Death Line (1972) US 1 Sheet Poster

Death Line, Gary Sherman’s masterpiece (and directorial debut) is here under its Raw Meat title, which, although arresting, does render the first 35 minutes of plot exposition rather redundant. Late night travellers are disappearing from Russell Square tube station, and Inspector Calhoun is on the case. Played by Donald Pleasence, it’s the most out and out fun he seems to have with a character since Cul-de-sac (1966). It’s funny, gory, exciting and strangely moving, all in 87 minutes. Heavily cut on release, it was 2006 before a full version became available.

Christopher Lee played his MI5 role for scale, simply to have the opportunity to work with Pleasence. It was a good move, as the film’s reputation only grows by the year. Quite why it took Sherman nearly a decade before his next film, the equally celebrated Dead & Buried (1981) is a mystery.

Aka: Le métro de la mort, Sub-Humanos

Condition: VERY FINE

Cast: Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd – The Klansman (1974), The Wild Geese (1978), Sharon Gurney - The Corpse (1971), Christopher Lee, Hugh Armstrong as ‘The Man’ – Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly (1970), The Beastmaster (1982), James Cossins – The Anniversary, The Lost Continent (both 1968), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)