observed, “If Price’s performance is noticeably more extravagant than in the earlier film, this is offset (or matched) by the markedly greater fluidity of camera movement. ''House of Usher'' seemed unsure of how to cope with the rush of action as Madeline returned from the grave; ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' has no such hesitations. From the great sequence in which Steele lures Price down into the crypt to the finale…its action is terrific.”<ref name="Hardy">Hardy, Phil (editor). ''The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror'', Aurum Press, 1984. Reprinted as ''The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror'', Overlook Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87951-518-X</ref> [[Tim Lucas]], in reviewing the film’s [[DVD]] release in 2001, wrote, “Benefitting from the boxoffice success of ''House of Usher'', ''Pit'' is a more elaborate production and features some of the definitive moments of the AIP Corman/Poe series.”<ref name = "Lucas"/> And [[Glenn Erickson]], reviewing the DVD on his “DVD Savant” website, noted, “Roger Corman's second Edgar Allan Poe adaptation is a big improvement on his first, ''House of Usher''… Remembered as a first-rate chiller by every kid who saw it, ''Pit and the Pendulum'' upped the ante for frantic action and potential grue…”<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s270pit.html |title=''Pit and the Pendulum'' DVD Review|accessdate=2007-01-02|first=Glenn|last=Erickson|publisher=DVD Savant}}</ref> |
|||
On the next day of the trial, Max saw Clare walking perfectly fine up the stairs to the Loft and realized that she was faking her injuries. As the hearing started Warren gave his evidence and got a grilling from Clare's barrister who made out Warren wanted to get the Loft no matter what it took. Louise was next called, but her evidence was made out to be just to get back at Clare, and because she relied on Warren for her business. Just as it looked as though there was no hope for Warren, [[Mercedes Owen]] arrived as a late witness and gave Warren the alibi he'd been after for weeks, telling the whole court that she'd been in bed with Warren at the time of the attack, so it couldn't have been him who pushed Clare from the balcony. |
|||
Recent critical opinion of the film is not all positive. Of the 12 reviews included in a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] survey of critics regarding the title, 25% reflect negative reactions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016369-pit_and_the_pendulum/?critic=columns |title=''The Pit and the Pendulum'' (1961)|accessdate=2007-01-08|first=|last=|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref> FilmCritic.com opines that the film "...is quite a disappointment...In the end, it feels like one of [Corman's] rush jobs, which of course, it was."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/b7ce090e0846cabe88256a5a007a3fa7?OpenDocument |title=''The Pit and the Pendulum''|accessdate=2007-01-08|first=Christopher|last=Null|publisher=FilmCritic.com}}</ref> |
|||
As everyone waited for the jury's verdict, Clare took the opportunity to wind Louise up and made a spiteful remark about the abortion, causing Louise to go for Clare knocking a cup of coffee over her. The time then came for the verdict to be announced and thanks to Mercedes it was 'not guilty', making Clare storm out of the courtroom. Later, Warren made sly remarks at Clare who went to hit Warren and walked away with Warren and Louise laughing at her. |
|||
==Influence== |
|||
The critical and popular success of ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' persuaded AIP's Arkoff and Nicholson to produce more Edgar Allan Poe-based horror films on a regular basis.<ref name="Corman">Corman, Roger. Interviewed by David Del Valle in ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #24 (August 1994), pgs. 32 - 47, "Ms. Found on a Cassette: Roger Corman on his AIP Poe Films"</ref> The films that followed, all directed by Corman, were ''The Premature Burial'' (1962), ''[[Tales of Terror (1962 film)|Tales of Terror]]'' (1962), ''[[The Raven (1963 film)|The Raven]]'' (1963), ''[[The Haunted Palace]]'' (1963, actually based on a story by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]), ''[[The Masque of the Red Death (film)|The Masque of the Red Death]]'' (1964), and'' [[The Tomb of Ligeia]]'' (1965).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=85920&mod=films |title=Roger Corman filmography|accessdate=2007-03-11|first=|last=|publisher=New York Times.com}}</ref> |
|||
After Warren was released he bumped into Clare outside Drive'n'Buy and made remarks about his release. Clare walked off towards the Loft and Warren followed saying he had to pick some things up. Clare told him it wasn't convenient but Warren went into the club. While there he told Clare that she never saw who pushed her but she stuck to her guns and said that she saw him. He reminded her that the jury didn't agree and took money out of the till. Before leaving he told Clare that she should watch her back because if someone hated her enough to kill her, they could try again. He told her to keep looking over her shoulder, leaving a shaken Clare behind. |
|||
Tim Lucas has argued that the film had a large impact on many [[Cinema of Italy|Italian]] horror films that followed. Lucas noted, "It takes Corman's [[Freudian]] theories even further with a nightmarish flashblack sequence that plants the seeds of Nicholas' breakdown, and would prove particularly influential on the future course of Italian horror — an influence that can be seen even in productions of the 1970s (''[[Deep Red]]'') and 1980s (''A Blade in the Dark'')."<ref name="Lucas">Lucas, Tim. ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' Magazine, issue #74, pg. 55. Review of ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' DVD </ref> Writer K. Lindbergs has noted an "obvious influence" on [[Antonio Margheriti]]'s ''[[Danza macabra|Castle of Blood]]'' (1964) and its [[remake]], ''Web of the Spider'' (1970).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/2006/05/06/|title=The Ghosts of Antonio Margheriti|accessdate=2007-01-08|first=K|last=Lindbergs|publisher=Cinebeats}}</ref> |
