The lethal injection
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The lethal injection |
| Original title | The Anniversary |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1968 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roy Ward Baker |
| script |
Jimmy Sangster , Bill MacIlwraith |
| production | Jimmy Sangster |
| music | Philip Martell |
| camera | Harry Waxman |
| cut | Peter Wheaterly |
| occupation | |
| |
The lethal injection (Original title: The Anniversary ) is a black comedy by Roy Ward Baker from 1968. The film is based on the play The Anniversary by Bill MacIlwraith from 1966.
action
As every year, Henry, Terry and Tom, the sons of the widowed and one-eyed Mrs. Taggart, get together to celebrate their wedding anniversary. But this year everything is going differently than planned. Terry wants to emigrate to Canada with his wife Sheila and his five children . It was also Terry who shot his mother's eye out with an air rifle when she was a child. In addition, the youngest son Tom wants to introduce his mother to his pregnant friend Shirley. Finally, Henry's transgender tendencies are revealed after Shirley catches him trying on her underwear. Mrs. Taggart ultimately forges a plan by which she brings her offspring back to order.
background
Producer Jimmy Sangster cast several roles based on the original cast from the London theater (Sheila Hancock, Jack Hedley, James Cossins). Bette Davis, a world star, was hired for the main role .
The original director was Alvin Rakoff , but after a few days of shooting, Davis asked for a new director. Davis later said of her biographer, Charlotte Chandler, “I've starred in 67 films and I've never had to work for the camera. The camera has always worked for me. I can't work for the camera. The camera works for me. ”The rest of the cast hadn't had any problems with Rakoff, so Davis later fell ill with them. The scenes already shot under Rakoff had to be shot again. Davis also wanted to replace Sheila Hancock with Jill Bennett , but this was prevented.
The film was shot at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire .
Reviews
"A bitter black comedy that, carried by a great leading actress, offers quite intelligent entertainment, but suffers a little from the theatrical model."
“Screen diva Bette Davis (1908–1989) is literally bubbling over with malice in this adaptation of a stage play. [...] A great stage for Mrs. Davis' black humor. "
Web links
- Lethal injection in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Anniversary. In: collections-search.bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute , accessed October 9, 2017 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for the lethal injection . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2006 (PDF; test number: 107 730 V / DVD).
- ↑ Charlotte Chandler: Bette Davis. The personal biography . LangenMüller, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-7844-3137-6 , page 309.
- ^ Charles Higham: The Life of Bette Davis . Macmillan, New York 1981, ISBN 0-02-551500-4 , page 279.
- ↑ The lethal injection. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ [1] Film review of Die Poisonspritze in the TV feature film