Brute (1977) UK Quad Poster

Aquiline Sarah Douglas as a glamour model, whose seemingly idyllic life hides the fact that she’s routinely beaten by her embittered and increasingly psychotic husband, Julian Glover. Director Gerry O’Hara gives Douglas her first starring role (as he did with Kate O’Mara the previous year in Feelings). A Trigon film released by Brent Walker (not Tigon - it also released O'Hara's All the Right Noises (1972) with Olivia Hussey). The violence (earning an ‘X’ certificate) might be tame by today’s standards, but it still packs an emotional punch. Glover’s manipulative behaviour is perhaps better understood now than then, when the film caused uproar in the press and women’s groups, and was accused of being ‘unrealistic’. It was an early work by editor Gerry Hambling, best know for his frequent collaboration with Alan Parker.

Artist: Unknown, but with no stars and contentious subject matter, the high contrast image on an unusual yellow ground is an effective choice.

Condition: VERY FINE / NEAR MINT

Cast: Bruce Robinson, Roberta Gibbs, Charlotte Cornwall, Carol Cleveland, Peter Bull