|||
Screenwriter [[Ernesto Gastaldi]] acknowledged that Ugo Guerra and Elio Scardamaglia, the producers of [[Mario Bava]]'s ''[[The Whip and the Body]]'' (1963), had "shown me an Italian print of ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' before I started writing it: 'Give us something like this', they said." When asked if another of his films, ''The Long Hair of Death'' (1964), was inspired by Corman's film, Gastaldi replied: "Yes, of course! ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' had a big influence on Italian horror films. Everybody borrowed from it."<ref name="Gastaldi">Gastaldi, Ernesto. Interviewed by Tim Lucas in ''Video Watchdog'' Magazine, issue #39, pgs. 28 - 53, "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood in the Scripts of Ernesto Gastaldi?"</ref> |
|||
Warren kept pressurising Clare to sell the Loft to him and Louise. Clare tried to force a wedge between Louise and Warren, saying Warren was only using her. Later in the Loft, Clare heard a noise and went to the balcony to investigate when Warren crept up behind her and grabbed her, telling her to stay away from Louise and demanding she sell to him. This left Clare visibly shaken and scared. |
|||
[[Stephen King]] felt that one of the film's most powerful shocks — the discovery of Elizabeth's hideously decayed corpse — had a major impact on the genre and served as one of the most significant horror sequences of the decade. King wrote, "Following the Hammer films, this becomes, I think, the most important moment in the post-1960 horror film, signaling a return to an all-out effort to terrify the audience...and a willingness to use any means at hand to do it."<ref name="King">King, Stephen. ''[[Danse Macabre (book)|Danse Macabre]]'', [[Berkley Books]], 1981. ISBN 978-0-42-518160-7.</ref> |
|||
Clare had finally had enough of Warren's bullying. When her and Max's divorce papers came through, she went to see him, offering to sell the Loft to him. Max refused claiming it was rightfully his. Later, the two had a frank talk. Max called her on her lies and her deceit and Clare admitted that her father hadn't really abused her and asked Max to leave with her. After signing the divorce papers, he agreed to escort Clare to the Loft when she signed it over to Warren. Clare was angry when Warren's offer was half of what the Loft was worth, but Max convinced her to sign. When she had, Max joined Warren in gloating at her fall and told her that he would never forgive her for what she did to him, Tom and OB. |
|||
==Padded television version== |
|||
In 1968, when the film was sold to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]] for television airings, the network noted that the film was too short to fill the desired two-hour time slot. They requested that AIP [[filler|pad]] the film out. Approximately five minutes of additional footage were subsequently shot by Corman’s [[production assistant]] [[Tamara Asseyev]].<ref name = "Williams"/> |
|||
====The truth revealed==== |
|||
Of the original cast members, only Luana Anders was available at the time, and the new sequence featured her character, Catherine Medina, confined to a [[Psychiatric hospital|lunatic asylum]]. After much screaming and hair pulling, Catherine reveals the details of her horrific story to her fellow inmates, at which point the film itself follows as a flashback.<ref name="Williams">Williams, Lucy Chase. ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'', Citadel Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8065-1600-3</ref> This shot-for-television footage has been made available as an extra on the [[MGM]] Midnite Movies DVD release of the film, but was erroneously advertised as being the "Original theatrical prologue".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055304/dvd |title= DVD details for Pit and the Pendulum|accessdate=2006-12-28|first=|last=|publisher=Internet Movie Database}}</ref> |
|||
Clare kept having flashbacks to the night she was pushed and imagined all the suspects pushing her from the balcony. She recalled Max saying "she's been on to Social Services, they've taken Tom away...''I'll kill you!''", then Calvin saying "Louise was everything to me and you destroyed it" then OB saying "this is for Tom and Max and anyone else whose lives you've ruined!" then Louise saying "I lost Calvin and my baby because of you" and finally Warren saying "setting me up was the biggest mistake you ever made". Clare then went to finalise handing the Loft over to Warren and discovered Warren, Louise, Max, OB, Katy and Justin there. Clare insulted all of them calling OB a leech and Max spineless (with Louise and Warren then rebuking Clare for her comments about Max and OB, and stating "it's called friendship Clare - a concept you obviously know nothing about"), comparing Louise to Barbie and saying that she would eventually realise that everything that came out of Warren's mouth was lies. When Justin asked if it was his turn, Clare said that he had just let himself down by becoming a mini-Warren. When Justin said it was better than being a mini-Clare, she said that he had turned out to be just as useless as his sisters. Justin went to follow her but Max held him back. As Clare walked to her taxi, she saw Calvin who was leaving his house, then Max and OB, then Louise who raised a glass of champagne to her, then Warren and Katy. As she was about to get in the cab Justin stopped her and revealed his anger that she had survived the fall while both his sisters were dead. When Justin used some of the words that Clare had used about the twins on the night she was pushed, Clare realised that Justin was also at the Loft that night. A flashback showed Justin finding Warren's keys in the flat, then hiding in the toilets while Clare taunted OB about Mel and Sophie, finishing with "liar liar, the lush is on fire". Another flashback showed Justin pushing Clare over the balcony as he told her "it was me", adding that he should have made sure she was dead. Initially shocked by Justin's confession, Clare got into her cab and began plotting her revenge. |
