The Seventh Commandment

Verily, it would be a grievously unpardonable B-Movie sin to miss out on this enjoyably scummy, Noir-ish 60s potboiler about the skeevey blackmail machinations of pulchritudinous, killer-heeled platinum skeezer Terry James (Lyn Statten) and her victim, the not-so godly reverend Ted Morgan (Jonathan Kidd) with whom she shares a sinful secret! The director Berwick would go on to direct cult grindhouse classic 'Hitch Hike to Hell' (1971) and sound mixer S. F Brownrigg would later helm the immortal 70s shocker 'Don't Look in The Basement' (1973).

Berwick's pleasingly garish text greedily exploits all the amnesia, bible bashing, skid-row shenanigans, aggressive comic book carnality and blithe domestic violence an exploitation freak could ever hope for! Plus there's an agreeably grungy, Bukowskian taint to our boozy blackmailers crepuscular dive, whereby the sour miasma of sex, day-old hooch, stale cigarette smoke, and mildewed laundry is quite palpable. An uplifting hymnal to the godless,'The Seventh Commandment' is yet another glistering exploitation jewel from independent exploitation mavens Crown International Pictures, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if schlock-impresario John Waters shared my appreciation for the luxuriously upholstered Lyn Statten's arch theatricality! It was interesting to discover that co-writer Jack Kevan also created the bodacious special FX for 50s psychotronic classic 'The Monster of Piedras Blancas'. 'The Seventh Commandment' is part of the 6-Film Something Weird - 'Weird-Noir' collection, so that might suggest just how righteous this title is!

Director Irvin Berwick (Monster of Piedras Blancas, Hitchhike to Hell, Malibu High) is not a name that would come to mind when I think of thought-provoking religious dramas. So imagine my surprise when I see such a film wrapped up within a hard-boiled blackmail melodrama! While it could be argued that the evangelical setting of about half the movie is a mere plot element, Berwick takes it too seriously, spends too much time on it, and ends the film in such a way that it's clear the resolution of the religious drama is far more important to him than the resolution of the crime drama. This is actually a study of the nature of faith and salvation, put into a marketable crime melodrama package. Was Mr. Berwick ever interviewed about this film? It obviously must have meant a lot to him. Now I'm anxious to see the films he made after this in the mid-60s: Strange Compulsion and The Street Is My Beat. Although not as over-the-top as The World's Greatest Sinner or Wise Blood, and not as slick as Elmer Gantry, the Seventh Commandment really belongs on the same shelf as those classics. I don't want to give away much of the plot, as the element of surprise is important. However, if the combination of a gritty b&w low-budget blackmail melodrama mixed with serious religious issues of faith and salvation sounds intriguing, track this film down. I've never really seen anything like it!

In the Bible, THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT is "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (I think) and if it weren't broken, there'd be no movie but I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this. College grad Ted Matthews is out on a date with slinky Terry James when he crashes the car and kills her. He gets amnesia and becomes a soul-saving preacher who can heal crippled kids but his world implodes when he finds out Terry didn't die and she's out get him any way she can. Revenge, sexual obsession, moral degradation, alcoholism, and murder follow in the best masochistic potboiler Hugo Haas never made but could have. Ted & Terry even look like Hugo and his muse, Cleo Moore, and there's an ironic, twist-laden ending Haas would have been proud of. And it's all wrapped in religion, to boot. Yikes.

This is the most "noir" in SWV's "Weird Noir" DVD six-pack with its dark and dirty hotel rooms lit only by neon lights flashing outside with a bottle of whiskey on the nightstand -not to mention a femme fatale (hard-bitten Lyn Statten, a psychotronic's dream) who sashays into a room to the strains of "St. Louis Woman" and delights in having sex with a man who's not the groom on their wedding night. When she's not knocking back the booze or loving the bitch-slapping her pimp daddy gives her, that is. There's quite a bit of SCARLET STREET to the story as well and it's ably helmed by director Irvin Berwick whose previous effort was THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS. The "Weird Noir" set is definitely worth the price of admission for this humdinger alone.

I wasn't going to watch this film until encouraged by a previous reviewer, who said that this crime story was really all about religion. I am very glad I did, because it was a brilliant study of religious hypocrisy. It was also tense and exciting and unpredictable. I am new to American film noir as I usually watch British films of this era on a channel called 'Talking Pictures'. I recommend this channel particularly, as many of the films have subtitles, which is helpful for the hard of hearing. I watched this film on that channel, as they also show some US films of this era. So those of you who like old films, check out this British channel.

Jonathan Kidd and Lyn Statten are a bit too frisky while driving and cause a head-on collision. When Kidd comes to he finds the driver of the other car dead, and he has a mental breakdown, resulting in amnesia. He walks away from the accident scene and is taken in by preacher Frank Arvidson. Fast forward a few years and he's a successful preacher himself, with healing powers even. Money is pouring in, he's building a children's hospital, life is peachy. Statten however is constantly broke, married to no-good drunk John Harmon. When she sees a photo of Kidd, she decides to confront him, and blackmail him...

I don't think I'd ever heard of Kidd or Statten before this movie (or of most of the actors/crew) but they are both great in their respective roles. The moment you see Statten, you know she's a femme fatale of the sleaziest kind, and she is great at it. Kidd really is a far better actor than this (drive-in) movie suggests, he is believable throughout. The rest of the cast is also remarkably solid, really helping the plot which is a weird mix between noir and more religious themes (both real and fake ones), and has a few twists as well.

Oh, and this is noir, really noir. The story is noir enough as-is with a downbeat ending for pretty much everyone, but the movie also looks noir from start to finish. This was DoP Robert C. Jessup's first time behind the camera, but he does great things here, there are some beautiful noir shots here, as well as the ubiquitous flashing neon lights outside of dingy, cramped hotel rooms, and deep, long shadows. Director/writer/producer Irvin Berwick knows how to craft a movie using some pocket change!

This movie is available in the 'Weird Noir' DVD set, and it truly lives up to that title. This is a winner, and quite a unique noir even tho it also has plenty of common noir tropes. Definitely worthy of a recommendation! 7/10