BlueBlood

That's the question butler Oliver Reed asks of aristocrat Fiona Lewis in Andrew Sinclair's BLUE BLOOD (1973), one of the oddest movies you'll ever encounter. Novelist Sinclair had just come from doing his interesting but quirky adaptation of Dylan Thomas' UNDER MILK WOOD with Richard Burton & Peter O'Toole. This time around Sinclair adapted a bizarre story by an English aristocrat who co-wrote and co-produced the film and even allowed his historic estate to be used as the setting. On the surface BLUE BLOOD resembles Joseph Losey's THE SERVANT where Dirk Bogarde begins to dominate his employer.

This time around its Oliver Reed as the sinister butler and he employs one of the strangest accents ever heard. The story starts with an unflattering portrayal of the British upper class and then progresses from domination by domestics to possible Satanic goings on. BLUE BLOOD is incomprehensible at times and positively revels in its weirdness plus you get to see a lot of the young Derek Jacobi and Fiona Lewis as the aristocratic couple. Too bad there are no subtitles with the DVD as some of the accents and dialogue (primarily Reed's) are very difficult to understand. Worth seeing for the people involved and for the incredible house and grounds...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

A young German nanny takes up employment at a large English stately home, where a sinister butler called Tom (Oliver Reed) appears to have power over the master (Derek Jacobi) and the other staff. It has taken me decades to finally see this, having picked it up on DVD. I recall it being screened on TV years ago, listed as a horror, but for some reason I missed it. Sadly it proved somewhat disappointing. Filmed over two weeks for a mere £55,000 it is a far cry from many of Reed's other movies that he had starred in, and it does show. The story is based on a novel by Lord Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquis of Bath, and was filmed at his home Longleat in Wiltshire. This was one of the film's stronger points, one part shows scenes of visitors queuing up in their delightful looking old cars, it is almost part documentary and brought back memories of visiting it myself back in the 1970's. The film features much drinking and smoking dope (apparently Reed would organise evening pub crawls for the cast and ended up smashing up his Bentley Continental!), plus Lord Gregory spends a lot of time in bed with his wife (Fiona Lewis) and his mistress, all three are seen naked. Oliver Reed is one of my favourite actors and he looks menacing here but unfortunately just mumbles his way through, "As a gentleman's gentleman I sometimes ask myself who is a real gentleman?". Billed as a horror movie this is 90% rather slow drama, only the Satanic looking segment near the end gives it any horror. The bruises on the young children, or baby bashing as it is referred to in the film, was the most horrifying aspect. Overall I felt slightly disappointed, having waited so long to finally watch it, there were elements that did interest me but Blue Blood is certainly not a film for a wide audience.

Ollie reed & co take the mickey in the luxurious home of the Marquis of Bath (who, himself briefly appears in the party scene). Derek Jacobi makes the best of a poor script, probably written on the back of a beer-mat. The film is soooooooo unintentionaly hilarious, it beggars belief! The film is full of musical tangents, poorly dubbed kids, satanic-undertones and a truly winning performance by the late, great Oliver of Reedshire. If it appears on T.V (it'll never appear on DVD, that's for sure) tape it, watch it, then watch it again. Best line (By Derek Jacobi): "ohhhhh, youuuuuuuuu stuuuuuuuupid biiiiitch".

Despite the presence of the late, great Oliver Reed, this is a slow moving Pinteresque drama which fails to grab the attention.

Derek Jacobi is okay as the wimpy lord of the manor who finds his servants are actually devil worshippers - or something. The plot is obviously inspired by a mix of Upstairs Downstairs and Rosemary's Baby and there's the odd, bizarre flash frame to keep you interested.

Worth a look only for the stunning Fiona Lewis who has rarely been more gorgeous. Watch it for her brief scenes alone and it will be a worthwhile experience.

My, but this is a howler.... Oliver Reed is the singularly nasty "Tom", butler to the suitably wimpish "Lord Gregory" (Derek Jacobi). In addition, I hope to stop us all dying from boredom, "Tom" is also the grand wizard (?) of a Satanic cult that practices it's devilish antics in the stately pile of his unwitting host (aptly filmed at Longleat House - home of the late Marquess of Bath - he of the "wifelets"). Anyway, what ensues is a sort of dirty "Downton Abbey". Just about everyone sleeps with the other; the cluttered plot is preposterous and both Reed (I hope) and Jacobi (I trust) had their tongues firmly in their cheeks as this nonsense trundles on for what seemed like an interminable 90 minutes. Some lovely Paisley pattern clothing - if that's your thing, but I'm afraid this is amongst the worst British films that I have ever sat through.