|||
{{clear}} |
|||
===Revenge on Justin Burton=== |
|||
==References== |
|||
After Clare had supposedly left, Warren decided to have a party and Katy went back to the flat to change her clothes, to find somebody waiting for her. After Katy didn't return to the party, Warren and Justin returned to the flat to find it trashed. Immediately realising it must have been Clare, Warren and Justin joined forces with Max and set out to find her. |
|||
{{reflist|2}} |
|||
Max took them both to Clare's flat where a fake dummy that looked like Katy was tied up and gagged to a chair. As soon as Warren broke down the door fake blood fell on the fake dummy of Katy and the words "what's dumped at the docks?" were written on the flat door. Warren, Max and Justin then headed out to the docklands where they saw a dummy hand saying "what would you give?" This pushed Warren over the edge and Max began piecing together the clues. After Max solved Clare's riddles, Warren got a call from Katy on his mobile. Clare then took the phone and told Warren that it was Justin that pushed her, and that he must kill Justin to see Katy alive again. |
|||
==External links== |
|||
*{{imdb title|id=0055304 |title=The Pit and the Pendulum}} |
|||
*[http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:38241~T1 All Movie Guide: ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' entry] |
|||
*[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Pit+and+the+Pendulum+(1961) ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' at MRQE] |
|||
*[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016369-pit_and_the_pendulum/?critic=columns ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' at Rotten Tomatoes] |
|||
Viewers then discovered that Clare was holding Katy hostage in a cargo carrier. Katy was tied up and gagged and Clare was tormenting her by force drinking her and repeatedly telling her that Justin pushed Clare. Clare then untied Katy's legs and bundled Katy in her car and set off to meet Max, Warren and Justin at the docks. Clare turned up in her bright red sports car, with Katy in tow. Warren and Max brought out a body bag claiming that Justin was dead. Warren kicked the 'body' a few times to prove it, but Clare said she wanted Max to do it, knowing how kind-hearted her husband was. When Max couldn't bring himself to hurt Justin, Justin got up and they all started running towards Clare who managed to drive away, running Justin's hip over in the process. |
|||
{{featured article}} |
|||
Warren and Max pursued Clare in Warren's car and a dramatic and dangerous high speed car-chase ensued, eventually two cyclists came out in front of Clare causing her to lose control of her car and plummeting herself and Katy 55 feet into a quarry. |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pit and the Pendulum, The}} |
|||
[[Category:1960s horror films]] |
|||
[[Category:1961 films]] |
|||
[[Category:American films]] |
|||
[[Category:American International Pictures films]] |
|||
[[Category:English-language films]] |
|||
[[Category:Films based on short fiction]] |
|||
[[Category:Films directed by Roger Corman]] |
|||
[[Category:Films based on Edgar Allan Poe works]] |
|||
[[Category:B movies]] |
|||
Warren immediately jumped in after them, screaming for Katy. Justin followed and they both managed to get Katy out of the water. For his part, Max also jumped in and tried to help Clare, but she had already toppled below out of his reach, and Max could not save her. Max then watched her sink further and further into the water, until she eventually disappeared. Whilst Warren and Justin were trying to comfort Katy, Max stood and watched the quarry. Clare's red coat came to the surface but there was no sign of Clare. Clare was presumed dead and this was playing on Max's conscience for days, until he finally confided in [[Steph Dean]] who assured him that Clare's death was not his fault and that she was evil and dangerous anyway. Max then tried to persuade Katy to forgive Justin for pushing Clare, saying "Clare wasn't like a normal person. She thrived on hurting people." |
|||
[[fr:La Chambre des tortures (film, 1961)]] |
|||
[[it:Il pozzo e il pendolo (film 1961)]] |
|||
===Exit=== |
|||
[[pt:The Pit and the Pendulum]] |
|||
[[Image:Claresalive.jpg|thumb|Clare's alive]]Two days after her presumed death, it was revealed that Clare had survived her near death experience in the quarry. She was seen in an airport waiting first class. She sat with her new wealthy looking victim named Miles, and started talking seductively to him. When he asked her if she was travelling first class, she smiled and replied ''always''. She then introduced herself as Clare Devine and stared at the camera for a brief moment with an evil smirk on her face. Her destination was not revealed. |
|||
[[ru:Колодец и маятник (фильм, 1961)]] |
|||
===Possible Return?=== |
|||
Since early 2008, speculation has been mounting that Clare may return to Hollyoaks in 2009 to seek revenge on Warren, Louise and Justin. In an interview with DigitalSpy, [[Gemma Bissix]] said she would definitely go back to Hollyoaks if asked. [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a112553/gemma-bissix-clare-bates-eastenders.html]. |
|||
{{Hollyoaks}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Clare}} |
|||
[[Category:Hollyoaks characters]] |
|||
[[Category:Fictional businesspeople]] |
|||
[[Category:Fictional socialites]] |
|||
Revision as of 16:47, 10 October 2008
| Clare Devine | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollyoaks character | |||||||
| File:Clare Justin.jpg | |||||||
| First appearance | December 2005 | ||||||
| Last appearance | September 2007 | ||||||
| |||||||
Clare Devine (previously Cunningham) was a fictional character on the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks.
