Looking back nearly four decades one can see just why the time
was so right for such a film to come into being in the first place, Tigon had been trying since 1967 to topple the stronghold
Hammer films had in the UK as the main producers of Horror films and Tony had managed to lure the likes of Boris Karloff,
Vincent Price and Christopher Lee into his films and so why couldn't his company become the new HAMMER? The other reason
of course was the era all this was taking place in 1969 the world was stunned by the Manson killings and that coupled with
the innundo by the world press that the director of ROSEMARY'S BABY may have brought the whole thing on himself by maing a
film about Satanic forces only made the matters more sensational. In 1970 alone there was WITCHCRAFT 1970, SEX RITUALS OF
THE OCCULT AND SINTHIA THE DEVIL DOLL all three of these films deplected hippies as agents of demonic influrences, when the
Devil commands hippies obey. We then had to witness WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS I DRINK YOUR BLOOD and last and definaetly least
THE DEATHMASTER produced by Count Yorga himself actor Robert Quarry.
Piers Haggard was only 31 years old when he agreed to helm the
production of what was at first known as THE DEVILS TOUCH. Originally the film was to have been a portmanteau of three tales
of a judge who dealt with dark forces and this was then revamped into a feature length film in which the judge investigates
the infestation of evil of the young in a farming communtiy where witchcraft had long been thought dead. The screenwriter
Robert Wynne Simmons remained onset doing rewrites throughout the production and much of the confusion was lessened by his
imput. I still wonder what happened to the mistress of the manor whose face is mauled by what can only be described as "Satan's
claw' at one pooint we see her bedridden and the next she simply disappears into the woods supposedly to give that part of
herself to the devil like the rest of the marked ones.
Satan manifests himself in an animalistic sense throughout the
film as bits of fur and claw are lodged in the flesh of his helpless followers only to be asked to give them back by cutting
them literally out of the skins of the afflected as their unholy master becomes whole again after each sacrifice.
All this being the result of a deformed anatomy being unearthed
by a farmer played by Barry Andrews {the athiest from DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE} this is then brought to the attention
of the judge played with great aplomb by Patrick Wymark who had also appeared briefly in Witchfinder General as Oliver Cromwell.
Wymark was a favorite of Tenser's and had given Polanski's REPULSION a delightfully sordid cameo as the randy landlord who
pick the wrong moment to ask Catherine Deneave for the rent. The part was written for Peter Cushing who declined in order
to take care of his mortally ill wife. Wymark is in full flood as the judge giving expert line readings to all his dialogue.
He is most effective in his early scenes with Simon Williams and his Aunt, the toast he offers "to his most Catholic majesty
King James the third may he remain in exile" is spot on for his character who along with his old paramour gloats over their
domination of the young as they themselves know the perils of youth and now are too old to do anything about it. The Judge
takes the mystery of the dissappearing Aunt with a air of regret but still abandons the village to the devil for the moment,
his exit line is beautifully realised "you must let it build only then will all be revealed....I will return when the time
is right" He takes with him a book of occultknowledge that just happens to be at his disposal and with that he departs.
While Patrick Wymark gives the film it's Van Helsing the young
ingenue Linda Hayden gives the film it's center her performance as Angel Blake is the equal of Barbara Steele's performance
in MASK OF THE DEMON aka BLACK SUNDAY, in that film Steele's character is described as "a high priestess to satan" unfortunately
we never really have an opportunity to witness any of her Satanic behavior until the last reel in this film Linda is on screen
giving a tour de force as the young girl transformed before us into a distribing erotic devil woman who literally goes down
on the devil....this sequence was filmed and then darkened as it was just too much for the censor to bear. Piers Haggard
goes on record in the dvd commentary for this film describing Linda Hayden 'as a very good actress who had no problen with
nudity whatsoever" Barbara would had approved.
The signature scene in the film takes place in the rectory of
the church where the young come for Sunday lessons, after the devil takes his foothold in the village Linda literally become
AN ANGEL FOR SATAN which ironically is the title of Barbara Steele's last Italain horror film. the Reverend is played by
actor Antony Ainley who became well known for his role as 'THE MASTER' on DR WHO, I had the opportunity to correspond with
him about this film asn her is what he had to say " I remember this film well and with true fondness as we were like a family
except all the other actors were from famous acting families...Tamara Unstinov was Peter's daughter and Michele Doltice was
Roys daughter and so on....Piers was a great organizer and posscessed a visual sense that his cameraman Dick Bush was totally
in sinc with they were team in that sense. When it came to doing the nude scene where Angel comes into the rectory at night
and disrobes this was done at least three times and Linda was spot on with every take...she was a total porfessional with
a refined sense of the erotic unusual for her age...I believe she was only 17 at the time."
