The Black Torment – 1964 | 90 mins | Horror | B&W

Plot Synopsis

A quietly compelling period chiller detailing an 18th century aristocrat’s investigations into a series of hauntings that follow the suicide of his first wife. The barnstorming period piece is directed with a brooding intensity that adds atmosphere by the talented, if erratic, Robert Hartford-Davis, and clearly inspired by Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ and the costume Hammer films. Nevertheless, it has a surprisingly literate script and still delivers some mild shocks. Actors John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn perform miracles in making this Gothic melodrama as believable as possible.

When Sir Richard Fordyke (John Turner) returns his Devon estate from three month spell in London with his second bride, Elizabeth (Heather Sears), in 1780 he is greeted by surly villagers and hears from his steward, Seymour (Peter Arne), of ugly rumours spreading about him. Haunted by the ghost of his wife and accused of raping and murdering a village girl he looks to Colonel Wentworth (Raymond Huntley) of the militia to help him. Wentworth tries to keep in check the clamouring villagers when Sir Richard is ambushed at night whilst his wife swears he has just left her. Driven almost insane, he searches for a clue to explain and solve his torment and these events.