She was first seen on the series in 2005, played by Samantha Rowley. In 2006 Gemma Bissix took over the role, remaining there until Clare's exit in 2007.
Character history
Arrival in Hollyoaks
Clare Devine first appeared in August 2005 when Max Cunningham and Sam "O.B." O'Brien hired her as an Events Supervisor at the Loft. With her friendly face and likeable and vibrant personality, Clare quickly settled in to life in the village and became popular with the other residents. Both OB and Max immediately fell for her, but after weeks of playing both admirers off against each other, she eventually chose Max when she kissed him and OB both just as New Year broke. Initially Max and Clare's relationship went well, and Max soon asked Clare to move in with him. At first Max and Clare tried to keep their relationship a secret from OB, but after they moved in together, OB discovered, but did not object initially and accepted the relationship in order to keep the peace with Max.
Clare soon became friends with Mandy Hutchinson and Louise Summers, and participated in a time-share scam set up by Louise's ex-husband Sean Kennedy while on a holiday with the other two ladies in the late night special Hollyoaks: Back From The Dead in January 2006. Sean was smitten by Clare, and began flirting with her repeatedly, although at first she rebuffed all of his advances and chose to stay loyal to Max. After the scam came to an end, Sean followed Clare, Louise and Mandy back to Hollyoaks.
Clare's dark side
A disturbing side of her character was revealed in February 2006 when her boyfriend Max took his brother Tom Cunningham on holiday. (At this point the character was recast with Gemma Bissix.) Although she had rebuffed his advances a month earlier while on holiday with Louise and Mandy, Clare had by now discovered that Sean Kennedy was wealthy and ambitious, and she seduced him in the nightclub's office. OB's on-off girlfriend Mel Burton caught Clare and Sean together, but Clare used Mel's alcoholism against her when she attempted to expose the sexual encounter. She convinced Max that Mel was lying, causing friction between Max and OB.
Clare schemed to get rid of OB and acted the perfect, loyal girlfriend to an unsuspecting Max, who eventually proposed to her. After Tom overheard a conversation between Sean and Clare about the night they slept together, she tried to turn Max against Tom by drawing on the walls and blaming Tom and pouring water in his bed and claiming that he wet it so that if Tom told Max about Clare and Sean Max wouldn't believe him. Clare repeatedly persuaded Max to provide money for alterations to the Loft, but she kept the bulk of the money for herself.
The wedding
A week before Clare and Max's wedding, OB and Max decided to make a fresh start and forget the past much to Clare's horror. Clare was even more shocked when Max asked OB to be best man and decided to do something about it. On Max's stag night OB discovered that Clare was planning on leaving Max with all his money and when he threatened to tell Max Clare quickly planted some ecstasy drugs in OB's pocket and when OB went to the SU bar Clare lied to the bouncer that he was drug dealing and got him arrested. After spending the night in a police cell OB was released and just as Max and Clare was about to get married he interrupted it and told everyone to stop the wedding. OB told Max about Clare trying to flee with his money and when he showed Max Clare's plane ticket Max began to wonder if Clare really loved him. But Clare was ready for this incident and pulled two plane tickets from her wedding dress for a honeymoon and said the travel agents had got her flights mixed up with someone else's but then gave her the right plane tickets. Max then punched OB and OB failed in proving Clare to be a liar. Max and Clare got married and OB and Max were not friends any more.
When Max told Clare that he wanted a baby, she manipulated him. Knowing that his stepsister Mandy had been raped by her father, Clare claimed that she too had been abused by her father leaving her infertile. She told Max that she needed to see a doctor in London, and Max insisted that he should come with Clare but couldn't when Clare drugged Tom's food making him sick. Clare was really inquiring about emigrating to New Zealand. On her return she requested £50,000 from Max for an operation, with the intention of fleeing to start a new life. Clare was angry when Max said no because they didn't have the money.
