Easily the best movie ever directed by Michael Winner...due in large part to the stunning performance he coaxes out of Marlon Brando. He plays Peter Quint, the surly British handyman-cum-deviant who destroys the children of Henry James' THE TURN OF THE SCREW while violently deflowering the children's tutor (a decidedly foxy Stephanie Beacham). Brando and Beacham have real electricity. Beacham manages to hold her own against the acting giant so it's a surprise that she never really made it as a film actress.
It's an audacious, one of a kind film that's a must see for Brando fans. He gives a truly great performance at a time when most of Hollywood had written him off. He would rebound a year later with THE GODFATHER. Director Winner never did make anything nearly as good as this and was soon back to making the likes of DEATH WISH (various volumes) and of course the woefully ill-advised remake of THE BIG SLEEP.
It's an audacious, one of a kind film that's a must see for Brando fans. He gives a truly great performance at a time when most of Hollywood had written him off. He would rebound a year later with THE GODFATHER. Director Winner never did make anything nearly as good as this and was soon back to making the likes of DEATH WISH (various volumes) and of course the woefully ill-advised remake of THE BIG SLEEP.