CORRUPTION

Peter Cushing and Sue Lloyd

CORRUPTION (1968). Director: Robert Hartford-Davis.

"The more you succeed, the more you fear the failures."

Surgeon Sir John Rowan (Peter Cushing) is in love with a greedy young model named Lynn (Sue Lloyd). When Lynn refuses to leave a party given by photographer Mike (Anthony Booth), Rowan tries to force her to come with him, resulting in an arc light falling over and smashing into Lynn's face, disfiguring her. Surgery helps for a time, but Rowan discovers he needs fluid from women's pituitary glands to repair the damage to his lover's face time and again. This leads into a series of gruesome murders and even a beheading on a train. Where will it all end? Rowan thinks he's gotten his latest unwilling donor in Terry (Wendy Varnals), a girl runaway who turns out to have some cretinous friends. This leads into a nerve-wracking laser surgery sequence and a gross climax with an out-of-control laser that is one of the wildest things I've ever seen. 

In addition to its delightfully lurid plot, what Corruption has going for it is two excellent lead performances from Cushing and Lloyd. Kate O'Mara also scores as Lynn's sister, Val, as does Noel Trevarthen as Dr. Steve Harris; a friend and colleague of Rowan's. After the climax, the best scene is the grisly train murder with an especially intense and determined Cushing doing his best to achieve his horrible objective. The one element of the film that not only doesn't work but almost works against it is the jazzy, inappropriate score by Bill McGuffie. An advertising campaign (see photo) suggested that no woman would be admitted to the film without an escort!

Verdict: Lurid and tasteless as hell but a lot of wicked fun! ***1/4.