Mel and Sophie's deaths
OB and Mel were still determined to prove to Max that Clare was unfaithful to him and obtained CCTV footage of Clare sleeping with Warren Fox. OB invited Clare to meet him, Mel and Mel's twin Sophie in the Dog where they told her that they now had evidence to show Max. As she left the pub Clare saw Sam Owen entering with a lighter and petrol, but did not raise the alarm. She returned to the flat and was packing to leave before Max discovered the truth when he came home and told her that Sam had set fire to the Dog. Mel and Sophie both died and OB was hospitalised. Clare visited him in hospital and taunted him about Mel's death and threatened to smother him with a pillow. She found the DVD of her and Warren's encounter among OB's belongings and broke it.
Plot to kill Max
When Max caught Warren and Clare snorting cocaine while working at the Loft, he was disgusted, but Clare convinced him that it was because of her father abusing her. Max ended up taking cocaine to impress her. This resulted in a heart attack for which he needed to take medication. Clare at first seemed genuinely upset about Max's near death until she found out that he had taken out a life insurance policy of £500,000 for her and Tom, after this Clare decided she was going to kill Max, steal the £500,000 and leave Tom with nothing. After Max was released from hospital Clare kept him upstairs in the bedroom and drove visitors away, saying he needed rest. Unbeknown to Max, Clare was tampering with his medication and trying to kill him. When Max tried to leave the flat, looking for a Christmas present for Tom, OB found him and was shocked at his deathly appearance. After arguing with OB, Clare decided to take Max and Tom for a Christmas that Max would "never forget". They went to a deserted house near a lake in the most secluded and quiet part of Cumbria where Max felt more and more ill and finally became suspicious of Clare. Whilst Clare was showing Tom around the woods near the cottage Max decided to examine his medication he discovered that the pills had been tampered with by Clare as all the capsules were empty. Max planned to escape with Tom but Clare discovered one of the capsules on the floor and realised that Max knew that she had tampered with his medicine. She confronted Max and accused him of playing with his medication himself. Max became more and more confused and disorientated and finally collapsed. Clare however had no idea that OB had discovered Clare's evil plot to kill Max and was in his car driving to the secluded cottage Clare and Max were staying in and trying to save Max. Clare then told Tom that they needed to get a doctor for Max. When Max came around Clare came running in screaming that Tom had fallen in the lake. Max dived in the lake in an attempt to save Tom but could only find his jacket. Max then saw Tom locked in the car and realised Clare had locked Tom in the car whilst Clare happily watched Max die to get the £500,000. Clare simply stood and watched whilst Max was struggling in the water. Clare then smirked at Max saying sarcastically "my mistake". As Max was drowning OB arrived, punched Clare and rescued Max, much to Clare's annoyance. She was then taken to the police station and was questioned but, due to a lack of substantial evidence, she was released without charge. After this incident OB and Max became friends again.
Clare's return
After a month's absence from Hollyoaks, Clare returned to the village in January 2007. She marked her return by picking Tom up at his school without letting anyone know. Max and OB were frantic with worry, and when Max returned to his flat, he found Clare with a terrified Tom. Clare then made it clear that she planned to ruin Max's life. When Max told Clare that his dad would have seen right through Clare, Clare said "it's a good job he snuffed it then". Max then tried to strangle Clare before fleeing the flat with Tom. When Max returned, he found that Clare had changed the locks and planned on selling both the flat and The Loft, and keep the proceeds. Max pleaded with her through the door that he needed his heart medication, and she agreed to give it to him on the condition that he entered alone. Keeping the door on the security chain Clare opened the door; OB arrived and tried to ram the door open. Clare was hit in the head and fell back onto the floor. Bloodied and enraged, she vowed to make Max pay. She proceeded to hit herself in the face repeatedly, then called the police to report a domestic assault, meanwhile Max was still shouting to be let inside the flat.
Max, OB and Tony then arrived to physically throw her out of the flat, and as they were tossing her out onto the street in her bathrobe, to Clare's delight, the police arrived. Max was arrested for assault, and spent the night in the cell. Although the police dropped the charges as Tony and OB's statements that Max had not assaulted Clare meant there was no evidence to charge Max, the latter had seen enough and, despite the objections of Tony and OB, he handed the deeds to The Loft over to his wife, although he reclaimed the flat from Clare.
Feud with Warren
In Clare's absence Warren had taken control of the Loft while Max continued to receive the profits. Now that Clare owned the Loft she did not want Warren interfering and they became bitter rivals as they fought over the running of the business. Warren had befriended teenager Justin Burton and given him a job at the Loft and a place to stay. Clare managed to seduce Justin in an attempt to get him on side despite Clare having been indirectly involved in Justin's sisters' deaths. However after they had slept together Justin told Clare that he knew she was just using him and that he was still loyal to Warren. Clare continued to stir trouble by informing Warren that Justin was having a relationship with Warren's sister Katy. Warren attacked Justin and was arrested. Just as he was about to be released, Clare had Warren re-arrested for Sean's murder after getting information from Justin.
