Latin Quarter

Having read the Roger reviews i was expecting a slam bang ending.Instead eBay i got was à reworking of thé House of Wax.One of the main problems of this film is that as we know Joan Greenwood has been murdered and who did it the only question is how and what happened to her.

Dancer Joan Greenwood injures herself, so she cannot dance. She marries sculptor Beresford Egan, but gradually his work takes on a grotesque form, and she plans with Derrick De Marney to run away. Their plans are almost complete when Miss Greenwood disappears and Egan is taken away mad. Eventually De Marney takes over the studio, meets model Joan Seton, and they fall in love. However, the studio appears to be haunted.

It's a cheap and obvious creepy-crawly, available only in a poor print, under the direction of B director Vernon Sewell. All the talent in this movie have done better work, so I don't feel the necessity of pointing flaws out individually. With the Second World War moving to its conclusion, horror films were beginning to reappear on the screen, some of them very distinguished in retrospect. This is not one of them.

Yes this has a novel ending but it cannot escape the accusation of being a filmed play and so suffers from wordy, static indoor scenes.I have tried several times to watch it to the end but found myself dozing off halfway through (danger of watching after a nice boozy lunch!).Derick de Marnay is credited as associate producer of "Latin Quarter" and plays the leading role of Charles the sculptor.I also have him on video in "Young and Innocent" (1938) directed by Hitchcock and on DVD in "Sleeping Car to Trieste" (1948) in which he was better.

I was intrigued to see Frederick Valk again here playing the doctor.His most notable role was as the German Kommandant in "The Colditz Story" (1955).I found "Latin Quarter" a little too melodramatic for my taste but was genuinely surprised to see that Joan Littlewood could dance ballet so well as it is not something that can be faked by an actor like playing a musical instrument.Overall I rated it 6/10.

I saw this movie when only ten or so and even allowing that I was obviously very impressionable the atmosphere and final horrific revelation are powerful enough to have stayed with me for over forty years. The discovery of what has happened to the disappeared wife of the insane sculptor is stil one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced in the cinema. It still astonishes me that this macabre little masterpiece is still so relativley unknown and getting to see it is well worth anyone's time. Highly recommended if you like your dreams with a twist of venom.

I have read everyone's reviews on the Latin Quarter. I was about 12 when I saw it and I didn't realise what a fantastic 'creepy' it was. I can remember the orgy scene and I think I can remember the end, but I am not going to mention it here because it will spoil the film for anyone who hasn't seen it. Valentine Dyall in those days was quite a well known actor and he had a lovely speaking voice. My mum adored him. I would really love to see this again now I am 60!! Can anyone tell me where I can get a DVD of it? I would be really grateful if someone out there reading this and knows where I can get a copy would get in touch with me. I have had a look at Alfred Hitchcocks's Frenzy and it is not the same at all.