The Spaniard's Curse

source: The Spaniard's Curse

Moviecut—The Spaniard's Curse

It started so well. The first third of the film set up what could have been a crime thriller with a spooky curse overshadowing events. My appetite was whet, but I was to be sadly let down. The pace slackened after the good start and, one by one, it became apparent that virtually all of the characters knew the murder victim and were connected to each other by various family relationships, work or friendship. In real life they would surely have had to declare conflict of interest, making this film highly implausible and far fetched - even in the context of being fictional entertainment. However, I must say that most of the acting was spot on despite the cast possibly suspecting they were making a turkey? Also in its favour are a few good atmospheric scenes and, a witty, humorous one involving a modernist artist. Its a shame the plot was so poor.

The film opens in a criminal court.A man is found guilty of murder.He protests his innocence.So we know he must be innocent as this is a British murder mystery.He pronounces the Spaniards curse which in the words of Private Fraser means " You're all doomed".However the curse isn't really perused by the film after two deaths.We then come to a pretty standard crime film where a pickpocket holds one of the main clues.However I have to say that I found the identity of the killer as one which must have occurred whilst burning the midnight oil try to get a conclusion that would fit in with the available personnel Speedwell was our phone exchange when there were letters rather than numbers

THE SPANIARD'S CURSE might sound like a horror movie but it turns out to be your usual routine court-based crime thriller, in which a man is sentenced to death only to call down an ancient curse on the men sentencing him. While a journalist begins to investigate the circumstances surrounding the initial crime, others begin to die, raising the question as to whether the curse is coming true. If this all sounds rather half-hearted, that's because it is. THE SPANIARD'S CURSE is routinely plotted and directed, never rising above a level of mildly watchable tedium. Certainly the film lacks the kind of suspense that you'd expect from the premise and the solution to the mystery, when it is finally revealed, is strictly predictable. Lee Patterson is rather bland as the leading man although you do get to see Michael Hordern as a judge.

This tepid and lacklustre British movie is largely forgotten and deservedly so.It wholly lacks merit. The story gets underway when a man ,wrongly condemned for murder and sentenced to death ,curses the judge ,jury and prosecuting counsel from the courtroom before being lead away .Soon afterwards the foreman of the jury dies in a road accident and the condemned man perishes of a heart attack before sentence can be carried out .The judge's daughter is not convinced of the man's guilt and delves into the case with the aid the brother of the murdered woman and her own brother ,a dissolute journalist . The performances -apart from Michael Horden as the judge -are lightweight and stodgy ,with the ultra genteel vocal tones of early fifties British cinema predominating .The monochrome photography is dull and the story frankly dull Poor and best left to gather dust except as an example of the kind of low budget "quota quickie" made in response to legislation requiring a certain percentage of movies shown in UK cinemas to be British made and that resulted in much dross -like this -getting made

'The Spaniard's Curse' is no masterpiece, its an easily forgotten 'thriller' with an unbelievable plot and no real pace but despite this i still love it. It is lovable in its stupidity without realisation much like my passion for Bollywood films with their over the top zoom-ins and backlit beauties with hair blowing in the wind. 'The Spandiard's Curse' presents an over-the-top London where all people either speak the Queen's English or Cockney Ryhming Slang, a world where a ancient curse can be used to murder people and a world where people can seriously wear a bathrobe with a cravat. There are also a few moments of genuine quality here, I like the scene where the murderer runs through how 'the murderer' would have done the crime - a stunning moment of good performance - stunning because for a brief moment you realize this guy can act and really should be doing something better. I also like the ending because it certainly is surprising and actually gives the film a kind of resonance it was otherwise lacking. Overall a great film that you really must see to understand its appeal.

source: The Spaniard's Curse

It started so well. The first third of the film set up what could have been a crime thriller with a spooky curse overshadowing events. My appetite was whet, but I was to be sadly let down. The pace slackened after the good start and, one by one, it became apparent that virtually all of the characters knew the murder victim and were connected to each other by various family relationships, work or friendship. In real life they would surely have had to declare conflict of interest, making this film highly implausible and far fetched - even in the context of being fictional entertainment. However, I must say that most of the acting was spot on despite the cast possibly suspecting they were making a turkey? Also in its favour are a few good atmospheric scenes and, a witty, humorous one involving a modernist artist. Its a shame the plot was so poor.

The film opens in a criminal court.A man is found guilty of murder.He protests his innocence.So we know he must be innocent as this is a British murder mystery.He pronounces the Spaniards curse which in the words of Private Fraser means " You're all doomed".However the curse isn't really perused by the film after two deaths.We then come to a pretty standard crime film where a pickpocket holds one of the main clues.However I have to say that I found the identity of the killer as one which must have occurred whilst burning the midnight oil try to get a conclusion that would fit in with the available personnel Speedwell was our phone exchange when there were letters rather than numbers