Who pushed Clare?
On the 22nd June 2007, Clare was pushed off a balcony at The Loft and left for dead, an action that put her in a coma. A number of events occurred in the week leading up to this incident. First Clare persuaded her friend Louise Summers to have an abortion as she didn't know whether her boyfriend Calvin Valentine or Warren was the father. Clare promised she would not tell anyone but then purposely told Calvin all about Louise sleeping with Warren and the abortion leaving Calvin shocked and angry. When Louise returned home from a holiday Calvin threw her out in the street. The following day Louise punched Clare and the girls had a huge cat fight after Clare told Louise that she had slept with her husband Sean. Meanwhile Warren was arrested for killing Sean because Clare set him up; when Warren was released due to insufficient evidence, he publicly warned Clare to watch her back.
Clare also pursued Max so that he should pay compensation for a disco ball falling on Mercedes Owen. Clare went to Max for money, originally asking for £10,000, later dropping this to £5,000. Clare's request was denied both times by Max. As revenge, Clare phoned Social Services, and gave them her false suspicions about Tom getting physically abused by Max and O.B. Clare then talked to Tom, telling him that Tom himself was the reason for baby Grace's death, and his parents' deaths. Tom didn't believe her at first, but then Clare said that everybody dies because of Tom's germs, and that if he stayed with Max, Max would die too. Tom got frightened, and refused to go near Max, getting increasingly scared of him, much to Clare's delight. When Social Services paid Max a visit they found Tom trying to run out of the front door, crying and screaming "get me out of here". Social Services then took Tom away and Max ran into the Loft and publicly threatened to kill Clare. Warren then intervened and persuaded Max to leave the Loft, and was heard by numerous bystanders as saying "don't worry about Clare, leave her to me" to Max as he left. Warren then told Justin that he was going to kill Clare.
On the night she was pushed, OB confronted Clare in the Loft toilets and tried to persuade her to tell Social Services that she had lied about Tom. Clare said that she knew that the real reason OB hated her was because of Mel. She referred to Mel and Sophie as "the ugly sisters" and said that their deaths were "two for the price of one". She continued to taunt OB about Mel, saying "liar liar, the lush is on fire". OB then grabbed Clare and pinned her up against the wall saying "this is for Tom and Max, and Mel and Sophie, and anyone else whose lives you've ruined!" He let her go when they were interrupted. Clare then went to meet Warren on the Loft balcony where she was pushed by a mystery attacker, plunged over the railings and was left for dead. Jacqui, Carmel and Tina then found Clare and a mobile phone near Clare's body rang, and, on hearing Leo's voice at the other end, Jacqui realized that the phone belonged to Calvin.
After the attack on Clare each suspect was seen doing something suspicious. Calvin was walking up the stairs that led to his house, rubbing his hands against his face and looking worried; Louise was entering Evissa, where she was sick - but where had Louise just been? Max was washing his hands which were covered in blood; and OB was running down a street looking very anxious and shocked at himself; Warren, who had been sleeping with Mercedes, was leaving his flat with a mobile phone in his hand. As he did so, he said "I'll be back in a minute, there's something I just need to take care of..." to Mercedes.
Minutes after Clare was pushed, events took another sinister turn when Justin was knocked over by a Transit van in an apparent hit and run as he went to meet Katy, leading witnesses to believe that the driver of the van had not stopped to help Justin because they were trying to vacate the scene of the crime.
Viewers were then left to wonder who had pushed Clare - Max, OB, Louise, Calvin or Warren?
The suspects
It quickly became apparent that Max was not involved in the attack on Clare, as Tony and Dom had tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade him to leave his flat around the time of the incident after Max had locked himself in - both had seen him watching videos of Tom through the glass on the front door; Dom's wife Tina also saw Max leaving the Loft and heading towards his flat before Clare was pushed. OB later confirmed that when he called at the flat shortly after the incident, Max was still there; therefore, the police released Max without charge. The reason that he had been shown washing blood off his hands was that he had smashed a glass bottle in annoyance after returning home from The Loft and cut his hand.
While Clare was still comatose, OB visited her and threatened to put a pillow over her head, as she had threatened to do to him when he was in hospital.
As Warren had also publicly threatened to kill Clare that night, it was he who became the prime suspect for her attempted murder. The day after Clare was pushed, Warren admitted that he was driving the van that hit Justin shortly after the incident, although he vehemently denied any involvement in the attack on Clare. When Clare finally awoke from her coma, she accused Warren of pushing her and claimed she had seen him do so. The police believed that Warren had tried to drive away from the scene of the crime and had ran Justin over in an attempt to divert attention from the fact that he had pushed Clare minutes before.
Louise visited Warren in prison and told him that she herself may have pushed Clare. Louise was drunk the night Clare was pushed and about 20 minutes before Clare was pushed, Louise visited the Valentine house to win Calvin back only to discover Calvin himself was not there. (Before Louise had arrived Calvin had stormed out of the house in an angry rage telling his Dad he was about to get revenge on Clare). Leo Valentine (Calvin's Dad) was in though and Louise left after she discovered Calvin was out just before she left, Louise told Leo that she was going to kill Clare.
After Clare returned home, Max tricked the nurse supervising her into letting him in. He threatened to poison Clare's food with his heart medication and also manipulated her condition in order to blackmail her into telling Social Services the truth about Tom. Already fearing for her life after having been pushed from the balcony, and also knowing that Max had already been eliminated from the list of suspects, Clare realized that she had no choice but to give into Max's demands. Clare contacted Social Services and admitted that she had lied about Max and OB abusing Tom, and Tom was released back into Max's guardianship.
Warren's trial
At the beginning of the Warren's trial, Clare received visits from people trying to persuade her to change her statement. First, Katy turned up with Justin, but Clare just gave her a few home truths about Warren and his way of life, and laughed off any pleas Katy made. Later that day, Justin returned and asked Clare to leave Katy out of her feud with Warren, but Clare retaliated by playing on Justin's fear of Warren. The next day, Katy told Clare that Justin had agreed to be a character witness for Warren's defence. Once again Clare played on Justin's fears and told him that if Warren got out it wouldn't be long before they would be pulling Justin's body from a river. When Justin said that if he didn't do it he risked losing Katy, Clare came up with a plan for Justin to keep Katy while still sending Warren down. Later Justin received a phone call and made out to Katy that it was serious; unknown to Katy it was Clare on the other end of the phone telling Justin what to say. Justin then told Katy that his mum had been in an accident and he had to go to her so he couldn't be a witness. On his way to the bus stop he told Katy that everything was going to be okay, before looking up to see Clare standing on the balcony waving at him and laughing.
As the trial started Clare arrived on crutches and was called to the stand. She was given a hard time by Warren's barrister who made out that Clare was just doing this to get back at Warren for ending their affair and ruining her marriage. Clare gave as good as she got but was clearly rattled by the prosecution's attack on her story. Next called was Carmel McQueen who gave everyone a laugh and made Clare very confident about the overall verdict. As the first day continued Calvin was last to be called and he gave Clare the hope she needed by saying that he saw Warren going towards the Loft. As the first day ended Clare felt extremely confident.
On the next day of the trial, Max saw Clare walking perfectly fine up the stairs to the Loft and realized that she was faking her injuries. As the hearing started Warren gave his evidence and got a grilling from Clare's barrister who made out Warren wanted to get the Loft no matter what it took. Louise was next called, but her evidence was made out to be just to get back at Clare, and because she relied on Warren for her business. Just as it looked as though there was no hope for Warren, Mercedes Owen arrived as a late witness and gave Warren the alibi he'd been after for weeks, telling the whole court that she'd been in bed with Warren at the time of the attack, so it couldn't have been him who pushed Clare from the balcony.
As everyone waited for the jury's verdict, Clare took the opportunity to wind Louise up and made a spiteful remark about the abortion, causing Louise to go for Clare knocking a cup of coffee over her. The time then came for the verdict to be announced and thanks to Mercedes it was 'not guilty', making Clare storm out of the courtroom. Later, Warren made sly remarks at Clare who went to hit Warren and walked away with Warren and Louise laughing at her.
After Warren was released he bumped into Clare outside Drive'n'Buy and made remarks about his release. Clare walked off towards the Loft and Warren followed saying he had to pick some things up. Clare told him it wasn't convenient but Warren went into the club. While there he told Clare that she never saw who pushed her but she stuck to her guns and said that she saw him. He reminded her that the jury didn't agree and took money out of the till. Before leaving he told Clare that she should watch her back because if someone hated her enough to kill her, they could try again. He told her to keep looking over her shoulder, leaving a shaken Clare behind.
Warren kept pressurising Clare to sell the Loft to him and Louise. Clare tried to force a wedge between Louise and Warren, saying Warren was only using her. Later in the Loft, Clare heard a noise and went to the balcony to investigate when Warren crept up behind her and grabbed her, telling her to stay away from Louise and demanding she sell to him. This left Clare visibly shaken and scared.
Clare had finally had enough of Warren's bullying. When her and Max's divorce papers came through, she went to see him, offering to sell the Loft to him. Max refused claiming it was rightfully his. Later, the two had a frank talk. Max called her on her lies and her deceit and Clare admitted that her father hadn't really abused her and asked Max to leave with her. After signing the divorce papers, he agreed to escort Clare to the Loft when she signed it over to Warren. Clare was angry when Warren's offer was half of what the Loft was worth, but Max convinced her to sign. When she had, Max joined Warren in gloating at her fall and told her that he would never forgive her for what she did to him, Tom and OB.
The truth revealed
Clare kept having flashbacks to the night she was pushed and imagined all the suspects pushing her from the balcony. She recalled Max saying "she's been on to Social Services, they've taken Tom away...I'll kill you!", then Calvin saying "Louise was everything to me and you destroyed it" then OB saying "this is for Tom and Max and anyone else whose lives you've ruined!" then Louise saying "I lost Calvin and my baby because of you" and finally Warren saying "setting me up was the biggest mistake you ever made". Clare then went to finalise handing the Loft over to Warren and discovered Warren, Louise, Max, OB, Katy and Justin there. Clare insulted all of them calling OB a leech and Max spineless (with Louise and Warren then rebuking Clare for her comments about Max and OB, and stating "it's called friendship Clare - a concept you obviously know nothing about"), comparing Louise to Barbie and saying that she would eventually realise that everything that came out of Warren's mouth was lies. When Justin asked if it was his turn, Clare said that he had just let himself down by becoming a mini-Warren. When Justin said it was better than being a mini-Clare, she said that he had turned out to be just as useless as his sisters. Justin went to follow her but Max held him back. As Clare walked to her taxi, she saw Calvin who was leaving his house, then Max and OB, then Louise who raised a glass of champagne to her, then Warren and Katy. As she was about to get in the cab Justin stopped her and revealed his anger that she had survived the fall while both his sisters were dead. When Justin used some of the words that Clare had used about the twins on the night she was pushed, Clare realised that Justin was also at the Loft that night. A flashback showed Justin finding Warren's keys in the flat, then hiding in the toilets while Clare taunted OB about Mel and Sophie, finishing with "liar liar, the lush is on fire". Another flashback showed Justin pushing Clare over the balcony as he told her "it was me", adding that he should have made sure she was dead. Initially shocked by Justin's confession, Clare got into her cab and began plotting her revenge.
Revenge on Justin Burton
After Clare had supposedly left, Warren decided to have a party and Katy went back to the flat to change her clothes, to find somebody waiting for her. After Katy didn't return to the party, Warren and Justin returned to the flat to find it trashed. Immediately realising it must have been Clare, Warren and Justin joined forces with Max and set out to find her.
Max took them both to Clare's flat where a fake dummy that looked like Katy was tied up and gagged to a chair. As soon as Warren broke down the door fake blood fell on the fake dummy of Katy and the words "what's dumped at the docks?" were written on the flat door. Warren, Max and Justin then headed out to the docklands where they saw a dummy hand saying "what would you give?" This pushed Warren over the edge and Max began piecing together the clues. After Max solved Clare's riddles, Warren got a call from Katy on his mobile. Clare then took the phone and told Warren that it was Justin that pushed her, and that he must kill Justin to see Katy alive again.
Viewers then discovered that Clare was holding Katy hostage in a cargo carrier. Katy was tied up and gagged and Clare was tormenting her by force drinking her and repeatedly telling her that Justin pushed Clare. Clare then untied Katy's legs and bundled Katy in her car and set off to meet Max, Warren and Justin at the docks. Clare turned up in her bright red sports car, with Katy in tow. Warren and Max brought out a body bag claiming that Justin was dead. Warren kicked the 'body' a few times to prove it, but Clare said she wanted Max to do it, knowing how kind-hearted her husband was. When Max couldn't bring himself to hurt Justin, Justin got up and they all started running towards Clare who managed to drive away, running Justin's hip over in the process.
Warren and Max pursued Clare in Warren's car and a dramatic and dangerous high speed car-chase ensued, eventually two cyclists came out in front of Clare causing her to lose control of her car and plummeting herself and Katy 55 feet into a quarry.
Warren immediately jumped in after them, screaming for Katy. Justin followed and they both managed to get Katy out of the water. For his part, Max also jumped in and tried to help Clare, but she had already toppled below out of his reach, and Max could not save her. Max then watched her sink further and further into the water, until she eventually disappeared. Whilst Warren and Justin were trying to comfort Katy, Max stood and watched the quarry. Clare's red coat came to the surface but there was no sign of Clare. Clare was presumed dead and this was playing on Max's conscience for days, until he finally confided in Steph Dean who assured him that Clare's death was not his fault and that she was evil and dangerous anyway. Max then tried to persuade Katy to forgive Justin for pushing Clare, saying "Clare wasn't like a normal person. She thrived on hurting people."
Exit
Two days after her presumed death, it was revealed that Clare had survived her near death experience in the quarry. She was seen in an airport waiting first class. She sat with her new wealthy looking victim named Miles, and started talking seductively to him. When he asked her if she was travelling first class, she smiled and replied always. She then introduced herself as Clare Devine and stared at the camera for a brief moment with an evil smirk on her face. Her destination was not revealed.
Possible Return?
Since early 2008, speculation has been mounting that Clare may return to Hollyoaks in 2009 to seek revenge on Warren, Louise and Justin. In an interview with DigitalSpy, Gemma Bissix said she would definitely go back to Hollyoaks if asked. [2].